Any Ideas on Finding a Job?

I think your best bet would be working at a school in a non-academic role. Apply for positions in food services or the front office. You may also be able to be an aide in the library. They may need a playground monitor or lunchtime aide. Without a degree, I don't think you would have much luck being in a classroom setting, either as an aide or instructional assistant. I think a sub job would be out of the question without a degree.

Outside of the school system, maybe something like a coffee house that is busy in the mornings.

Are your kids old enough to be left alone in the morning before school for a bit? Or, is your husband able to stay home until they leave for school? Can they walk by themselves? If so, you can probably apply for jobs at places like Starbucks or breakfast restaurants (IHOP, Denny's) that need morning workers.

You could also consider working as a nanny/babysitter.

Do you have a particular skill or hobby? You might be able to get a job at a nursery or flower shop if you're good with gardening and flowers. You could teach art or music classes if you have skills in those areas. Just think outside the box of traditional jobs and something might come up.

Get a job, AT your kids school. Even if it is a part time job.
See what is available.
That way, you have the same hours and schedule as them and holidays/vacations etc.
I do that.

Don't allow other people's opinion of you dominate how YOU think of YOU. You are not stupid or slow, you have a learning disability and you are not alone.

Albert Einstein and Leonardo Di Vinci were both dyslexic and both were genises. Having a learning disability has nothing to do with intelligence.

I recommend you talk to an education counselor at a local University or Technical College. You can take tests and remedial classes to catch up. Then figure out what you want to study. You need to do this for you to see how smart you really are.

In the meantime if you really want a job and the same schedule as you kids look for something at the school or as a school bus driver.

Jan,
I have been job hunting and my best advice is to just jump on the internet and start scouting the job listing pages. I check Monster.com, careerbuilder, Linked In, KSL jobs (classified ads) daily. You can also just google "Lafayette PA jobs" and lists will pop up.

Take a week or so to put together a resume. There are plenty of articles online that give good advice on how to write a resume. Make sure you list volunteer positions you have held. Have either a career adviser or a friend with good writing skills look it over. Spend an hour or so creating a profile at Linked In, Career Builder and Monster.com.

Then just start checking out the job pages a few times a week. It is a great way to start seeing what skills employers value, what types of jobs are out there and what would work with your schedule. Also, put the word out on facebook and with your friends and family; networking is often a great way to find a job.

There are tons of office assistant jobs out there that are part time days. You could also get a job as a school bus driver, a crossing guard, a lunch lady, etc at your kids' school.

You ARE qualified to do something- start thinking of your strengths. Make a list of them. Do you like children? Are you organized? Do you enjoy helping others? What sort of qualifications do you have from volunteer work? Once you have a list of things you ARE good at, it will make looking for a job much easier.

BTW I do not have a college degree either. While I wish I did, there are still TONS of jobs out there that I would be great at. It is just a matter of finding the right one. Good luck!

I have a friend who owns a flower shop and the lady that does her deliveries has kids in school. It works out well, she works for a few hours each day and gets paid by delivery. You have to work extended hours on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, but other than that it fits pretty well with a school schedule.

Maybe a job in the food service at the kids school?

School cafeteria?
Clean houses on your own.
Do you sew?
Can you babysit?

Have you looked into temping

I have a degree in History, with a minor in Secondary Education. I haven't been able to get a sub job in our area, since it is very competitive and most positions are filled by teachers who had many years of classroom experience under their belt, which I don't have.

I'd look into other avenues--babysitting is great income if you are a great sitter. We pay ours the following hourly rates: $12/ 1 kid; $15/ 2 kids; $20/ 3 kids & $25 for all 4 kids.

I think I'd try to work with the school system. You may have a ton of other people trying to get on with the pseudo professional jobs. If you have any training with special needs you may find you could work as an aide with a child that has developmental disabilities. You could also find work as a teachers aide.

If you're willing to further your education it sounds like you might be good as a teacher. See what's available in your community.

Babysit. Tell teachers at your school that you babysit. They know you and they can drop their baby off in the morning and get them after school without running across town.

Check with your school district to see what kind of jobs are available. You probably aren't qualified to substitute teach right now (unless you live in an area with a shortage of teachers...in my area substitute jobs are coveted and go to people with teaching degrees or other degrees and experience), but there are administrative and service jobs in the system that don't require much by way of education.

Nursing home shifts for aides generally run the same schedule as the nurses, which is 7-3, 3-11 or 11-7, which doesn't sound like it would work for you, but there are housekeeping and food service positions in nursing homes that might run different shifts (housekeeping is a nice way of saying laundry and cleaning...there are lot of sheets to wash, bathrooms to clean, etc.).

When I was in high school and worked at a fast food restaurant and pizza shop, we always hired mothers for working the lunch shift. All of us high school and college kids were in school during the day so they needed people who could come in at 10 to set up and work until 2 to get through the lunch shift. Then the manager would usually be able to cover with just a few people from 2-4 and then the high school and college kids would be rolling in to work the dinner shift.

My advice would be to take your time with filling out applications. If possible, take applications home with you or download them or fill them out on-line and have someone else proofread for you before you bring the applications back or submit them on-line. If you struggled with school and have LDs, you want to make sure that you don't make a poor first impression by having an application filled out incorrectly, incompletely, or with things misspelled. Back when I was a snooty 16-year-old hiring manager for a restaurant (really, who puts a 16 year old in charge of staffing LOL?) I used to routinely pass over applications with messy handwriting, poor spelling, etc. In hindsight that may have been hasty and mean given that I was hiring people to make subs and serve pizza, but you never know who will be taking your application so make sure you put your best foot forward in writing as well as how you present yourself.

Fast food restaurants offer flexible hours and are often looking for staff who are available to work while the teens are in school. I used to manage a fast food restaurant and loved hiring SAHM's. They would work during the school year, then take all of the school holidays off, opening their shifts up for the students.

In my school division you need to have a degree in education to be a sub. Most of our subs are retired teachers, or teachers fresh out of university. You also need a degree to be an educational assistant or work in the office. Lunch supervisors do not need a degree, but that is only an hour a day. School cafeteria might be a good fit.

In our district, you have to be degreed to substitute. I've been a substitute for 13 yrs and I was not looking for this when I fell upon it. Our school was short on subs, I was there almost daily volunteering and I was asked if I would be interested. Our district is very picky and you must have a 4 yr degree to sub and if you are a long term sub ( say maternity leave for a teacher) then you must have your state certification to do so.

I don't sub that much and the 1 school where I do sub could keep me busy 3+ days a week. I'm not looking for that since I run our company from home and my subbing is a mental break for me. I average $500 a month not even trying to expand my schools or days.

However, if you are not degreed, don't give up.... you are eligible to be a teacher or special ed assistant. Also check into the cafeteria workers schedule.

Check with your school district to get specific requirements for assisting, etc.

Good luck .

Our school system requires subs and paraeducators to have a college degree. I believe that this is true in PA as well. MD gets a lot of teachers from PA because the public school job market there is very competitive.

Working in the school cafeteria might be a good fit. Also consider elder care agencies or those that serve the physically or developmentally disabled.

Sub or work in the cafeteria at your kid's school, or a bus driver I think your kids could ride your bus home.

Have you looked into getting certified as a substitute teacher? I believe it is only a short class to be qualified (1 or 2 days) and it would be the exact hours you are looking for.