Is homeschooling for full time mothers only?

[sora]

I don't know how people do it. Can only full time mothers homeschool a child? I would love to homeschool my baby, but I also want to have a career. Does homeschooling mean I would give up my career and stay at home for 20yrs? I would hate to send my child to public schools, which I hated. If you decide to homeschool, how many years do you need to commit? For example, till college? or high school? How about day cares? Do homeschoolers send their kids to day cares and kindergarten? or strictly home care? Thanks.

[willowsmom]

Homeschooling is absolutely NOT for full time mothers only.
There are MANY moms that homeschool and work part or full time.

And I know that there are more moms on here with more information.
But I wanted to jump on here and say an emphatic "NO you don't have to give up your career to homeschool."

[RiverSky]

Well, aren't all mothers full-time mothers? Or did you mean full-time SAHMs? (stay-at-home-moms)

Though it makes it easier to homeschool when you have one parent who doesn't need to work, it is not mandatory. I have numerous friends who work part time at home or out of the home to supplement the family income, because they need to. They just try to make sure that the hours are evening hours, weekend hours or flexible enough that they can work from home with the children there. One of my friends works a very lucrative position at home and pays a friend to watch her children three times a week for a few hours, so that she can have more time to dedicate to work, while her children don't miss out on field trips, playgroups, etc.

This week, I just met two single moms (who didn't previously know eachother) at homeschool tennis, and one owned a business and one had the type of job where she could visit her clients and schedule her clients around her child's schedule, occasionally using flexible childcare throughout the day.

[Dillpicklechip]

Sora, I just met a woman today on another forum who homeschools her two daughters AND works as a full-time police officer AND writes articles for two local magazines. I have been worried myself about the idea of giving up all my time to homeschool, but after hearing that woman's story I think anything is possible, if you're willing to be busy!

[littlest birds]

I homeschool with four children and still work a very light schedule part-time. It's pretty hard, but if I didn't have lots of home improvement work affecting our lives it would go a lot more smoothly.

I also attended college full-time for one year while homeschooling one of my children only. Though it did not work very well LOL.

[marilynmama]

I'm not a SAHM. I have no desire to be. I love working outside the home.

I'm a full time nursing student and I work part time at the hospital. My husband also is a full time student and works full time. We have always homeschooled our 5 and 8 year old daughters.

I plan to homeschool when I am working as well. I think a lot of it depends on your job and your support system.

[Alana]

Ive been a sahm for 7 yrs now...but in January im going back to work...and we will still be homeschooling.

[Cassiopeia]

We HS and I work part time too. I think it's a matter of figuring out what works for you. Keep in mind too that HS isn't the only alternative to PS!

[sora]

What is PS? There is an Waldorf school not far away from where I live. I wonder if it would be better to send my kid to the school than trying to homeschool. Although I need to do more research on Waldorf school, but it sounds a little odd and somewhat religious: spiritual science: I hate that kind of stuff.

[Dillpicklechip]

PS = public school

[Fiddlemom]

Hi Sora,

I hs my two boys (ages nearly 4, nearly 6) and work 10-15 hrs/week. It's enough to keep my chops up (graphic design), enough to save my sanity. It was hard finding the right babysitter / playgroup arrangements to fit the bill but now we seem to be getting somewhere.

We are not committed to any particular timeframe. We are taking this one breath at a time some days, one year at a time others. Some days it is bliss, some days it is overwhelming....just like life would be if they were in school.

Good luck with your research & soul-searching!

Blessings

Jenny

[sora]

Thanks everyone for the posts. I will be a nursing student (full time) for 4 yrs. My baby would be 2 yr old when I start, and 6 when I finish the school. During the time I 'm in school, I am planning to put her in a day care/kindergarten.
If I become a nurse, I can work at night and teach my baby during the day. It sounds perfect if I don't have to sleep 8 hours. I won't function very well if I don't get enough sleep. I don't think it sounds realistic, although some mothers seem to handle it well. If I work part time, then maybe...

[Fieryfly]

If you really want it to work, you will find a way. Not everyone goes into homeschooling with the perfect family situation. Many families have to find ways to make it work(financially, timewise, abilities, supportwise, etc) and take it year by year.

It really is a matter of your support system and what you CAN provide for your child in order to make homeschooling work. There are many ways to make a living that are family and homeschooling friendly, and making necessary short-term sacrifices. It's all just a part of parenting and doing what you have to do to give your child the lifestyle and learning environment you feel is best for them, to your best ability.

Good luck and I hope that when the time comes for your little one to begin their elementary education, you are able to find a way to make it work.

[canuckgal]

a nurse chiming in here...

I would highly recommend that you work part time. Nursing is well paid, yes, but brutal as far as job stress and hours. And no, you will not be able to "just stay up" after a night shift to look after the kids. I just woke up after my 3rd 12hr night in a row, and I slept everyday from 9-4pm. I am a "half timer" meaning I split a full time position equally with another RN. I work anywhere from 1-3 days, then get anywhere from 4-9 days off at a stretch. Usually I work 5-8 days a month. Are you in the States? I am in Canada, where nursing is unionized and because of that there is very little flexability in the scheduleing...must work rotating shifts, no "Baylor Shifts" (schedule of every weekend on and rest of week off yet get full time) etc.

As far as child care goes, my dh is in school right now (paramedic) Mon to Fri, MIL looks after the kids (6 1/2 and 3 yrs old)for 6-8h on the weekend so he can study and anywhere from 3-5 days a month a fellow homeschooler babysits them, although I homeschool without a curriculum and base it on my child's interests (unschooling) so I don't expect her to "teach" or send over workbooks or anything. I was a casual in my last job (moved here so hubby could go to school) and I just took shifts around my hubby's 4 day 4 off schedule so we never needed babysitting. We are hoping to get back into a simular situation someday.

I would say I find working good in some respects as I love my job, but sometimes, especially when I am comatose after 3 nites I find it hard to be fully present and "mindful" and there for my kids.

O and yes, you need to have good support as far as child care, etc.

Good luck, hope it works out!

Tina, here in Manitoba Canada

[briansmama]

I think the world is changing. We homeschool so our kids can be "free agents" in a world where many successful people are building their own businesses and telecommuting, etc.

So, yes, I think it can be done, and done very well. In addition, I think our children can benefit by seeing us learn and try new things, either as hobbies or for profit.

That said, for me, it's difficult to imagine while my kids are little. My ds just turned 3 and it's finally getting easier to do more things for myself. Of course, now I'm expecting a new baby in March, so I guess in 3 more years I can look into building a homebased business....this is definitely my dream, though

Good luck!

[BrooklynDoula]

My dh and I each work 30 hours a week and we homeschool our son together!

[USAmma]

I know of a couple of families that both have working parents, but they staggar their work hours so someone is home with the kids.

My situation is a little bit different. I homeschooled for 2 years and then went back to school. I sent my dd to school, too. My dh gets home late and I needed the study time during the day while my toddler is napping. We both enjoy the one on one time with homeschooling, so we still homeschool. I don't do it full time anymore. My dh works with her with math after work and I do reading/history as we want to.

BTW I'm doing my nursing pre-req's right now. Good luck with your nursing school!

[Mere]

I work part-time, from home, and have a very flexible schedule...I feel very fortunate to have this setup! I love my job and won't be giving it up anytime in the forseeable future; I also am committed to homeschooling. My dd will be of Kindergarten age next year.

Currently, she is in a prek/K daycare 2 days a week...those are my primary work days. Ds (2.5) is there too, and eventually the new baby will also go there. Next year dd won't be going to K, but she can still stay in that daycare class. The year after that though, it's going to get a bit trickier!

Between various playgroup activites, friends babysitting, outside classes (coordinated with friends' kids), and occasional grandparent help I think we can work something out. I also anticipate that at some age - 7ish? - dd will be able to be at home with me doing her own thing while I'm working. Maybe not for the whole day, but as long as it's broken up with a class, an outing with friends, etc. I think it could work.

[nancy926]

Certainly isn't (assuming you mean moms who work full time). My DH stays home with the kids and we are unschooling. But if I could, I'd "give up my career" to stay home for 20 years and unschool them too. I'm kinda envious.

[shimmer]

We homeschool as a family. My husband and I own a business together. We take turns being at work and being at home. I also teach for a community college 3 nights a week.

Although at times the balancing is tough, it all works out.