tricia Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I've seen several posts here lately and I pray for all those trying to determine which choices will best suit their families. In light of it all I just wanted to share an upside to working and homeschooling. My sister in law has 4 children ages 15 to 5 and she has been working since her first was born. In her home though. Nevertheless, she holds a full time job and homeschools. She is quite a bit younger than I am and I always say that when I grow up I want to be just like Mary. Here are what her days look like. Rise at 5 AM. Off to the gym to instruct a fitness class for an hour. Home to shower and wake up children around 7. Scriptures reading/devotionals/breakfast/chores/and schooling until noon. Then to her salon to do hair for 8 hours. She and her kids are amazing. And smart I might add. Her kids are great and extremely capable. Her husband does teach history each Saturday to the kids. I believe they are doing Story of the World. I hope this helps anyone out there work through this delicate dilemma. Mary keeps a tight schedule everyday and she really shows her commitment and dedication and desire to keep her kids home. Warmly, Tricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Dh and I both worked full time while homeschooling for many years. I worked 8am-4pm and he worked 5pm- 1am. We split all the housekeeping and homeschooling right down the middle and it worked great to be honest! It can be pretty busy but it can be done. I hope everyone can find a solution that works for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thank you both for sharing your experiences as my dh and I kick around our possible solutions these days. We decided to start school early in anticipation that our terrible pinch point financially will be next spring. That way, we'll have the time to get seasonal work as soon as it becomes available here, without the school year still looming over our heads. It's nice to read how others have done it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have worked and homeschooled in the past and my experience is that neither place gets my best. The job suffers, the kids suffer - it isn't a good situation for me. I know a lot of people can make it work, but I am not one of them. To homeschool my dc takes my all - if my attention is divided they don't get what they need. That's just me, though.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 That's just me, though.;) Hey Renee, I think that's kinda me too. :D Notice, school will be over before I pick up the seasonal work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Every time I've tried to go back to work or school, the house falls apart, Dh's schedule changes or he gets overtime (these are things he has no say in in his lines of work), and things aren't getting done. We actually save money and sanity by my being home. I'm trying to get something going in the evenings, but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have worked and homeschooled in the past and my experience is that neither place gets my best. The job suffers, the kids suffer - it isn't a good situation for me. I know a lot of people can make it work, but I am not one of them. To homeschool my dc takes my all - if my attention is divided they don't get what they need. That's just me, though.;) I have worked too and am the same way. I can't do both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have worked too and am the same way. I can't do both. Maybe it is because we have so many? If I only had my older ones, it might work easier. I have told myself that I will re-evaluate working again when the youngest is starting K. Of course, I have to tell myself this over and over again as I catch myself reading want ads once or twice a week!:tongue_smilie: I am open to babysitting for others if the right situation comes along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Maybe it is because we have so many? If I only had my older ones, it might work easier. I have told myself that I will re-evaluate working again when the youngest is starting K. Of course, I have to tell myself this over and over again as I catch myself reading want ads once or twice a week!:tongue_smilie: I am open to babysitting for others if the right situation comes along. I think that's the ticket, we have so many. My house would --I can't even imagine. I mean, the kids could pick up some of the burden of running a house, but even for me, it's a full time job. Full time. Now if I had two or three? Then I could probably work outside the house and school. But the OP said her sister has been doing it since the first was born and now has 4. Yeah, I could see myself doing that in the beginning years. With the twins (children 4/5) and then another (#6) a year after, I could barely breathe each day let alone work added to homeschooling. Tricia, to say your family is beautiful is an understatement. (I checked out your blog :-) ) Edited August 10, 2011 by justamouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrabean2005 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thanks for posting this. It can be successful. We've always worked and homeschooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I work and homeschool too. So does DH - worse, he drives a truck and I am IT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Despite my avatar here, I am not a superhero in real life. :) As much as I would have liked to continue homeschooling full time when it became necessary for me to go back into the workforce, I knew I (and I speak only for myself here) would be shortchanging my girls if I tried to work and take full responsibility for my kids' education and all that goes into planning and implementing a complete curriculum. We chose to enroll our kids in the local public school and afterschool them, and that's another option that could be considered by those facing a similar position, though it obviously wouldn't be an option for those who object to public school under any circumstances. I've never personally held the view that my kids would never set foot in a school or that homeschooling was our only option, though. A key factor for me that wouldn't be an issue for others is that I would have needed to find outside child care during the day, as my husband and I both have jobs with regular work hours and we do not have family in the area. Even if anyone in our small town offered child care for school-age kids during the school year, paying someone to watch them during the day for the sole purpose of keeping them out of school didn't make much sense—and would have cost me a lot of cents! Afterschooling has meant adjusting to a new schedule and incorporating someone else's academics into my overall educational goals for my kids. But so far it works pretty well for our family. We deal with issues as they come up, and there have been benefits as well. I'm joining the school's site council this school year and am working on developing good, cooperative relationships with the principal and teachers. There is a lot of community support and parental involvement at the school, and I think that also makes a difference. Edited August 10, 2011 by WordGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Sending kids to school here is absolutely out of the question. You cannot believe how bad the schools are here. Neighbour kids tell me not to ever send my kids and have even asked if I could homeschool THEM for their parents. My husband has been working for the school district (there are abt 20 schools here) before he starts his other job. The schools aren't just having trouble academically, the schools themselves are literally falling apart. He's talked with staff and knows things that have happened and go on. There is no way you could even PAY us enough to send them. It's not just academics; it's about health and safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Sending kids to school here is absolutely out of the question. You cannot believe how bad the schools are here. Neighbour kids tell me not to ever send my kids and have even asked if I could homeschool THEM for their parents. My husband has been working for the school district (there are abt 20 schools here) before he starts his other job. The schools aren't just having trouble academically, the schools themselves are literally falling apart. He's talked with staff and knows things that have happened and go on. There is no way you could even PAY us enough to send them. It's not just academics; it's about health and safety. Our schools are the same. Bad, bad, bad and even worse for those who are not on the academic honors track. This was not true in FL, and we did send them to ps there. It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't detrimental. I have, however, found a local private school that would be an option if I were working FT. It is affordable because of the way they structure their tuition for large families. I plan to also look at our private/charter options again in the spring, just to make sure we are making the best choice for our family. We are not destitute, though. If it came down to it and I had to work so we could eat, it would mean dh was unemployed and *he* would be home during the day. We've been down that road before and the options are not as simple as it seems when discussing hypotheticals on an internet message board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 We own two businesses. I teach dance in the evenings and DH has a window cleaning business. Sometimes our schedules overlap and we need a sitter for a couple of hours. Other times I take the kids with me and DH picks them up when he is done. I do most of our school work. Ii may leave independent work for DS to do while I am working. We even do school after I get home some nights. We make it work, but we also have 2 kids. With 4-8 kids I think it would be different. We would like to have 4, but at this point the two we have will be in at least the 3rd and 6th grades before number 3 was ready for Kindergarten. It is possible, but I can see how it would get hard with more kids. The older kids would have to take on more responsibility around the house and possibly help the littler ones with some schoolwork. It would take some sacrifice from everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I work pt and hs and it used to be easier, but as I get older it gets harder. I worked too much this last spring and my 11yo suffered. She did not do well on her standardized testing, although she is not a good test taker anyway, and I feel guilty. My son needs the money for tuition though. When he is doing well I will have him work part time and pay for his own CC, but until then I will work extra to pick up the bill. When so many people don't have work I feel responsible to be grateful for our life. I'm going to impliment the file system this year and we will definately take more tests for practice. I am not all things to all men, but I have got to do better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Sending kids to school here is absolutely out of the question. You cannot believe how bad the schools are here. That's a fair point. Where we used to live when I started homeschooling, I wouldn't have even considered the local school district, which is one of the worst in the whole state. Where we live now, the school situation is completely different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Maybe it is because we have so many? If I only had my older ones, it might work easier. I have told myself that I will re-evaluate working again when the youngest is starting K. Of course, I have to tell myself this over and over again as I catch myself reading want ads once or twice a week!:tongue_smilie: I am open to babysitting for others if the right situation comes along. I do think that's a big part of it. I know the older ones would step up, but in the end it just wouldn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginevra Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I've seen several posts here lately and I pray for all those trying to determine which choices will best suit their families. In light of it all I just wanted to share an upside to working and homeschooling. My sister in law has 4 children ages 15 to 5 and she has been working since her first was born. In her home though. Nevertheless, she holds a full time job and homeschools. She is quite a bit younger than I am and I always say that when I grow up I want to be just like Mary. Here are what her days look like. Rise at 5 AM. Off to the gym to instruct a fitness class for an hour. Home to shower and wake up children around 7. Scriptures reading/devotionals/breakfast/chores/and schooling until noon. Then to her salon to do hair for 8 hours. She and her kids are amazing. And smart I might add. Her kids are great and extremely capable. Her husband does teach history each Saturday to the kids. I believe they are doing Story of the World. I hope this helps anyone out there work through this delicate dilemma. Mary keeps a tight schedule everyday and she really shows her commitment and dedication and desire to keep her kids home. Warmly, Tricia That is very admirable. I admire her spirit. I work and homeschool too. So does DH - worse, he drives a truck and I am IT. Oh, man. I thought you meant you were the truck he drove. :tongue_smilie: I thought it was an attempt at droll humor. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.