Can I make HS work?

[cyberfish]

I'm a single mama and looks like I will have no choice but to relocate far away from friends and family this summer for a job. My daughter will be 5 in September and I have always thought I'd homeschool her. I really really really do not want to send her to school. Money will be tight also. I probably should not bring her to work with me at a new job and I can't really get a lot done with her around anyway. She's also highly social and would not do well isolated all day with a sitter.

Any ideas on how I can make this work? Thank you.

[kittie313]

Yes you can do it if you find a private sitter in your area that is hsing friendly. If you are considering central Ohio, the house next door to me is up for auction and I love kids (after all I got 4 girls of my own lol) But seriously, I'd check out the homeschool groups in the area you are moving to and see if you can find one of those families to watch your child while you are at work, maybe doing the teaching in one or two subjects that are more difficult for you to do. Then when you are home from work (either before or after depending on your shift) you do the rest. It will certainly be VERY difficult but it can be done. I know several hsing families in my local group where both parents work and the kids go to a sitter while both are at work, then mom does lessons with them when she isn't at work. So yes it CAN be done.

[zjande]

I had a home childcare business for 5 yrs, & was homeschooling at the time. For a period of that, I was single as well. I had a few homeschooling families that I provided childcare for over the yrs. These are my 2 thoughts on my own personal experience with all that:

1. I'm SO grateful that I was able to be home with my homeschooled kids & still make an income. But, it started to suck as my own kids outgrew the ages of my day care kids. Most of my day care kids were all toddlers or preschoolers. Their parents would pull them out when they were old enough to start public school. So, my kids got very bored. My DD was 10 when I closed my business. She'd been hiding in her bedroom all day for yrs by that point. She wasn't interested in hanging out with toddlers all day. I felt horrible for that. Plus, my childcare was usually 100% full, I had no time at all to actually homeschool during my business hours.

2. I was happy to find those homeschool families who were looking for FT care. I didn't offer any lessons for the kids (no time for that), but I was happy to be supportive of kids that were stuck in day care when all the other kids their ages were in PS. The only thing that got weird there, was that they all thought my DD was their built in playmate because she was the only child there near her age. Sometimes this was fine, & other times my DD didn't want to entertain other kids she wasn't really fond of all day every day. My poor DD really doesn't have many great memories of my day care yrs & has claimed that she is *never having children* ever since. ~sigh~ But, the homeschool kids who were young had a great & fine time playing & doing crafts with all the other youngsters.

Anyway. I have no idea if any of this is helpful in the slightest. I just wanted to share my experience. I remember all too well how terrifying it was for me to try to figure out how to support my single self and homeschool at the same time! I wish you tons of luck.

[cyberfish]

Alas, central Ohio did not offer me a job or I'd totally take you up on it. But south Florida did offer me a job. I'm a college professor and the market for profs right now is not so good.

The bonus is that hours tend to be flexible and not 9-5 shifts. Since my daughter will just turn 5 in Sept. maybe I could look into daycare for her or even just "do" Kindergarten until I'm more settled. I just would not allow testing, homework, or any of the other things about public schooling I personally dislike. There's a Sudbury school in the area and an accredited Montessori school also but they are a bit pricey.

Sigh. Thanks, Kittie, for your encouraging words.

[woodchick]

Maybe you could find a college student (or two) that could take her to HS groups/ play dates/ playgrounds during the days. They might be cheaper and more flexible than traditional day care providers.

NAK, but wanted to get my thought down before I forgot!

[Lillian J]

Here's a Single and Homeschooling forum here in MDC.

And you might want to check out the Working and Single Parenting email group - it's pretty big - you'll find it among the articles and other links on this page: Working and Single Parents.

I hope it can work out for you - Lillian

[RiverSky]

Yes, I think you can, but it will be a little tricky, of course.

Join homeschool groups in your area and as soon as you can, start going to as many events as you can manage. Many have family events occasionally in the evening, and moms night outs, etc. Once you get to know some of the members, then perhaps you will feel very comfortable asking a homeschool mom to babysit your daughter while you work. You will still be in charge of your daughter's education, but your daughter will have a fun and active place to be, hopefully with children around her age and hopefully with a family that is active in the homeschool community (lots of park days, field trips, perhaps even homeschool clubs and classes) so that your daughter can have lots of enriching fun while you are at work. You can always do any "school work" that you feel necessary on your days off, and spend time reading to your daughter each evening at bedtime.

Best of luck!