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To homeschool or not to homeschool!?

post #1 of 12
1/11/13 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
Ok first off I have never posted and am completely new here. I am in Texas where, thank the good Lord above homeschooling is so easy to do. From what I've read in. My current situation is that my husband and I have full time jobs. He works 7am to 4 pm I work 10 am to 6 pm. Our DD's are aged 4 & 2. Our 4 yr old will be 5 soon and will start school this year. I have been thinking though that I want to homeschool them. Daycare isn't an issue my mother in law watches them now. She actually runs an in home daycare. My question is, would this be possible to do with our jobs and are there others that do this. Am I insane for taking this task on. I'm scared and excited all in one with the possibility of homeschooling my children. I have a supportive husband willing to teach lessons too. So any help or advice? !
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post #2 of 12
1/12/13 at 7:13am

hi,

I also have a fulltime job. My mom watches my son. Right now he is 8yrs old he went to grandma's and did book work there and then came home and i did reading with him. But he was giving my mom a tuff time getting it done, so I decided to sign him up for Time4learning. His schedule now is he goes to grandma and plays around and when he comes home he works on his school work on the computer. just a couple hrs a day has him doing more schoolwork in a week than I thought he would. If your mom has a computer maybe time4learning could be helpful.

 

I hope this helps

Pollyanna

post #3 of 12
1/12/13 at 8:06am
Thread Starter 
Thank you Pollyanna. I still need to talk to her about it all. I feel like she may be against the girls being hs it makes me nervous. I just need to put on my big girl pants and talk to her about it all. Especially if I am going to have her help me with it. But knowing someone else out there is successfully working full time and hsing makes me feel more inclined to do it.
post #4 of 12
1/12/13 at 8:56am
We've been discussing this a little too lately. My son (only 2.5) just started a great Montessori school but their uniform/appearance policy is very restrictive, something I passionately don't like. It's ok for now, but we'll see as he gets older.

Also when I think about how much/little actual learning goes on in my teen step daughters school, and how useless a lot of what I learned in school was.... Well I worry about home schooling a lot less. I really think it's the better option if you can manage it. I just don't know if I'm up to it!

Here are 2 articles I found useful.
http://m.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/why-yes-i-work-full-time-and-homeschool-1213830.html

http://www.homeschooldiner.com/basics/teaching/working_parents.html

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk, please ignore typos.
post #5 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:07am

So you're saying that you would need to do "night school" in order to make it work, and that your husband is willing to help.

and, you have family care during the time you work. If MIL is willing to be supportive, and doesn't mind continuing to watch the kids (and hopefully  help with some school things) it could work quite well.

 

Figure out what you want to focus on, and purchase/ gather things that help with that end. Your're talking about one-to-one correspondence, letters, letters sounds, numbers, writing, other fine motor, and lots of reading. It's very doable, if you want to.

 

For preschool/early childhood, spend money on things, not curriculum. So, paints, and easel, counting bears, letter stamps, flannel board stories, etc.

post #6 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:32am
Thread Starter 
I actually have a whole corner of my house dedicated to school type things. Workbooks, a chalk board, dry earase boards, books tons of books. I even have counting bears, just s bunch of learning tools ive bought for help in easing my girls before I gave hs a thought. Now that I think about it I have essentially been doing it all along. Both of my girls are pretty advanced for their ages and I like to think it'd because of all the time ive spent teaching them so far. I am so thankful for all of this encouraging input.
post #7 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:34am
Thread Starter 
Sorry for all the typos I hope it makes sense. My kindle is hard to type on.eyesroll.gif
post #8 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsHeath0331 View Post

Ok first off I have never posted and am completely new here. I am in Texas where, thank the good Lord above homeschooling is so easy to do. From what I've read in. My current situation is that my husband and I have full time jobs. He works 7am to 4 pm I work 10 am to 6 pm. Our DD's are aged 4 & 2. Our 4 yr old will be 5 soon and will start school this year. I have been thinking though that I want to homeschool them. Daycare isn't an issue my mother in law watches them now. She actually runs an in home daycare. My question is, would this be possible to do with our jobs and are there others that do this. Am I insane for taking this task on. I'm scared and excited all in one with the possibility of homeschooling my children. I have a supportive husband willing to teach lessons too. So any help or advice? !

 

Realize that you don't need to spend a full day homeschooling or follow the school's schedule. You can be very relaxed or very structured depending on what works for your family. For my 12 year old if we do every subject it still is only about 2-3 hours a day and we go year round. We do not homeschool at the same time each day and we have done it at night or on weekends.

 

Keep any lessons short at your kids ages- 10 to 15 minutes maximum at a time. I wouldn't plan any more than an hour total of structured lessons or activities each day.

Follow their lead a lot. Be flexible- if something you planned doesn't work find a different approach or activity.

Read to them. Explore their interests. Help develop their motor skills. Figure out how your children learn best.

 

Do not spend tons of money yet on curriculum. Look for free resources in your community or on the internet. Buy used curriculum.

post #9 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:49am

What I like about homeschooling is that we can tailor it to our schedules.  The only thing I would be worried about is homeschooling so late in the afternoon because for us that would just not work.  But for you guys it could work.  If it is something you want to do, you should give it a try.  I used Starfall for my son when he was 4 years old and it was a really great introduction to homeschooling for us.  I'll use it agin next year with my dd.

post #10 of 12
1/12/13 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by neonalee View Post

We've been discussing this a little too lately. My son (only 2.5) just started a great Montessori school but their uniform/appearance policy is very restrictive, something I passionately don't like. It's ok for now, but we'll see as he gets older.

Also when I think about how much/little actual learning goes on in my teen step daughters school, and how useless a lot of what I learned in school was.... Well I worry about home schooling a lot less. I really think it's the better option if you can manage it. I just don't know if I'm up to it!

Here are 2 articles I found useful.
http://m.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/why-yes-i-work-full-time-and-homeschool-1213830.html

http://www.homeschooldiner.com/basics/teaching/working_parents.html

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk, please ignore typos.

Wow that first article is amazingly helpful. Thanks for those.
post #11 of 12
1/12/13 at 6:37pm

I just wanted to say doing my son'sschooling after i get home works for my son and I because he is mostly an afternoon-night kid. Mornings wouldn't work for him. I work 5am to 2pm mostly so after i pick him up and get home it is usually 3-4pm when we get home. I fix him something to eat and we get his schooling done. I also have asked my mom to bring him to my house once a week to do his school work during the day, but think that isn't nessacery, he is doing alot without any extra time.

I also live in Texas. smile.gif

Pollyanna

post #12 of 12
1/12/13 at 7:04pm

I have friends who work full time.  It is doable.  

My parents were nervous about us homeschooling.  By the time I told them we had already made the decision.  I spoke to enough people and did enough research before I talked to them.  Now my mom is a huge advocate and my dad is good with it.  It is funny how they turn around when they see how your children are turning out.  Even if she isn't thrilled in the beginning, they usually come around.  

Your children are still very young.  You don't really have to do much "school."  Have fun with them.  Read a lot.  Enjoy them.  Homeschooling is a lot less time than school.  A lot of time in school is lining up, waiting for others questions and the answers from the teacher, recess and lunch and just plain waiting for other children.  It must be hard for a teacher to know if all 30 of her students are caught up.  That takes time.  When I do a math lesson with say my 10yo, it literally takes us about 15 minutes.  I can skip lessons if I know she understands well.  It is so much easier to follow your own 1 child than a teacher of 30.  

Good luck with your decision.

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