If your spouse is a teacher . . .

[Tracy]

How do you schedule your school time?

 

My DH is a high school teacher. Because he doesn't get anything done at home, he stays at work until it is done, so he usually doesn't get home until dinnertime. Then we eat, and he as about an hour to play with the kids before bedtime rituals begin.

 

We originally thought that he would participate more in teaching the kids, but he is a "fun dad" and things just don't get done when he is around. It would seem like a good idea to only have school when he has school, but we take time out for field trips and other activities. And at this stage, we pretty much throw school out the window when we are sick. So it seems like we should still be doing some school work even when DH has time off. But when I try to schedule things when he is home, it feels like we are trying to fit the proverbial square peg into the round hole.

 

On top of it all, I really feel like we need to take the month of December off, because I get really stressed with the holidays. I just can't fit in the extra holiday crafts, cookies, activities if something else doesn't give. So it seems like taking the summer off, 6 weeks in the winter, 1 week in spring, and every legal holiday is too much time off. Any thoughts?

[Daisy]

My husband goes back to work 2 weeks before the students do. We go ahead and start school at that point. So I have 2 weeks to use as our "sick days". I pretty much follow his work schedule. He doesn't really want us doing school while he is home, though he would never whine about it. He just wants to go dig in the yard or take a trip to the mountains. LOL.

 

The one exception to that is that we do math year round. My husband usually works 5 weeks of summer school and we'll occasionally do work during that time as well.

 

It works for us. I don't really have any desire to take off for extended periods of time during the school year. We'd just be bored with no family in state and hubby gone to work.

Edited November 10, 2010 by Daisy

[mom31257]

My dh is a high school teacher as well. As far as the day goes, he leaves the house at 7 and is usually home no later than 5. Our high school starts at 7:40 and ends at 3. We are usually always done with school by the time he is home. If I've left something for that evening (errands out or something during the day), he just usually uses that time to watch some news or work on his own class he's taking online. I don't see it as a problem because if they were in school there would be homework to do. I also don't feel bad because I know, in the long run, the dads who are teachers have WAY more time with their kids than those in regular year-round jobs.

 

As far as our year goes, I do schedule our days around his. He is supposed to work 190 days, but there are 6 furlough days this year. We have to do 180 days, so I start when he begins pre-planning. I usually would have 10 extra days to take off during the year, but not this year.

 

I love our school calendar here, too. He started near the end of July and has a full week off in Oct, Nov, Feb, and April, as well as 2.5 weeks in December. We should be done by the end of May.

 

I did the filing system this summer and it has been great. I have most everything right in the folder for each week. If something happens that I need to do something like a field trip or someone is sick, I can just go through the work and weed out the extras and only do the necessities. It has really helped keep me on track for the year. I used to always be behind because if we missed a day, I would try to make up all the work. I realized I don't have to do every single thing in every curricula.

 

Another thing I did was have the kids do some work in the summer on LA and math so that they only need to do those 4 days a week instead of 5. You could always schedule our the rest of the year planning for some things a couple of days a week in the summer.

 

If I were you, I would take the holidays off and get a plan together during that time. It's not worth being stressed out at what should be a fun and delightful time. You could set a filing system for the rest of the year. I wrote about my filing system on my blog here. If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer them. Just pm me.

[Daisy]

I just noticed your children are 2yo and 5yo. If you take the month of December to read holiday books and do crafts, you are STILL doing school. LOL. :lol:

[Beatusduo]

We originally thought that he would participate more in teaching the kids, but he is a "fun dad" and things just don't get done when he is around.

I coordinate my school schedule with my husband's. When we first started it took us a while to get into the groove and work out dads home no school, we want to play with dad, etc. Yes, we went through the "Fun dad" period. For the last two years my dh does the history part of school. He sets his homeschool schedule and we both make it work for our family. Since I also work outside the home, it gives my husband special time to teach the dc without my interference. They get two teachers, with different expectations, and different teaching methods. We do try and coordinate some field trips together, but we also do trips with the dc alone.

I found it helpful to look at my husband's schedule in advance. Holidays, conference times, etc. This way we are more likely to be on the same page and there aren't too many suprises.

 

I also try and do "fun" activities with the dc. Since we wear many hats; teacher, mother, lunch lady, custodian and the list goes on....

I try and loosen up, enjoy my time and occasionally be the "fun Mom"

 

It takes will take some trial and error and constant re-evaluation, but you will find a system that works.

 

Then comes summer!!! Our first few summers were chaotic. We had our schedule, he had his and they didn't mesh well. LOL

 

I even plan holiday decorating, cookie making so that we can fit it all in and enjoy the process instead of dreading it. But that's another thread.

 

Good Luck.

[kokotg]

Sometimes we plan to do school when DH is around, but it rarely actually happens. Like other posters have said, we start when he starts, which is a week before the students, so we have a few extra days to play with (he has 4 furlough days this year, but we actually did 2 days with him home his planning week). He's a math teacher, and I'm not mathy at all, so I'd love it if he had time to do all the math with our kids, but there's really just not time. He usually tutors after school, so he doesn't get home until 5 or 6, and by then the kids want to hang out with him and play, not do a math lesson. He is doing a math club for my oldest son and some other kids this year, and he does piano lessons with all the kids on weekends.

[abbeyej]

Your kids are itty-bitty. :) Honestly, as they get older and you really *need* to fit in more days each year, I think it will also naturally get easier. With your oldest only 5 or 6, I wouldn't worry too much if you don't fit in X number of school days each year. Do the best you can with the days your dh is at work. But don't fret if wonderful field trips come up or if you want to spend December baking cookies and reading Christmas books, etc.

 

And just take joy in the time your still-very-small kiddos get to spend and enjoy with their dad when he's around. :)

 

My dh is a professor, so he works from home in the summers and some days during the school year. Now that the kids are older, they understand that even though Daddy is home, he has work to do and so do they on school days. It may not be *quite* as smooth as on days when he's working at school, but it's okay. ... And as your dh sees the kids grow and you working with them, he'll learn to respect school time more. At 5 and 6 though, those hours spent with Daddy are so very precious. Let them enjoy. I promise you'll still have plenty of time for algebra. ;)

[hsbeth]

I'm also married to a high school teacher. We loosely schedule our school around his. Like other posters I've found it difficult to do school when he is home. He usually works 190 days but has 8 furlough days this year. He teaches during the summer as well, so is truly only around for the last couple of weeks in July.

 

He is a great sounding board, especially in the areas of math and science, but does little school work with the kids. I admit to being frustrated at times about that.

[michelle l]

I just noticed your children are 2yo and 5yo. If you take the month of December to read holiday books and do crafts, you are STILL doing school. LOL. :lol:

:iagree:

[tangomoon]

We started "official" school when Daddy went back for his first inservice or prep day, since that's when it feels like summer ends for us. We're still at the beginning stages, too, and I'm sure glad that the official recordkeeping doesn't start in K here. This is giving me a year or two to get in the habit of things, and learn what works and doesn't in terms of schedules.

[Tracy]

I just noticed your children are 2yo and 5yo. If you take the month of December to read holiday books and do crafts, you are STILL doing school. LOL. :lol:

 

Yes, I do realize this. :) But I am thinking about it now because DH's day off for tomorrow reminded me of the last couple of summers. Last year, we did nothing for school, and dd couldn't remember how to write her letters when we started back up in Sep. So this year, I wanted her to do copywork 3x/wk and math activities (not a program) just 2x/wk. And almost none of it got done. The plan seemed so simple but nothing got done, because I was tired of being the "bad guy."

 

Luckily, I am not in a state that requires a certain number of days, so it doesn't matter on that front. I am just wondering whether schooling 8 months per year is going to cut it. Right now, dd is way ahead of her age-peers, so I don't stress about too much. Well, I guess it is hard for me to just focus on the now and not have everything from K-12 all planned out. :tongue_smilie:

[Stacy in NJ]

I just noticed your children are 2yo and 5yo. If you take the month of December to read holiday books and do crafts, you are STILL doing school. LOL. :lol:

 

Isn't that what all the 5yo's in ps will be doing? :D

[Anne]

Your kids are itty-bitty. :) Honestly, as they get older and you really *need* to fit in more days each year, I think it will also naturally get easier. With your oldest only 5 or 6, I wouldn't worry too much if you don't fit in X number of school days each year. Do the best you can with the days your dh is at work. But don't fret if wonderful field trips come up or if you want to spend December baking cookies and reading Christmas books, etc.

 

And just take joy in the time your still-very-small kiddos get to spend and enjoy with their dad when he's around. :)

 

My dh is a professor, so he works from home in the summers and some days during the school year. Now that the kids are older, they understand that even though Daddy is home, he has work to do and so do they on school days. It may not be *quite* as smooth as on days when he's working at school, but it's okay. ... And as your dh sees the kids grow and you working with them, he'll learn to respect school time more. At 5 and 6 though, those hours spent with Daddy are so very precious. Let them enjoy. I promise you'll still have plenty of time for algebra. ;)

 

 

This. Exactly.

 

:iagree:

 

Anne

[MaMa2005]

DH is a high school teacher. We start back when he goes back for pre-planning and then follow his calendar. When DH is home, DS thinks it is playtime :001_smile:. It has worked great for the last two years and we will continue along these lines.

 

We start school at 7:45 when DH leaves for work and we are finished by the time he arrives home around 5:00.

[smilesonly]

my dh teaches college, and for the last 3 yrs has taught evening classes. since he, too, is a *fun* dad, i try to make sure things get done well before he arrives home.

b'c of his work hours, we have adjusted our schooling-so the dc are up late and sleep later. it works for us, most of the time.

also, ita with the pps-take ALL of december off to just read Christmas books, bake, shop, do crafts, listen to music-enjoy these tender years as they go by fast.;)

[boscopup]

Last year, we did nothing for school, and dd couldn't remember how to write her letters when we started back up in Sep.

 

In a traditional school, they spend about the first 4-6 weeks doing review of last year's work, because the students have forgotten much of it over the summer. So if you take off for summer, I would plan a "review time" where you don't have expectations of doing anything new. In my son's first grade class at a private school, a good 6 weeks into the year, the teacher sent an e-mail saying that as of that week, they were doing first grade work.

 

Another alternative is to take a couple subjects like math and writing and include short bits into your day during the summer, even if you don't call it "school". Have her write shopping lists, letters to friends, etc. Have her do some basic math while cooking, things like that to keep things fresh in her mind. You can still do those things when your husband is home. Surely there are times that he wants to spend to himself, and you can use those times to inject some education so it isn't forgotten. ;)

 

My son was very bored during the "review of Kindergarten" time of first grade this year since he'd done a Summer Bridge Activities workbook over the summer, just a few days a week. That kept everything fresh, so he was ready to start first grade when school started. It just didn't dawn on me at the time that that would make him even more bored as they spent 6 weeks on K work. :lol:

[Testimony]

Your children are little!:w00t:

 

OK,:chillpill: You know the purpose why kindergarten was half day was it was designed to get a child acclaimated(spelling??) to school. The child would go to school for a few hours and then come home. Nowadays, with full time working mothers, it is all day kindergarten. However the philosophy of a little bit of school has not gone away. At age 5 and 6, they are still teaching a child how to sit in a chair, listen in storytime, and put on their clothes. When I homeschooled at that age, it took me at most 2 hours to do school if that much. You could take December off and be OK.

 

These are the ages where going to the library for storytime, going to the museum, and going to the park were optimum opportunities for education. Don't let it pass you by!!

 

Blessings in your homeschooling journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

Edited November 15, 2010 by Testimony
don't know

[Tracy]

There may come a time when you have to push through, but your oldest is 5 yo so you are not there yet.:D

 

That is really why originally posted this question. I am not so concerned about what we are doing now. But it seems that it cannot be this way forever, hence my question about how others do it.

[ABQmom]

That is really why originally posted this question. I am not so concerned about what we are doing now. But it seems that it cannot be this way forever, hence my question about how others do it.

 

No, you are right--it can't go on that way forever. My dh is a "fun dad" too. I am so grateful for that. When the kids were little he played and played with them. They love their dad. They need their dad to play with them when they are young. That play is instrumental in their development. As my kids are growing older, his relationship with them is changing too. He is still a fun dad and does different kinds of "play" with them, but he also makes time now to help my oldest with math and science. It has become a necessity, and so, he makes time for that.

 

You are probably worrying about something that doesn't need to be worried about right now. Let your dh do his job and you do yours. Your kids need loving, playful, fun parents right now. There is plenty of time for academics. Kids forget and need lots of review. That's why they go to school for 12 years. Ha! The time with little ones is short--I know it may not seem that way to you now, but believe me, it goes by fast. You will regret it later if you spend this time worrying. Enjoy the kids! Take the month of December off! :grouphug:

[Tracy]

No, you are right--it can't go on that way forever. My dh is a "fun dad" too. I am so grateful for that. When the kids were little he played and played with them. They love their dad. They need their dad to play with them when they are young. That play is instrumental in their development. As my kids are growing older, his relationship with them is changing too. He is still a fun dad and does different kinds of "play" with them, but he also makes time now to help my oldest with math and science. It has become a necessity, and so, he makes time for that.

 

You are probably worrying about something that doesn't need to be worried about right now. Let your dh do his job and you do yours. Your kids need loving, playful, fun parents right now. There is plenty of time for academics. Kids forget and need lots of review. That's why they go to school for 12 years. Ha! The time with little ones is short--I know it may not seem that way to you now, but believe me, it goes by fast. You will regret it later if you spend this time worrying. Enjoy the kids! Take the month of December off! :grouphug:

 

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I don't know why I keep needing these reminders. Well, I guess it is because worry comes so easily to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

Thanks again. I really appreciate the time that everyone has taken to share.

[abbeyej]

FWIW, I really do agree with Abqmom... Yes, things will have to change at some point. I'm a big believer in consistency (perhaps because it's one of the things I struggle with!), and there will certainly come a time when you just *can't* fit everything in on the days when your dh is teaching *and* when you don't have field trips and nobody's sick and there's no crisis at home and... But, you know, when the time comes you *will* be able to make that work. Your kids will be older. Your dh will take their work time more seriously. You'll find ways to work around his being home and the kids' needing to study. They'll probably be less likely to pick up viruses when they're a little older. You'll be motivated to plan to off-times better...

 

If you're committed, it *will* work out as they get a little older. :) Try not to spend too much energy now thinking about how you might deal with potential problems at some point in the future -- especially when those problems will likely take care of themselves.

 

Really. I promise. :) It'll work out. :) And yes, it's *wonderful* that your little ones have a fun dad with so much time to spend with them and who sets a high value on interacting with them. I'm *not* telling you not to have high academic expectations -- I think those are very important -- but time with Dad? That's irreplaceable.

[Tiramisu]

Dh is definitely a fun dad. He comes home early from school to be with the kids, does a lot of stuff with them, and gets any work done after they go to sleep at night. It's really hard to stay on a strict school schedule when he's home so we've adapted by following his school's schedule, except for some math and handwriting over the summer for the littler ones. Quite honestly, with everything going on around here, the subject he's responsible for doesn't always get done according to *my plan*, but it does get done. I'm so very thankful that his school schedule allows him to spend so much time with our girls in the afternoons and the summers, even if it means giving up other things-- like money! :D