Help! My Child Wants to Go Back to School

Help! My child wants to go back to school! What happens when your child doesn’t like the changes and just wants to go back to school? Maybe you’re just a few weeks or months into your homeschooling–and you’re not sure if this was the right move.

My Child Wants to Go Back To School

Sometimes it’s actually the parent who wants to give up and go back to school. I know it’s hard–I have actually made the difficult decision to put a child back into school. But, let’s give it longer than a few weeks to settle into the transition. Nobody likes change. Any educational setting has some adjustments and issues to sort out.

Before you throw in the towel, let’s consider the reasons that you chose to homeschool in the first place. It’s very normal to miss elements of the previous school. It’s often clouded with nostalgia that things weren’t so bad and a bit of wishful thinking that going back will solve the problems you currently have going on. The familiarity of it–makes it somehow seem like it’s better to just go back to that.

Parent Reasons

You have to first sort out what you believe as a parent. What do you think is the best option for your child, right now. Sometimes parents feel like they’re not doing enough and feel like they’re falling behind.

Parenting is hard and we have a way of second-guessing ourselves. You know what your reasons and goals for choosing to homeschool. So, go back to your reasons “why”–so you can keep working toward that goal and purpose.

It’s important to evaluate what’s working and what’s not working.
Consider whether you’re measuring your goals against a reasonable guideline.
Consider if the materials and activities are beneficial–if not, switch it up.

If you cook a bad recipe that your family doesn’t like, you don’t quit cooking. No, you find something else to cook and try a different recipe next time. It’s the same with your educational materials. Just find a different recipe book.

If you’re looking to switch up your program, ask your association director for recommendations and advice. They are your ally–so reach out them. Find a homeschool consultant who can help you figure out the course of study and learning materials that would be good for your student.

I have lots of encouragement and curriculum recommendations elsewhere on this site too. Click here for curriculum resources or click here for encouragement.

Student Reasons

You do also need to acknowledge the child’s feelings. Bear in mind, the solution that they’re offering is limited to their scope of experience. We should be able to listen to their complaints and offer viable solutions to help resolve the issues.

Friends. It’s common for them to miss their “friends”. So, can you still meet-up with those friends…are they really friends or just familiar faces? What can you do to get her involved and connected to other homeschoolers? Make new friends and keep the old–ya know?
Workload or schedule. It’s common to push back on the work load or schedule. School at school is often boring and many kids misbehave during school. So, if you’re doing school at home, you’re going to get lots of push back from the students too.

Solutions and Compromises

Parents make choices for our children’s best interests all the time that the children do not necessarily like or understand the full picture. We make them eat veggies, take a bath and wear a coat, even if they don’t want to.

These are very trying times for us all. It stands to reason that the kids are feeling it too. We can promote the benefits of homeschooling so the students buy into the idea.

You get to do shorter school days, finish your work and then you get to do whatever you want. Find out what they want to do with that extra time–and facilitate that interest.
You can find a homeschool group or community club to meet new people. Socialize with others who share your interests. A local chess club, karate studio, art lessons, theater group, Minecraft club. Learning together as a group does build connections–and can lead to friendships.
You get to switch up the curriculum and workload. If your child hates working on the computer, then do hands-on activities and projects. There’s hundreds of curriculum resources out there to keep trying.

Sometimes kids who have never been to school feel like they’re missing something too. My daughter wanted to go to school because she wanted to ride the bus. So, we went on a city bus–so she would know what it’s like to ride a bus. That satisfied her curiosity about buses.

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So, what does your child mean when they’re saying they want to go to school? Maybe they do want to go back. But, maybe there’s other solutions for what they’re trying to tell you instead.

Read more about When Your Child HATES Schoolwork: