Afraid I won't be able to do it all (work, HSing, house, etc.)

[Galatea]

We have 4 kids (6, 5, 2, and 3 months.)  We have a business together - dh works 6 days a week and I work part-time.  I am seriously contemplating taking ds1 out of public school to HS him, for many reasons: the socialization has been negative, the schoolwork is pointless and below him, etc.  I am very educated myself and a good teacher for my kids (ds1 prefers me to teach him concepts rather than learning them at school) and so do not worry at all about the academic aspect.  He has asked to be home-schooled and we have a big HS community here.  The kids work around the house helping me (laundry, cleaning, etc.)  We can have the kids at our store, and we even have an unused room at home for a schoolroom.  So it sounds ideal, right? 

What we are worried about is how much extra work it will be and how we will actually manage to do it all.  Late at night, when I am tired, I fear that it is a bad idea and that I will be totally burnt out, but then I think that my children are more important than being busy and tired.  Any thoughts or advice?

[kathymuggle]

A six year old?  Go for it!

Despite what educational philosophy your choose, none of them are going to take more than about an hour with a six year old.

As he ages he may require more from you (or may not...it really depends on your child and what you feel called to do) but you can figure that out then.

Have fun!

[dubatatamama]

I think your children will learn so much just by seeing how you run your business and socializing with customers.  Your 6 y/o will need very little if any "formal" school time.  I say go for it!

[dubatatamama]

I also wanted to add that you may find you are less stressed because you won;t be rushing  back and forth to drop off and pick up at school, and you are already teaching him at home anyway, so you may find that you are less stressed...just a thought!

[mattemma04]

I think you will be able to do it.Just remember to not try and create a classroom at home.There is no need for your child to sit at a desk for 5 hours a day and do worksheets and so on.

[Lillitu]

I think if anything has to give, it would be the PT work- can your spouse take on a bit more of that, to make room for you HS?

[lmonter]

I have a 7yo, 4.5yo, 2.5yo and 10mo.  I started officially homeschooling the then-6yo this summer while in the throes of PPD (it wasn't pretty), with hubby off working a state or continent away 80-90% of the time.  You can do it.  My caveat is that I kinda went the lazy route with a prepackaged curriculum so to speak - I just read the listed parts of certain books to my 7yo (and sometimes 4yo if he wants to do school - my 2yo is more of a distraction right now).  We talk about whatever pops into his head, and do whatever explaining needs to be done whenever (someone is rude/mean at a playdate, we discuss it; mommy can't spend 3 hours reading because meals/chores need done, etc.

I will say though, of course you'll get burnt out from time to time.  Just like you would with any child in school and with raising pretty much any child(ren).  The beauty of homeschooling?  You can take a week off in October or February if you need it.  Or two weeks, and just hit a few things harder when you get back to it to catch up.  At least that's how I'm currently rolling - I'm not near as structured as some folks, nor am I completely and totally unschooling like others.  I totally have that pull between keeping a house that doesn't make my mental health go down the toilet vs. sending the kid(s) off to school for some time away from them.  So far we've managed to avoid school doing un-fun things to my 7yo (he wouldn't do well, at all) - even more so with the help of a fellow hs'ing friend that'll watch the older three for me for most of the day from time to time so I can get a breather and get caught up on things.  Worse comes to worse, and your child is back in school later on, right?  What have you got to lose by trying out a semester/summer of homeschooling?  :)

[inky leeuhhh]

i am hsing my almost 7 yo, working ft, and taking college courses. it's still do able. just be flexible. we spend maybe an hr a night doing school work. i must say i'm pretty lucky because dd taught herself to read, which has lightened my load this year a bit, but there's no rush when you're homeschooling.  you can do little bits of hsing at a time throughout the day, get it out of the way first thing in the am, or do it after a nice warm bath at night in jammies sprawled out on a comfy bed like dd and i do. most of dd's learning is done when she just listens to me read materials. i do set up projects and stuff for her sometimes, but as long as i feel like she's taking in the information i read to her i'd rather just leave her to spend her extra time on her own interests rather than doing assigned projects or busy work. i have her do some journal work and workbook stuff so i have some documentation to show her dad (who does not live with us) so that he can stay in the loop, and as a keepsake for myself, but its nothing complicated. as time goes on she will be able to work more independently, and i think things will actually get easier.

long story short- go for it! worst that happens is he ends up going back to school!

[ledzepplon]

I also have four kids--6, 4, 2, and 5 months. We pulled our oldest out of first grade this fall to homeschool, because (to make a long story short) she was unhappy there. Before we finally did it, I vacillated a lot between feeling very excited and gung-ho about it, and having reservations about being able to "do it all." Honestly, like a pp said, there are days when I'm burnt out and overwhelmed. But even though we're only spending an hour or two doing school per day, I really believe that my dd is on track (in fact, she's gone beyond what she'd be doing at her former school) and learning, and the family dynamic has become much more peaceful in a lot of ways.

At this age, the worst hat can happen if you try it is that your laundry piles up, your house gets a little messier, or you could end up deciding that homeschool isn't for you. I think my parenting philosophy has become a lot more pragmatic these days, and at our house we try to take it a month, a week, even a day at a time. Whatever you decide, have some peace in knowing that you can always change your  mind later.