Practical Life Question: How do you get errands, apts, etc. done while being a HSer?

[marimara]

I'm wondering how homeschooling parents get errands done. These kinds of errands: Post Office, grocery shopping, dental apts, coffee with a friend, working out, yoga class, other shopping, doc apts, hair cuts, oil changes, or other apts where having kids around makes it harder or difficult. Obviously I think your answers will be determined by many things, like how many kids you have, their ages, your support network, community, etc.

[karanyavel]

We all go as a family on any errands unless it's something DH can do alone. I can't drive.

Occasionally, I turn the errand into a field trip

Pretty often we have "make-up days" on weekends because of errands that came up during the week.

--K

[pigpokey]

I can appreciate how pleasant it is to go shopping without kids but normally errands are run with kids or perhaps I might take off for a couple of hours on a Sunday once or twice a month when DH is home. They also go on playdates regularly without me and are regularly in sports practice where I could go do a shopping run with 0 or 1 kid. I keep an insulated bag in my car, and if I plan ahead of time that I am going to the supermarket during swim team, I will through a cold pack into there. Otherwise I just group all the cold food together. Mine are 5 and newly 7. It's not a problem.

I do not do a lot of solo hangout time with friends though nor do I do any exercise classes. But many gyms / the Y offer child care so that's what my exercise class friends do, whether they home school or not.

Also you will see once they get a little older than yours and are reading, you could do something where you need to be left alone (meeting, exercise class) by putting them in a nearby corner with the laptop and saying something like "check off two Rosetta Stone lessons and finish your math sheet and then you may do favored activity until I am done" such as a book they want to read, computer activity or video.

I do have parents close by but I prefer to use that time to be IN the house without the kids

[IntuitiveJamie]

I picked other because at one time or another I've done all of the above.
The most common is to take them with me, with a second runner up being leave them with DH.
We don't have that much help from others, but on occasion have used others help.

[Jennifer3141]

They usually go with me alone but lately, a friend and I have been doing so much school stuff together that we've started doing errands together too. So when we're heading to the pumpkin patch, we stop for groceries now. And one of us either stays with the kids in the car if there's a sleeping child or two or we all go together which can be pretty fun.

We're suckers for each others's kids at this point. So if the mama says no, they go to the "aunt" who lets them have it. And then we give our gifts away on the way home.

We've actually had conversations that go like this, "I'll up your kids on Nutella with some rice crispie treats stuck to your walls!"

Keep your eyes out for friendships like this. You might find a mama friend who has similar homeschooling philosophies which often goes with similar lifestyle philosophies and before you know it - BOOM! Even grocery shopping is more fun.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I almost always have them in tow for most things. If I cannot bring them, which is a rarity, my dh is self employed and can move his schedule around to suit me, and if that fails, my MIL is 10 mins away. A few times I've had my good friend's oldest dd help me out- they're homeschoolers too, so often available during the day.

[WCM]

That is a key part of homeschooling, IMO. They come along to it all: dentist's apps, naturopath visits, blood draws, tires changed, car fixed, groceries, farm visits for local stuff, researching a new appliance, paying a ticket, second-hand store shopping for the coveted goalie gear, any and everything, they are part of it. To me it's part of learning about our society, how we conduct business, where these places are, what things cost, what needs repair or upkeep, how to deal with businesses, expressing yourself to them, behaving in stores/offices, knowing your community resources . . . I could go on and on.

[kathymuggle]

My older 2 are at the age that if they do not want to come, they do not have to.

My youngest can be watched by either of the older 2 - but this is always voluntary. If she wants to come (which is the usual) she comes. If she does not want to come, but her brother or sister do not want to watch her - she comes. If she wants to stay home and her brother/sister are fine with watching her she stays home.

On really rare occasions I will insist one or the other babysits - but it is really rare.

For the most part I do not mind lugging children where-ever I go. I do not marathon shop, though, and frequent places I can get in and out of. I try to keep over stimulation levels in mind. Indeed, I overstimulate quite easily, so my kids rarely experience overstimulation as I am always ready to bail early on, lol

[CrazyCatLady]

Well I'm a single mom so my dd comes with me everywhere. She always has though, even when I was married. I've never had an issue running errands with kids. It takes a little longer, but I like it for breaking up the day.

Now a days I bring my dd and the daycare babies with me when I run errands, including my doctor appointments. For working out I just usually exercise at home in the mornings. But when I did use a gym, it had free childcare for me cause I taught there. So I'd just drop the kids off in there.

Sometimes I have to do things at my college during the day and that gets tricky with a handful of kids. So I'll usually leave my dd with my mom and then take the babies. I have done all sorts of things at college with a baby worn on my back. Got to do, what you got to do!

I have social anxiety so it's actually easier for me to have kids with me when I'm out than it is to go alone.

[Dar]

I didn't vote because it kinda depended. Well, now it's not an issue, but when she was little it was either take her with me (stuff like shopping) or have a friend watch her (stuff like work meetings or doctor appointments), with occasional babysitters (same stuff but when friend's were busy). Really, though, I didn't think of it so much as having a friend watch her as arranging a playdate for that time, and she went on plenty of playdates when I didn't need someone to watch her, too... just because she wanted to see her friends.

No family or partner, though, so those never happened.

[oceanbaby]

All errands and appropriate appointments I brought them with me. Working out, doctor appointments they were with dh.

[Holiztic]

I posted "take them with you" but then I saw you said things like dr appts, yoga, etc.

Ds is 3.5 so I can't very well take him to a yoga class now (unless its mommy and me) or to my dr. appt, etc.

But once I have no kids under 6 or so I'll take them to everything except something like yoga or a spa.

[CariOfOz]

I voted other Cause there always has to be an other

If it's to the post office, or other quick errands I take them with... I will even grudgingly take them with to docs appts IF it's not a gyn issue that might require undressing. For grocery shopping, I wait till Thursday evening and leave the boys with hubby... that way I can have a posh coffee and an hour or so alone

[EviesMom]

I put other because I use a combination of all the things you listed. DH and I workout and the kids go to childwatch at the Y. He watches them while I go to an early morning Yoga class. We do Family Yoga.

Grocery shopping I take them about 1/2 the time and 1/2 the time I go early on a Saturday to avoid grocery store lines and to shop in peace. DH is with them then.

When I have meetings for DS' preschool (tonight), my dad has pizza and movie night with them. When I have meetings for scouts, a friend and I trade off watching one another's kids.

Dentist and doctor appointments for me are rare enough that I do them on the 1 afternoon/week that I have a sitter. Usually this is to help DH at his office, but 3 times a year I use it for dr. appts.

I think the key to juggling this stuff though is to have a routine for what kind of thing it is. IE--workout=childwatch; preschool meeting=night with grandpa; scouts=playdate with G. If that stuff moved around too much for who watches them when I think it would get confusing for me and them and the friends/family helping out.

[Arduinna]

You need an all of the above LOL.

Everything from take them with you, they stay with a neighbor/friend/family member and when age and situation appropriate they stay home.

[accidental_hs'er]

My dh commutes. The kids come to everything but my pap smears. In the evenings I can head to the gym by myself but I consider that me time, not running errands. My dks are 5 and 7, so it isn't always easy but we've never known anything different. We have no family around and the hubby is gone before we wake up and home after we've eaten dinner. If they didn't come with me, I'd never get anything done.

[ChinaDoll]

My DH is a minister with a flexible schedule, so for doctor/dentist visits, I plan them for first thing in the morning and he stays home/goes in to work late. Weekly grocery shopping gets done while the kids are at martial arts class on Thursdays. Everything else is done with kids in tow.

[canuckgal]

My kids are older so it is much easier than when they were toddlers/babies.

Dh works evenings 4-midnight Mon to Fri. So, I can pretty easily leave the kiddos with him for things I don't want them around for (like pap smears like a previous poster LMAO! Or haircuts), or if I am a bit crabby and there is a high risk I might not be so patient with them like on a long grocery store trip. On Saturdays and Sundays dh will sometimes do the winding down for bed routine with them, so I can go have a bath or go out to a coffee shop myself. For working out, I have weights/kettlebells etc in my basement, and go and workout in the mornings before they get up generally. If they do come with me for things, we always pack a goodie bag like when they were toddlers...ds's Playmobile, sketchboard/markers for dd, picture search books, etc.

one thing we have found hard is home renovations. I have been sanding/wallprepping/painting for THREE freaking years now. My friends all laugh and ask what is taking so long, and I reply that it's not like my kids are out of the house for 6hrs a day in school!

Generally I try to take them though, as I think it is good for them to be in public learning social niceties like waiting in bank and grocery store lines! Just today I ran a few errands, and dd came with me; she chit chatted with some people in line about their babies, was thrilled to order the sushi we treated ourselves to, and made a purchase of a toy with her allowance. You know, real world stuff while the rest of kids her age are in school.

[newcastlemama]

My family (usually my mom) watches them for things like my getting my hair done or drs. appts that I cannot take them to and that is not very often. My sister does my hair every 6 weeks and dr appts happen rarely. My mom does pick up my kids for an afternoon often though because she likes to play with them so I just get stuff done during that time too (read, nap, clean ect).

Otherwise I just bring them shopping, midwife, errands, ect...It is all part of learning about life

[craft_media_hero]

Originally Posted by karanyavel

Pretty often we have "make-up days" on weekends because of errands that came up during the week.

--K

Ditto. And same if I have to work. Sometimes I'll trade her a weekday "off" if we're too busy with the understanding that some of the core stuff will get done on Saturday. But don't feel too sorry for her ; I always try to plan for a four day week with fun stuff on Fridays anyways.