Homeschool moms--Do any of you work outside the home AND homeschool?

Question

My 11 year old daughter is just not getting what she needs from public education. She failed math in every marking period yet was promoted to sixth grade. She constantly struggles as it takes her a bit longer to grasp concepts. She was tested, and she just squeeked by as not needing exceptional education services. There is no known learning disability. She just needs more focused attention from educators. I'm thinking of pulling her out of public school. She would be home during the day. My sister and her daughter take care of our baby in our home. My sister homeschools all of her children, so she would be there as a resource. My possible plan would be to have lessons for her to complete each day. She would work with her aunt as needed, and I would work with her each evening after work and dinner. Am I kidding myself or would this really work? I just want what is best for my daughter, and I feel like the public school system is setting her up for failure. Thank you!

Answer 1

I know you asked about working outside the home but I work from my home, and YES IT IS DO-ABLE... I opened my own business to supplement me staying at home all the time, and I take alot of time for my business, but you defiantly have to find a balance(for me it was having a set schedule and following it and adjusting my hours for there bedtimes and things like that-you will defiantly be more productive!)...With your child being older you honestly won't have alot of trouble...But it wouldn't hurt to try it and see...Home schooling is a passion of mine, for many different reasons and I hope that you can find it to mean alot to your family as well...

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 2

I think it would work :) My parents homeschooled my siblings and me (there were 4 of us homeschooled at a time) until high school. They both had jobs (with varying schedules) and worked with us before/after work and let us work on our own. I personally did much better in high school then I thought I would (4.0 GPA) after being homeschooled. If I ever have kids I plan on homeschooling them, from about 5-8 grade.

Perhaps you could try it for a year and see how it goes. Just make sure that she knows the rules and actually does the work you asign her. Probably the hardest part would be to keep her busy, but if your sister is watching her, she can play with the other kids after she's done with her work. Depending on the state you live in, there are some resources availiable to help you. In certain cities you can actually get together with several other families and go on field trips and things like that.

Here's a link to a google search for homeschooling resources.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1...

Answer 3

My advice: Talk to your sister. She's there doing it right now. It would probably be easier if your daughter was doing similar things to hers. It would be more enjoyable for everyone if subjects like science, history and art could be combined, for example. An 11 year old does not need to work all day, then with you at night too. That's just too much. Since your sister is there supervising, you are going to have to work as a team. You need to find out if your education goals are compatible, if she is willing to homeschool your daughter, how much of the load she is willing/ expects to carry etc. You can certainly make it work, but do your research and have lots of deep chats with your sister. Make sure you both know each others expectations, and whether you can work with them. I personally couldn't homeschool anyone else's kids unless their parent was willing to let me do what I thought was best. Obviously I'd accomodate their ideas if I could, but if I'm doing the job, ultimately I have to do it my way. For this reason, don't be offended if your sister won't agree to homeschool her. If she does have to say no, she can still babysit your daughter and you can work with her in the evenings and on weekends. Homeschooling doesn't have to happen between 9 and 3, M-F. It may happen that you and your sister can come to an agreement on some subjects, but not others. Anyway, it's a serious ask so you need to have lots of conversations about it and see if you can make it work.

Answer 4

I knew someone who was a single mom and worked out a similar deal with her sister, so that the aunt was with the boy during the day.  Worked great for them.

Just make sure that you and your sister are in agreement about what you expect of the child, that you have a plan in place for dealing with problems (disciplinary problems, sickness on the part of the child or your sister or your sister's children, money--if you are paying your sister for her help--like what will happen if you fall behind in payments and costs of field trips, if they take any, etc.), that you have a plan for what happens if your boss suddenly demands overtime work, that you have an agreement about whether some of your child's time could/should be spent doing chores for her aunt, etc.

This can be an excellent solution to a difficult problem--family working together to share resources.

Answer 5

I can't tell you if this is a good solution or not.  I think there are just a few things to consider.   A lot of people who work and homeschool their children, have their children working fairly independently.  This may or may not work for your daughter.  Since she is having difficulties in school right now, the question is why.  If she just doesn't like the school environment, then this might be a good solution.  If on the other hand, your child needs some more focused attention and real help, then there is more to consider.  

You say that your sister can help her during the day.  I would ask her if she could take on the extra workload.  If your daughter is doing a different curriculum then she is doing with her own children, this might be a lot for her to take on, especially with also taking care of your baby.  How many children does she already homeschool?

You also have to ask questions about yourself.  Do you like to tutor your daughter?  When you get home at night after a long day at work, did you feel up to helping her with her homework?  Is that something you enjoyed?  Do you have time to plan out her schedule?  Would your sister be able to take your daughter to other events so that your daughter could meet other homeschooling friends etc.?  Is that important to you or your daughter?  Some of these questions are ones that only you can decide.

What I might be tempted to do, is try it over the summer.  See if it will work.  You don't need to withdraw your child from school until school starts.  This way, you will have an opportunity to see if homeschooling is right for you!  It might very well be, in which case move forward.  If on the other hand, it doesn't work, you have lost nothing, and you might have caught your daughter up enough in school so that she can be successful.  

The important thing is just to do what is right for you and your daughter.  Trust your instincts as a parent.  They will usually serve you well!  Good luck!

Answer 6

Hi!

I have been homeschooling my son for two years doing just that.  I work full time and my son stays with my parents during the day.  I give him a checklist of assignments to complete and check it after work.  Sometimes I don't check it at all until the weekend, and he has half a day fixing mistakes.  We have learned to be pretty flexible.  

We were also very disappointed in the public schools, and also a private one we tried.  Homeschooling, even in the wacky way we go about it, has proven to be a lifesaver.  SO much better. The only thing to be careful about when choosing curriculum is to pick things that don't need a lot of teacher/parent demonstrations or scripted lessons.

I got a lot of helpful hints reading through the websites for The Robinson Curriculum, Accelerated Achievement, Old Fashioned Education, Joanne Calderwood,  Singapore Math, etc. I don't use all of these products, but the info was helpful for learning about self-teaching.

You can always try it for a year.  As long as she is reading, it is almost impossible for you to do a worse job than the school she was going to.  If it doesn't work out, brush up a little over the summer and she can go back without too much hassle.

Good luck in your decision.  I will say that homeschooling is the best thing I have done for my son, even if I'm not there as much as I would like to be.

Answer 7

Try schooling during the brunch hourse till two...then spend time with family, and work nights every other day.

God Bless!! :)

Answer 8

I think you should definitely go for it.  You have the one thing so many homeschooling mom/dads do not have which is solid support from a fellow homeschooler!!  That is a very good thing.

I work full-time and so does my husband.  We work opposite shifts so we do not need anyone to help with the children.

I do most of the teaching of new concepts etc....I manage to squeeze in a pretty solid schedule before I go to work.  I also give out homework to be done after I leave and in between the time their dad gets up.  When he gets up he checks the work and helps were needed etc....the children also call me at work for help until he gets up.  It works out pretty good for our family.  We do not do work over the weekend because our week is pretty full.   Enough rambling.

There is no greater feeling than when you watch the light bulb come on when your child finally gets the concept.  No one will be able to give more time and patience the your child until the light bulb comes on....than you.

Hope this helps......Good luck!!!!!

Answer 9

Sounds like an excellent plan to me.

I work from home as an insurance inspector but i have 2 days a week where I have to go out and do my inspections. On those days my husband is off and works with the kids. I do the rest of the week while he is at work.

I totally agree with you . If they passed her with failing grades then they are setting her up to fail if not just give up. Since your sister is already home schooling and if she has agreed to it then go for it! What grade/ grades is she teaching? If she is teaching the same grade as your daughter then she can easily give her the same work. Why add to her load if you don't have too?

Answer 10

As others have said, it is very doable.  Education does not have to happen in the 8-3 world of public school. :-)

My DH teaches/mentors all the math and science (except life science - that's mine!) while working around 60 hours a week.

If she needs math help, you might look into a self-teaching program such as Teaching Textbooks.  Part of her problem with math may be the mis-match of her learning style and the public school curriculum.  If she's an audio-visual learner, Teaching Textbooks would be great.  If she's very hands-on, then a curriculum such as Math-U-See would be great.  Try to match all of her curricula to her learning style.

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com

http://mathusee.com/

My son is 10 and he's very independent with his work - he just needs reminding to stay on task and he needs a daily & weekly plan to work from.

There are several "working moms who HS" groups on Yahoo Groups.  That would help, as would joining your local HS'ing group(s).  If there are any HS'ing conventions, I would recommend spending the money to attend.

Ask your sister for input on curricula also.  If she's doing the mentoring/daytime teaching, then she needs a curriculum to fit her teaching style also. :-)

You will be very tired, but what moms aren't?  Kudos to you!

Answer 11

It sounds like a good  plan to me.

We started homeschooling when my son was in 8th grade.  It has been great for our family.

I work in the public school as bus driver and cafeteria worker.  We take advantage of my schedule and my husband's schedule to do the 'tutoring' part of the day which includes discussing subjects and checking work.  

He learns more at home than he learned in school  It is a more efficient use of time.   He learns best with one on one attention.  He has more time for friends since he is not spending his nights doing what he should have learned during the day in classtime while he was in public school.

It will be your relationship with her and your sister's relationship with her  that will create the better learning environment.  

Our public school teachers do not have the time to develop that important element with their workload and short length of time they have to know their students.  You have had 11 years to develop that relationship and you know your daughter better than any paid government employee could know her.

Answer 12

I am not a mother but my mother did a part time Job why she home schooled me and my siblings