discussion title:
Can we HS & work full time?
My husband and I have 4 kids (5, 4, 2, and 1). The 5 year old currently attends a half day private kindergarten (he attended preschool 2 years as well). I have considered hs for some time. When I went to the ps to register him for 1st grade on Friday, it brought back all of those questions. And I am back to wanting to hs. But here's the problem. Both my DH and I work. We have flexible hours, but we need the $ and benefits. I work about 35 hours per week. I go into the office 2 days a week, and work from home the other 3. I travel for work about 1 day per month. We have a nanny that comes to our house everyday to watch the kids. My husband runs the family business, so his hours can be rather flexible. Here's the schedule I was thinking: DH teaches children from 7am - 9am and then goes to work. The nanny is great with reading, puzzles, outside play, etc. When I get off from work at 2, I can then teach from 2-5 or 6. Then, of course, we have the weekends. Is this enough time? I am very interested, but very worried about the time commitment.
Thanks in advance for the advice,
Leeanne
discussion title:
Can we HS & work full time?
message #:
12312.2 in response to 12312.1
Since the main issue of both parents (or a single parent) working and homeschooling is appropriate childcare, and you've got that covered, I don't see any reason why you'd have a problem if that's what you want to do. A typical first grader spends maybe an hour total per day on "school" - remember we're talking individualized tutoring not mass production here so the time needed is a lot less (none of the "administrative time" such as announcements, handing in and handing out papers, etc - somewhere around here is a post where I broke it all down). But, know that "teaching" (as in bringing school home with you) is NOT the only way to homeschool. Read up on the various styles of homeschooling, including unschooling, Montessori at home, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, delayed academics (a la the Moores), etc. You'll also want to look at materials on learning styles (even though your kids are young, it'll help to have that lurking in the back of your head). And you'll need to check the laws of your state as to what kind of paperwork (if any) is needed.
discussion title:
Can we HS & work full time?
message #:
12312.3 in response to 12312.1
Oh Leeanne, it sounds like your setup would be perfect! You've already got the major hurdles solved...work schedules, childcare, etc. Those are the things that most of us who work and h/s have to struggle with.
You won't need nearly the amount of time you're thinking you'll need...my dd7 is in 2nd grade and we rarely spend more than 3 hrs on school...usually it's more like 2. So you could have daddy do school with your ds for an hour, and you could do school with him for an hour, and still have lots of time to do other fun things. Keep in mind, in your planning, that your 3 younger kids are going to see the oldest "doing school" and they're going to want to "do school" too ;-) My ds2 thinks that EVERYONE does school at home. We've been using Letter of the Week for close to a year, and in a couple of weeks when that is done, we'll be doing a mom-made "thing" for a year or so. I don't push him to do it...he begs to have school, and he likes his little workbooks too. So what's a mom to do, LOL?
BTW, I work f/t. IKWYM about needing the benefits...for now, I'm the benefit provider for our household as well. I work 12-hr shifts, 3 or 4 a week, so I have more time at home than someone who worked 5 days a week. Childcare for us is a combo of dad/grandparents/daycare, depending on day and time. It all works out, and my kids seem to be doing fine with it :-)
I'm glad you found us here...feel free to bounce ideas off of us as you start making plans.
discussion title:
Can we HS & work full time?
message #:
12312.4 in response to 12312.1
Welcome! I work 4 jobs right now to have full time work hours. My dd is in 10th grade so my circumstances are a bit different than yours, but I think your plan sounds fine. You may find that you get pretty much everything covered in the AM or that you want to do everything in the PM. With the little ones school is less time. My 10th grader spends about 4-5 hours most days on school. Somedays are more, some might be a little less. You might want to check the laws for your state regarding the nanny doing any kind of teaching. HSLDA would be a good place to start for that. Good Luck! Keep us posted and once again welcome to the board! ~PJ
discussion title:
Can we HS & work full time?
message #:
12312.5 in response to 12312.1
Hi, Leeanne and welcome to the board. I don't work fulltime, so I'm not speaking from btdt experience, but I completely agree that you've got the major hurdle to working FT and hs'ing covered -- and that's your childcare. I also agree with the others that I think you're figuring much more school time than you'll actually need. You might want to check www.hslda.org for your state's requirements. Our state requires 4.5 hrs per day of instruction. For my younger two (5 and 3) we can finish all of their seatwork in about 30 minutes to an hour. When you're working one-on-one (or 2:1, 3:1, etc), it doesn't take you nearly the time that it takes a teacher with a room full of 30 kids.
I agree with bugsmom...check out all the types of hs'ing that are out there and find a good fit for your family -- keeping in mind that the right fit for your family may be a combination of two or more methods. I think you and your family already have an arrangement in place that would allow you to hs and work FT very effectively. Good luck in your decision. I hope you'll let us know what you decide.
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