Working and Home Schooling

Yes, I do. I found through trial and error that for us we had to school first thing in the morning, or it didn't get done. So I began working after 1pm in the afternoon. The housework went downhill but my kids are old enough now to pitch in. It is tough, especially if you are working full time and home schooling. But a little scheduling can go a long way.

I don't work, but we are planning on doing a version of homeschooling next year that may interest you. It is online public school. Basically, you are homeschooling (a 4 hr per day commitment), but you do not have to do any of the extra work like the lesson plans, the grading, and the research. Since it is public school, everything is provided to you and mailed to your home free of charge (computer, printer, all books and materials, etc). The children take a placement test, so each subject will be at their level.

If you are in Oregon... Oregon Connection Academy, or Oregon Virtual School.
If you are in Washington...Washington Virtual Academy

I work part-time out of home, and homeschool 5 children ages 15 to 7. We school in the evenings, and weekends. The State Dept. Education website lists charter schools in Idaho. Many are home educating schools, they provide the materials, a contact teacher, social activities, ect.... Our family uses Idaho Distance Education Academy, and have been happy with it.
Do you have any homeschool groups in your area? These are of great help when starting out.
Best Wishes as you start this journey in homeschooling.
I notice you live in WA state please check out the State requirements, some states require parents to have so many college credits, last I knew WA state was one of them.

I have done both, home school and public school. personally I do not recommend home schooling for a five year old/ why? one of the most important things they learn in the first 3 years of school is socialization. I suggest letting her go to school with her peers, and then impliment a home school teaching program of an hour before school and an hour after school. there are both state and federal home school programs. Not knowing what state you're in, when the little ones are totally home schooled, you have to have a certified teacher give the tests. that may be a problem in a small community. i have raised a 27 and 24 year old girls and now raising an 8 year old boy. Another thing to consider, you need a little time away from the child for yourself. the few hours they are away in the beginning can be tough at first, mild case of empty nest, but you could even use this time to research new exciting ideas for teaching. if you do decide to totally home school, have a room used only for that. good luck!

My husband and I worked opposite shifts. He was good with science and Math. I am good with writing and art. There would be two homework times. One with Dad and one with Mom to make sure everything was covered. Eventually I quit working because I wasn't making a high enough wage, so it made more sense to stay home and cook from scratch, and sell a car. :)

The internet is flooded with options on homeschooling. It can depend on your values as to what you do. Some like a religious connection others go for straight basics. Edhelper.com has been a great resource. Going to an electronics and picking up educational based computer games making learning fun is good too. My kids loved the Reader Rabbit series. I was just watching my 3 yr.old playing a matching game on it the other day. A fun way to teach basic skills.

In Salem, there is a place called The Learning palace that is full of workbooks and educational toys. Also looking on Amazon.com too.

Hope that helps....

J.

P.s. I disagree with needing to socialize your child in the Public school system. In public school,children are introduced to kids who have been abused and molested and share that information with the innocent. I often get comments on how polite and calm my kids are. I think it is because they were socilized with adults instead of bullies and brats.

My goal was to keep my children children as long possible so they didn't have the stress of trying to be cool or sexually mature before their time.

It is possible to fit it all in. Some of the things that you probably already do count as school time, such as reading books, doing art projects, or sports activities. The other great thing about home schooling is that you can set your own schedule. If it works better for you to do school in the evening or on the weekend, you can do that. I am home schooling my 8 year old and have a 3 year old at home as well. I also do a little bit of part-time work. Sometimes, while I work on the computer I have my son working on his schooling next to me. That way I can help him stay focused (he has ADHD) and be available to answer questions. In order to get started, you have to file a paper with the school district that you live in. Some districts have programs set up for home school kids and others leave you on your own. I believe that people are required to meet with a certified teacher one hour per week. I am a certified teacher myself, so I don't have to do that. Anyhow, I hope this helps! S. C

I have also heard great things about the Connections Academy. I have a friend who has both her children (a son in 5th grade and a daughter in 3rd grade) enrolled in this school and they just love it. Her children are extremely bright ~ even taking her kids to the charter school where my son attends wasn't flexible enough to allow her kids to progress at the faster rate they were able to go. So she opted for this home-based public school and loves it. The kids are done with school in 3-4 hours and are learning at the rate they can and want to go.

The Oregon site is http://www.connectionacademy.com/state/home.asp?schoolCod..., and you might be able to get to Washington's site from there.

I do medical transcription and a phone customer support job from home and find that I do not have enough time in the day to do all of it, so I am hoping to eventually be able to cut back some, if not all, of my work so I could possibly bring my son home for his schooling. I'll be honest; though I work from home and thus am able to be here with my (soon-to-be) 3-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, working the nearly full-time hours I work and being the kind of mom/wife I want to be is really hard. I have been feeling very drained as of late trying to balance it all. I'm also training to become an exercise instructor, so I guess you can say I have a lot going on (like most moms).

Having said that, I'm sure that with the proper schedule and balance between working and schooling, you can probably accomplish both! Like one of the other people said, sometimes the housework wasn't done, so you will probably find something has to give. But your kids are the most important, so I guess I would say make them the priority (which is sounds like you are).

Good luck!!!

Mom of two beautiful redheaded children and wife to my husband of nearly nine years.

Hi,

I am also a 32 year old single mom and this past year left a job of 5 years so that I could stay home and homeschool my son. I am going to school myself for becoming a medical transcriptionist which I will do from home. My son and I do a paper route right now to pay the bills and yes it does pay the bills :-). I have had to juggle things to find a routine that works for us. Right now it is sort of difficult only because our hours are so weird with the route. But doing school myself is preparing me for what it will be like to juggle work and homeschooling. The schedule that I find is going to work best is to get up earlier and get a few hours in then spend three hours or so with teaching my son. When you homeschool it is not an all day event you can cover what you need in just a few hours. Then make sure that you are also doing life learning not just book learning. Time spent in the kitchen with you, nature walks, field trips. Are you part of the Whatcom Homeschooling Association? I would highly recommend signing up with them. There is lots of activities through them and it is nice to have other homeschooling families to meet up with. I believe that it is only $20 for the year. Good Luck and we will be praying for you and your family. Also I would not do the online version of public school. The whole point of homeschooling is to get away from the secular viewpoint and be in charge of what your children learn otherwise your child is still going to school only in your home on a computer that is not homeschooling.

Mama4ever

http://www.oceanetwork.org/highres.cfm is a great resource

And don't worry - homeschooling doesn't take the full 6-8 hours spent at a public school and it doesn't have to be in the morning, my 6 year old gets less than an hour a day of school and that's really all he needs.

Good luck, stick with it!

I home schooled my son who is in college now. The hard part is not listening to the negative people, planning, asking for help and dedication to stick it out. It is not the hours in a day- like in a regular classroom-there are interruptions all day-home schooling can be an hour here and an hour there-it is the quality of time in a subject. A field trip to the store can be turned into a learning experience. There are free learning lessons off the web. There are so many choices- Online school- even for kindergarten. At home course school curriculum DVD or books. A home school site I would recommend is www.homeschool.com lot of information available to you.
I think it's great you want the best for your child.
All my best
Storyteller

Dear S.R.,

The first thing you should do is check the laws regarding homeschooling in your state. These laws are found in the Administrative Code of your state. The laws will give you specific requirements to follow and will tell you at what age of the child you must begin reporting homeschooling. Most states and/or counties have homeschooling organizations which offer support groups, curriculum ideas, field trips, art & music classes, etc. Also, many public school have a homeschool liason who can assist you with legal requirements. In many states homeschooled students may take certain classes such as foreign language or band with the regular students. Most communities also offer sports, nature walks etc. for children which are great for socialization.

I homeschooled four children as a single mom for many years while working. I found that trying to use anything I had to do at home as an educational opportunity helped everything fit together. Those years were some of the busiest of my life, but also the most fun.

H. N.

Hi SR, I'm new to this site and I usually just stay in the background,but...I have homeschooled for five years now. I don't work outside the home, but thought I might be able to help a little. It does depend on what state you live in for what the laws are about homeschooling. (just google homeschooling for your state) I went to yahoo groups and searched for groups. I found groups in my state of parents who homeschool. There are lots and there are parents who do everything from one parent at home to both working full time.It just does depends on how conventional or nonconventional you want to be. There are many types of homeschooling everything from unschooling to the classroom in your home. Try www.homeschool.com there are tons of websites also your public library will have some of the many books on homeschooling. As far as fitting it all in, my advice is set goals and priorties then make a flexable shcedule and don't beat yourself up if you get off track sometimes the best learning moment comes in an unplanned moment! Hope some of this helps!

I'm not sure how to set it up so the state knows what you're doing, but I do know - my mother used the Calvert School when she home schooled my siblings, and LOVED it. It's a school in a box, complete with paper and pencils. It has everything you need, and it kept her sane instead of trying to pick out her own curriculum.