Said It Here

How to transition a homeschooled child to public school

Sending a child from homeschool straight to public school brings intense anxiety about leaving them somewhere unfamiliar out of your sight. Parents worry about everything from physical development gaps and motor skills lagging behind peers to trusting strangers with their history, clashing with the natural instinct to keep them close and protected.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Packing a spare pair of clothes in each backpack
  2. 2
    Pre-packing lunches in the evening and printing out the school lunch calendar
  3. 3
    Contacting teachers directly to inform them of the children's homeschooling background
  4. 4
    Attending back-to-school events and joining parent groups

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Parenting2 people · September 2026

“My kids 7F and 5m are starting public school Monday after previously being homeschooled and with parents their whole lives, due to divorce and me going to full time work. I was also homeschooled so I'm looking for all the tips, tricks, hacks and anything anyone can tell me.”source ↗

rntrovert · r/Parenting · 2 upvotes

“Their motor skills are noticeably behind daycare kids the same age.”source ↗

“the idea of leaving her somewhere unfamiliar, out of our sight, with people who don't know her history, is terrifying.”source ↗

“I know they need more exposure to physical play and to other kids, but the instinct to keep them close and protected is really strong.”source ↗

Vonlinber365 · r/Parenting · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised