Post homeschooling life plans

[annandatje]

I was wondering if any of you have specific plans for your life after your homeschooling duties are completed.

 

Is anyone planning to return to a career or to build a new career from scratch or to further their own education?

[Momma2Many66]

I'll be 57 years old when my homeschoolling job is officially over and my youngest child is headed off to college. At that point I will have been raising children for 40 years.

 

I figure by that time, I will have put my years in with education and I will have earned the right to just relax.

 

I plan to buy a little boat and do a lot of fishing.

 

I may get a little camper and do some traveling and visiting my grandchildren all over the country.

 

In the meantime, I am saving my pennies and paying off the mortgage so I can be totally debt free when I retire.

 

That is my retirement plan ! :001_smile:

[greenvneck]

I have been pondering this lately. My daughters are 18; one is already thriving at college, graduating a year early, the other will hopefully be the same way a year from now. I am considering prepping my younger kids to go to public high school. I know, sacrilege!!! :mad::smash::boxing_smiley::thumbdown:

 

But I'm tired. I'm done. I have many years to decide our course, but I really do not want to have to shepherd more children through the high school years. I don't get paid enough for that.

[regentrude]

I now work 25 hours per week and will go to full time once the kids have graduated. I also plan to take some classes in an area completely unrelated to my field.

[IsabelC]

There is life after homeschooling?!

 

I have no intention of returning to any kind of 9-5 job unless I absolutely have to. Our plan is to try and get as close to self sufficient / off the grid as practical. If we achieve that and need a new challenge, we'll start on fixing the world's problems.

[bnrmom]

Post homeschooling for us will probably mean that the kids are still in school, so I want to be available for them when needed. I would like to work a bit more (from home) to help with finances. I do have a fantasy about going to law school . . .

[Maus]

Post homeschooling?

 

The baby was born on my 44th birthday. I'll be 62 the day she turns 18.

 

I'm selling the house (good chance I'll be a widow by then, since DH is diabetic), and living in our 5th wheel!:D

[Pamela H in Texas]

I can no longer think post-homeschooling. In April of this year, we took in a sibling group who we hope are staying forever. In August, the oldest of that group started Kindergarten at the same time my youngest son started his senior year of high school and I started my senior year of college (though I will not graduate until Jan 2013 due to student teaching). My post-homeschooling plans have turned into homeschooling plans :) So I should be in my 50's when set two graduate. It may take me a couple years to be able to think post-homeschool again.

 

And... God has his timing and it looks like this world's time will be up by then. There will be a new world and new opportunities. An exciting prospect for forever rather than just some travel, fostering, and grandma-ing which all sound like they could be awesome also if this old world does hold out that long.

[Hedgehog]

I'm hoping to go back to college and finally get a degree :) probably in English and/or French.

[LidiyaDawn]

I'll be 54 by the time our youngest is grown up…. I can't even think about being that age yet! Geez, I have hard enough time thinking about next week. :tongue_smilie:

[keptwoman]

Next year I'm taking a year for me to spend studying photography. I hope that after that I will be able to start a photography business slowly while finishing homeschooling.

[Tapasnaturalles]

I'm just starting! :001_huh:

Let's count... I was 21 when I had our 3rd, so if everything goes "normal", she'll finish when I'm 39 yo. But we're "planning" a last child in 4-5 years, so it's probably later.

I'm one of those eternal moms. I'm not made to do anything else like that. I never found my way around and I felt lost my entire life until I got my first child. My whole life finaly made sence then, like I was nothing without being a mom. And still... I suck at being a friend or just being myself, but my role as mom is the only one that fits me.

I can't imagine having a life of myself. I even don't want that... :001_unsure:

So no idea what I'm going to do after homeschooling. I'm nothing behind that...

Hang myself probably. :D

[kalanamak]

Post homeschooling?

 

The baby was born on my 44th birthday. I'll be 62 the day she turns 18.

 

:iagree: I figure I'll be socking in as much overtime as I can until my joints give out, and then fade into the mist caring for hubby (who is older still) and writing long, witty letters to my son.

[angela in ohio]

I'll be in my early forties when I'm done homeschooling (my little guy is going to a private high school.) I'm finishing up my education degree right now, and the plan is for me to teach and for dh to possibly go back to teaching, and then we can vacation in the summer and enjoy ourselves. :001_smile: My extra income will also help pay for college for our dc.

[laundrycrisis]

I will be 54 when our youngest turns 18. I would like to return to work full time, but I am guessing I will have to start from scratch with a new line of work by then. I have no idea what I will do. I have told DH that as he is looking forward to retiring, I will be gearing up to start a new career.

 

My mom just retired from nursing at age 74, and is beginning a new part-time career with a private practice with a couple of friends. My grandmother worked until she was 82, so working into the golden years runs in my blood ;)

[Impish]

I'll be almost 60 when baby graduates.

 

('scuse me while I hyperventilate and pass out now)

 

I figure if I survive hsing them all through, and have some sanity left, that will be more than enough of an accomplishment for post homeschooling.

[Chava_Raizel]

I'll be in my late 40's when my youngest graduates. I'm thinking that I'll retire. I've never really had career aspirations outside of motherhood. I've always seen this as my vocation. So, when all my kids are grown, I'll relax, play with grandbabies and putter around. I think I'll have earned it!

[JudoMom]

I'll be 49ish when the baby is done. I think I'll work at a bookstore or coffee shop for a bit (if SS is around then...I still need to get a few more hours to get my full benefits). I'd also like to do volunteer work that I don't have time to do now. I'm not really looking for a career of any type, though. I was in print production before I had this gig, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't exactly my life's calling.

[Blue Hen]

I was wondering if any of you have specific plans for your life after your homeschooling duties are completed.

 

Is anyone planning to return to a career or to build a new career from scratch or to further their own education?

 

Last year, realizing my day had more me-time than I liked, I started accessing what I wanted to do after homeschooling. I already teach an online course but I wanted something more, just for me.

 

I thought and thought some more---no, I didn't want to return to an engineering job which I never found to be from 9 - 5. I thought about a teaching job but I couldn't see myself in a classroom 8 - 2....... hten I decided to focus on my favorite hobby --- quilting. I decided to start taking in friend's quilt tops and quilting them. I started my longarm quilting service business. I'm having fun and it certainly fills my time in a way that I love.

[FaithManor]

Originally, I was going to finish a master's degree in music or music therapy. I'm taking a refresher music history class this semester and next. For 2012-13, I was slated for two music theory reviews and finding a conducting position with one of the local choirs or community bands so that I can sort of get back into the swing of things. Then enroll in my master's (just part time) for 2014... the kids would be 14, 15.5, and 17 (senior year).

 

But, a dear friend of mine and major quilter who shares my fabric obsession would very much like for me to open a quilt store in a town close by. The quilt store that is there is quite likely to close because the woman who opened it has one of the poorest business plans we can imagine. Dear friend's father would be willing to loan us the capitol needed to open up. In addition to the fabrics, we would offer classes in quilting, apparel sewing, and tailoring. Plus, the store she has her eye on (which is a gorgeous building constructed in 1910 and completely renovated - tin ceilings, victorian woodwork, huge rooms, and a flat upstairs that is marvelous and could be rented out) is large enough for us to run a homeschool consulting business on the side complete with used curriculum shop. Homeschooling is pretty big in our neck of the woods. Additionally, dh says that I can no longer do the classical education consulting(as well as science ed) that I currently do in this area without charging an hourly fee because, well, people do like to take advantage of my time. One question leads to about 1000 and if I'm not firm, other homeschoolers would interrupt my day all the time. So, since there seems to be a need, I would consider doing some consulting for pay as well. She has a degree in interior design and home economics too and is a master pastry chef. The store has a gorgeous kitchen that could easily be commercially certified so she would consider offering some pastry classes too. It would be a sort of hodge-podge business.

 

We'll see. I'm leery at this point because I think new start-up, small businesses are pretty risky in this economy. She's a bit more over the moon for the project than I. Yet, under the right circumstances, I could see it being very appealing.

 

Other than that, when my last one graduates from homeschooling, I am planning a trip to the Britain. Actually, Scotland and Ireland will be the two main destinations. The reason for the trip - to explore castles and buy uniqe fabrics and some tartan plaids.

 

Faith

[The Girls' Mom]

I have no idea.

 

My sweet dh said he would like for me to put my time into my art :D If we are still financially ok, then that is what I'll do. If I need to work, then that is what I'll do...I just don't have any clue what that will look like.

[twoforjoy]

I don't know. I don't think things will change much. I currently teach part-time, and I plan to keep doing so. When my kids get older and more independent, I'll probably try to pick up more teaching, maybe 3 or 4 classes per term as opposed to the 1 or 2 I teach right now. Then I'll probably just keep doing that once they're done homeschooling.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I'm slowly phasing out homeschooling. God gave me a job this year, that allows us to continue homeschooling, and as the kids get more independent, I will be doing more hours at the job.

So this former atheist software engineer is becoming a practicing parish secretary. God has a sense of humour :tongue_smilie:

[Tarreymere]

Well, I will be sixty when my youngest is eighteen. I'm thinking of maybe easing into a new career field while he is in his teens. I'm thinking something exciting, like ghost hunting or being a private investigator. I'm not sure yet, but it will be something fun and probably not exactly lucrative. :D

[momofkhm]

I'll be somewhere around 48 when the last one graduates. DH tells me I will need to go back to work. But why if the kids are out of the house, our expenses go way down. But we will be paying for college for at least 4 years for ds.

 

I've looked (briefly) into going back to school and getting a degree in pharmacy. On top of my chemistry degree it won't be 2 tons of school, just one. :) But it will cost $60K. I'd finish about the same time ds does. Puts me at 52. Do I really want to start a pharmacy career at 52?

 

Otherwise, I'm not sure what to do.

[Vanna]

There is life after homeschooling?!

 

I have no intention of returning to any kind of 9-5 job unless I absolutely have to...

This is how I feel as well, although my hubby would like me to go to work to help pay off my college loan. :001_unsure::001_rolleyes:

 

Two yrs ago, I would have said hubby's plan is my plan, but now that you're asking... I guess I'll dream a little -- maybe I'll travel and do some one-off volunteering, but I soooooo don't want to be tied down to a work schedule. That's what comes of making your own schedule for so many years.

[KatieJ]

At that point I will have been raising children for 40 years.

 

I figure by that time, I will have put my years in with education and I will have earned the right to just relax.

 

:001_smile:

 

I close to 50 when my homeschooling journey stopped. My sons went to public school, the older was a junior and the younger a freshman. At that point I had had children by my side full time for 27 or 28 years. Last year when the boys left home to get married I had been parenting for 34 years. I am now doing what I have always done in regards to running the household, but I have more free time for my hobbies. I scrapbook, and I sew constantly for the grandkids and myself. My husband has always wanted me at home and we have never seriously considered me getting a job at this point inour life. When he is not working, we are together and loving it.

[Lady Florida.]

I'll be almost 60 when ds graduates. I had my career prior to marriage and motherhood, and don't want to go back to it (teacher), nor do I want a new one. If dh doesn't retire by then, maybe I'll get a part time job. Most likely though, I'll spend time puttering around my garden, catching up on sewing and other projects, and enjoying our grandchild (due next February). If dh is retired, we always said we want to travel in our later years. I'll probably do a lot of what I already do now, minus the homeschooling.

 

Much will depend on where ds is in terms of college. He doesn't really know what he wants to do at this point.

[Nan in Mass]

In a few years, I'll be through homeschooling. I'll be doing more caring for my parents and inlaws. I help with my sister's baby and 5yo now (and have since the 5yo was born) and I may have to do more of that as my sister's hours increase. I miss my own little ones. The dog and cat are good substitutes. Without them I think the lack of little ones of my own would be overwhelmingly depressing. Meanwhile, I am trying to learn to watercolour, in preparation for all that free time I am going to have in the future lol. If I can avoid it, I am not going to go back to work for someone else; I am going to work at being an artist. Maybe I'll write a book about our homeschooling experiences. I have the title picked out lol. This year I began taking what I hope will be many classes unrelated to anything but whatever I am interested in. The first class is Spanish. We will (hopefully) be doing lots of travelling. I hope to continue to work towards world peace and a cleaner, more sustainable environment. Of course, life always has other plans. If the current trend continues, I'll wind up as a wildlife rehabilitator.

Nan

[SailorMom]

DH will be retiring from the military at about the same time DS13 graduates from high school. As soon as nothe DS's are settled in college, we're selling our house, buying a 42 foot catamaran, and sailing away for about 10 years all over the world. Funds will be tight, but with no house and no land-associated bills (and a paid off boat), we can get by with $20,000 a year plus the cost of plane tickets.

[lailasmum]

I plan to go back to university and do another degree, this time a useful one that will lead to a job. Maybe in Dietetics or something similar.

 

In an ideal world I wouldn't do the degree and just expand my interests into a business, I would love to open a plant nursery specialising in herbs, travel around the world and then maybe move to New Zealand, not in that order. But I don't think any of that will happen, I will need to work in something that brings in a good income.

Edited October 19, 2011 by lailasmum

[i.love.lucy]

I have a hard time visualizing very far off into the future. I hope and pray my dh will be able to work at the income level we have now for many, many years. I will be 54 when my youngest is done, so I don't know. I do have a long, long history in real estate, so I would really love to go back to that. But I'd only be able to do that if hubby is still working and able to provide stable income.

 

I am not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of getting old. Too many years of living paycheck to paycheck with little savings and no retirement or college fund has me quite worried about how it will all work out. :confused: I know I'm not the only one in this position, but it feels like it sometimes.

[Ellie]

I've been post-homeschooling now for over 25 years. :)

 

 

My résumé:

 

• worked for a little over 3 years as a professional desktop publisher. It's a drag working for someone else. They tell you when to come in and when to go home, and when to have lunch, and sometimes they don't like your ideas.:glare:
  
• did Scottish Country dance for 8 years; took the training to become a certified teacher but didn't qualify. :sad:
  
• became a trained Precept Bible study leader, and actually led several studies.
  
• taught Sunday school
  
• was a Missionettes co-ordinator (twice)
  
• took fencing classes. Have my own equipment. :D
  
• was a member of LaserQuest in Mountain View, Calif. Laser tag rocks!
  
• was Women's Ministries leader
  
• continued to administer an umbrella school for another 10 years.
  
• published a homeschool newsletter for four years
  
• with Mr. Ellie, was a member of the Gideons International, held an office at our local "camp," was secretary-treasurer at the state level.
  
• did hula for 7 years (love hula, but man--it kills my knees!)
  
• am now an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a co-facilitator at the parish's RCIA class, and a facilitator at our Adult Faith Formation.
  
• spend copious amounts of time goofing off on the Internet. :D
  
• am an administrator on one forum.
  

 

[SailorMom]

I have a hard time visualizing very far off into the future. I hope and pray my dh will be able to work at the income level we have now for many, many years. I will be 54 when my youngest is done, so I don't know. I do have a long, long history in real estate, so I would really love to go back to that. But I'd only be able to do that if hubby is still working and able to provide stable income.

 

I am not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of getting old. Too many years of living paycheck to paycheck with little savings and no retirement or college fund has me quite worried about how it will all work out. :confused: I know I'm not the only one in this position, but it feels like it sometimes.

:grouphug:

 

Lucy - you sound way too worried about something that isn't going to happen for a long time, and your fears about it may not happen at all. None of us want to get old :) Don't waste the years before that dwelling on it. My MiL is 61, and she is running her 5th marathon this January at Disneyworld. Didn't start running them until a few years ago. She started a second career at 50 (she's now a UMC pastor). After raising 5 kids, I think she feels like her 50's and up have been HER time :)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I'll be 53 when my youngest turns 18. Dh will be 63. I think we'll travel a bit, and I'll probably do some type of home based small business.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Well, I'll be in my 40's when I'm done, b/c DS will either go to the private school we have picked out, or community college, OR military prep-school, for high school..... even if we have another kid or two, I'll still be less than 50 when I'm done.

 

I may go back to work as a linguist, provided I have kept up my Chinese.... we'll see. Also, that should be about the time my very ambitious DH has moved up the govt. ladder (at 29 yrs. old, he's a 13, so he should be pretty high up there!) and is able to get sent overseas somewhere. We could also transfer back to Hawaii if we wanted. I would love to move back out to the Monterey Bay area in California. At any rate, we plan on possibly moving, definitely traveling more. We are visiting "safe" places now, but we'll travel to not so "safe" places once the kid(s) are gone.....

 

That is the "plan" or best case scenario anyways..... Things can change in an instant! I would not be averse to just selling everything we own and becoming missionaries! There is no telling what the state of our union will be. The world could be better or worse by then. We could be part of China (depressing). We could be at war. We could be in a depression. We might find ourselves migrating or emigrating somewhere b/c of the sorry state of our country OR we could all straighten up and become very Eco-conscious and live more sustainably, become more agrarian, and/or be part of a revolution that forever changes this country/world for the better ......... wouldn't that be neat!?!?!?!

 

I shudder at the thought of stagnancy (is that a word?). The thought of things staying the way they are until I die makes me cringe. But then I remember history.... nothing EVER stays the same... things ALWAYS change, for better or worse, they change.

 

I like the unknown future :) I like that I really don't know what I will be doing, or where I will be living..... I make plans, but I like to have several possibilities and even then, I'm flexible ;)

[Jayne J]

Wow, you all are ambitious. I'll be around 50 when my youngest graduates and my plans consist of reading in bed and drinking margaritas. Maybe travel a little. I'd like to learn a few languages, read all those great books I never have time for, and stop setting a good example.

[AHASRADA]

Well, I didn't really have any *specific* plans beyond helping dc with their college work other than to enjoy having much more free time to follow my own interests.

 

I would probably continuing to tutor, maybe volunteer for a literacy project or some such cause, and just basically have time to do what would be interesting and fulfilling to me (in addition to finally having time to keep up with the housework!) I have always toyed with the idea of getting my master's, but I'm not really interested in having a "career". I want to do meaningful things on my own time.

 

Notice I said I *didn't* have specific plans, past tense. Now that sweet little dd has been added to the mix, I have much, much longer to decide what to do post-homeschooling, and I will be much, much older when that time comes :tongue_smilie:. I'm really looking forward to having the chance to do this all over again, with experience under my belt this time (I'm referring to homeschooling, as well as parenting in general ;).)

 

So, not thinking much about post-homeschooling around here anymore.

[Tap]

My plan was to start college this year to study nutrition or holistic medicine. We unexpectedly got dd4 instead. She takes so much time of my day, I have nothing left.

 

I work in pharmacy already, so I currently have a job. I will continue to do that I guess. I can't imagine still counting pills in 10 years, but unfortunately that is what it looks like I will be doing.

Edited October 19, 2011 by Tap, tap, tap

[MeaganS]

Well, I haven't started homeschooling yet, so....

 

I guess my current plan is to never work again at a regular job unless I absolutely have to. There is no career that I have ever found that interests me, and my husband should make enough money for us. I would love to be a fantastic grandmother and visit my grandbabies all the time.

 

Also, once my hubby retires, we plan on going on missions for our church fairly often. He's going to be a doctor, so he can do a lot of good around the world with that. I will probably get some basic medical training so that I can help him.

 

Our current plan is to have this baby be the last, or maybe one more after it, but we'll be done for sure in 3 years or so. That puts me being, at max, 46 years old when my future youngest is 18. Pretty young.

 

A lot could change between now and then, though, but at 25, this is my current plan. :)

[JenC3]

I will be 53 when dd2 goes off to college. Well I have several plans:

 

-Open a Waldorf preschool out of my home. I LOVE Waldorf for the 6 and under crowd. My dream would be to run an outdoor kindergarten.

 

-Continue our urban homesteading and sell plants from the greenhouses we plan to build. No mortgage, plus no very low food expenses, etc.

 

-Start my midwifery training next summer and finish in 3-5 yrs and practice while homeschooling and beyond.

 

-Go back to school for a master herbalist degree or naturopathic care.

 

-Or I help dh with the business idea he has and be running it with him.

 

I've always had something going on until we started homeschooling. I still have an itch to make my own money.

[Karen in CO]

You ladies are all so young. ;)

I'm in my early forties now and I refuse to calculate my age when the youngest goes to college. I'm pretty certain that I'll be at least in my mid-forties by then.

 

My plan is the same as it was 20 years ago when I was thinking what I'd do when ds went to college. I'm buying a sailboat and selling everything else.

[MaMa2005]

I'll be almost 63 when DS turns 18. DH will be 66. Though we plan to travel a great deal when DH retires in 2 years (with DS tagging along), by the time DS heads off to college, we will be traveling again as just a couple and able to stay extended amounts of time in international locales.

[Nan in Mass]

Can I come?

[Georgiana Daniels]

I will have to return to work, otherwise retirement will not happen for us. My husband makes a good living and we have some savings, but I will need to contribute once the kids are done with homeschool.

[mcconnellboys]

I'm not sure what it's going to be, but when I'm done (which may be as soon as next year), I'm going to be doing something that involves books....

[mom4him]

I was wondering if any of you have specific plans for your life after your homeschooling duties are completed.

 

Is anyone planning to return to a career or to build a new career from scratch or to further their own education?

 

I have a dream. I will be close to or at 70 when my two have graduated. I have a dream of being able to go down to Mexico and work in some of the orphanages. A lot of variables enter in with this as we would have to have a very reliable aid for my oldest son and that has never happened in the 20 yrs he has been injured but with God all things are possible.:001_smile:

[Cheryl in NM]

I was wondering if any of you have specific plans for your life after your homeschooling duties are completed.

 

Is anyone planning to return to a career or to build a new career from scratch or to further their own education?

 

I'm going back to school to finish my degree. I'll get my BA in Accounting, then a CPA, then open my own practice specializing in small business and agricultural business. I plan to keep my rates low enough that small businesses can afford me. I plan to keep my business small, maybe 1 employee. My goal is to help people understand how to track their business financial activities and get them set up to take care of it themselves.

 

Dh is going to start a cattle ranch and build me a house and a gazebo on his family's (so-far unimproved) homestead. :tongue_smilie: His little version of paradise.

[Mommy22alyns]

I was wondering if any of you have specific plans for your life after your homeschooling duties are completed.

 

Is anyone planning to return to a career or to build a new career from scratch or to further their own education?

 

 

I really don't know because I have more than a few years left, but I'm considering going to school myself. I will be 44 when Sylvia goes to college.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'll be in my mid fifties when my youngest turns 18. My former career is now overseas making about a third of what I made 15 years ago. So, I need a new plan. Don't know what that will be. I have some chronic health issues that affect my stamina. If those aren't mitigated by then I have no idea what I will do. Maybe work in a bookstore if they still exist.