hs'ing with DH home

[dm379]

DH is taking leave from yesterday - Oct. 1. So he'll be home allll the time. He's still on call so we can't go anywhere other than an occasional overnight. He already had to go in today. :001_huh:

 

So how do I not kill him?? :lol: I'm used to him being gone! And he's not used to the kids that much. The running joke is we only made it to 10 yrs. of marriage because he deploys every other year. But it's partially true.

 

I assigned him a unit study to design. I'm getting a kick out of his confusion. I think he is starting to appreciate how much work I put into this. We plan on taking a lot of day trips.

[ChristusG]

I'm not sure I could do it LOL!

 

There's just more ruckus when DH is home during the day.....which is not a bad thing unless I'm trying to do school. He likes to have the TV on and watch it at various times, etc. The kids would talk to him and ask him to play when they were supposed to be schooling. It would be crazy.

[OLG]

We did all of homeschooling with Dad home.....but, Dad had strict orders not to interrupt school like everyone else. At first, I tried to get him involved but he doesn't play well with others so that was not working which led to the 'just keep out of the way' plan. It worked! You can assign chef duties and errands for him - those seem to dovetail nicely! I think the day trip idea is excellent though! Why not take advantage of Dad time while he is there and you can always catch up later. Have fun!

 

Mary

[HollyB]

It's a big adjustment, but try to look at it as an opportunity. My dh worked 15+ hrs a day, then lost his job, and he was home for 15 months. Every day. I can't believe he made it out alive! ;) It was a challenge, for sure! We have two kids, so we did a lot of one-on-one teaching, and he did all of the science experiments with them. He also did some of the housework, grocery shopping, and errands during the school day. Doing those things made it feel like he wasn't just underfoot all the time. We also did a lot of field trips. Unemployment was stressful, but we were so grateful of the time we could be together as a family. He finally got to know the kids! :)

[cin]

My husband was home for 6 mos when we first started homeschooling. Pip was doing 4k and Zo had just come home from China. It was a wonderful blessing. Pip was in a pre-school program at our church that took several field trips. And he went with her while I stayed home with Zo. But it was only pre-k. We have our classroom in the basement, so I think if he was home, it wouldn't be problem. I would also take the opportunity to take some educational fieldtrips. Nature Center, farms, any nearby monuments, historical sites, etc. They will still be learning stuff, and once Dad's gone, you can buckle down and do the paperwork.

[Mama Geek]

DH is taking leave from yesterday - Oct. 1. So he'll be home allll the time. He's still on call so we can't go anywhere other than an occasional overnight. He already had to go in today. :001_huh:

 

So how do I not kill him?? :lol: I'm used to him being gone! And he's not used to the kids that much. The running joke is we only made it to 10 yrs. of marriage because he deploys every other year. But it's partially true.

 

I assigned him a unit study to design. I'm getting a kick out of his confusion. I think he is starting to appreciate how much work I put into this. We plan on taking a lot of day trips.

 

 

This sounds like the thread I read this morning discussing parents who are so happy to be sending their kids back to school.:D

[Cindyz]

My husband works from home and helps with the homeschooling. I narrow down the choices and then get him involved with making the final decisions about curriculum. He teaches MEP math, R.E.A.L. Science, Outdoor Hour Challenge and piano. He also takes over for me on the mornings when I have to leave the house for work.

 

I think at first he had confusion and uncertainty, but once he got going with it, he enjoys it and is doing a great job!

[KidsHappen]

When my hubby is on the bench (at home) he still has to work which sometimes included marathon phone calls that requires a quiet background. I am running a three ring circus here. It is almost impossible for us to both do our jobs in the same house at the same time and we even have seperate offices on different floors. He just hit the road again for the first time in six months and somehow we all managed to survive. I am not saying it was easy but it can be done. ;)

[HS Mom in NC]

My husband has worked from home since before we began homeschooling 10 years ago. There is an adjustment period for everyone. Parents in this situation have respect each other's territory and work.

 

1. Dad needs to work in his own space. My husband (a computer programmer) tried out every bedroom in our previous house until he settled on the one most remote from the heart of the home. Then he bought sound muting panels from Home Depot and attached them to the backside of his office door. By they way, if it doesn't have a door on it, it doesn't work as an office.

 

2. The children had to learn (by mom strictly enforcing) the rule that daddy is off limits during work hours. Making exceptions should be done extremely rarely and for very good reason.

 

3. Dad has strict rules about not distracting the children from school. If what he is doing does not directly contribute to the preservation of the finest aspects of Western Culture, then he can't do it around the kids during school hours. Since he's not prone to being idle or to interrupting, it's only been an issue a few times. He should behave the way he would if he was visiting his children in a public school classroom.

 

4. When dad teaches (at our house that is High School Math and Science integrated together after dinner during the week and in the afternoons on weekends) mom stays out of it and lets him do it without advice unless he begs for it-he's hasn't begged yet. Mom keeps the younger one busy while dad teaches in the office. (This house was purchased specifically for the bonus room over the garage to serve as an office. It's the most remote room in the house.)

 

We love the whole family at home lifestyle and my husband just told his boss that since the last two years have been him working on site rather than at home, it either has to change or he's leaving. We assume he will be leaving.

[LibraryLover]

My dh works at home more than 1/2 the time, so he is highly involved. We count on him. :) It will be fine. Really. :)

[Starr]

DH is taking leave from yesterday - Oct. 1. So he'll be home allll the time. He's still on call so we can't go anywhere other than an occasional overnight. He already had to go in today. :001_huh:

 

So how do I not kill him?? :lol: I'm used to him being gone! And he's not used to the kids that much. The running joke is we only made it to 10 yrs. of marriage because he deploys every other year. But it's partially true.

 

I assigned him a unit study to design. I'm getting a kick out of his confusion. I think he is starting to appreciate how much work I put into this. We plan on taking a lot of day trips.

 

There are so many things to say about this. :lol: The good news is that your children are young. Do what works and enjoy having him home. You can rework your school year in October. I would up the PE and field trips!

[Farrar]

My dh works overnights so he's home in the day. He doesn't interfere with our proper hs'ing time in the morning, but is always willing to help - to listen to a kid read or jump in if he's there. I feel like it's great to have him around. But he's always been around and we're used to being together as a family during the week.

[TKDmom]

I think I'd be finding all sorts of yardwork that needs to be done. And gardening. And landscaping. Oh, and our house is probably due for a coat of paint. And I'd really like it if someone could get around to re-caulking the kitchen. And the bathroom, too....

[Guest janainaz]

My family is together 24/7 (pretty much). My dh works from home, but we really don't see him except for lunch. He takes a walk with my ds10 every morning before he starts work, and when it is nice out he takes a walk at lunch (usually both my boys go and ride their bikes). Other than that, we do our thing, he does his. He really does not like being interrupted while he's working and I'm the same way. Unless we are off of school for the week (we school year-round and have a week off every month) - we are as busy at home as he is. When it is nice out, we get out of the house as much as possible.

[m0mmaBuck]

We run a business out of our house. DH is home for much of the day. He tries to stay in his workshop or in the office as much as possible, in part because he knows he distracts DS and in part because our studies (particularly history and science) will distract him and keep him from working.

 

Since your husband will only be on leave for a month, I think some fun unit studies and field trips would be fun.

[StephanieZ]

Take lots of vacation from school. Do field trips. Have fun. Set aside all the box checking for the month.

 

Get out the cool science experiement kits & books that you haven't found time for. Take nature walks. Collect leaves. Be silly. Make bubbles.

 

Cook great meals together. Maybe do a different country each week!

 

Have fun. Take a staycation.

 

Really. Truly.

 

Do it!

[Melissa in Australia]

My DH has been home for 10 years. It took us a while to adjust. What we have both found very important is to have our own personal space.

the thing I find the most annoying is he talks so much. I might be in the middle of a spelling test, and he comes in and wants to have a long conversation about politics, and gets really hurt if I am not interested at that moment!

[Peela]

My father used to go away a lot observing as an astronomer...once he stopped going away for weeks at a time...my parents divorced!

 

I on the other hand have a dh at home much of the time and it is a challenge so I know exactly what you mean. I really did have to train him to respect school time. He still thinks nothing of coming in and talking to us about whatever seem important to him, while we are in the middle of something else. A lot of the time, I do let it slide and jsut try to answer him quickly so he can go out of the room, but sometimes I really have to get assertive and place some boundaries around our school time. He does understand. He just forgets, or decides to keep testing those boundaries or something like that.

 

My dh has no interest in actually helping with school- he has other ways of interacting with the kids...and sometimes I need to remind myself that we homeschool for a variety of reasons and a bit more flexibility on my part to allow for a little bit of day to day flow, including a few interruptions from dh, helps it all go better. There is definitely a limit, though.