Does anyone here get outside help for educating their children?

[1GirlTwinBoys]

A tutor or professional teacher that comes to your home? Some of you may remember my previous thread about me needing to figure out some alternatives. Dh and I absolutely do not want to send our children to PS, even though they are ranked very high in the state. It's just our personal preference to keep them home where we will be the strongest influence in their lives, and well, we just want to be with them.:)

 

I'm just trying to figure out my options now for what we can do starting in August. I know these things can take a while and don't want to put it off.

 

Does anyone else do this? If so, how does your situation work?

[4kiddies]

Yes, I currently use a reading tutor for my son who is 8. She is a ps teacher in a local school and works with him for 1 hour a week after school in her classroom. It has been a fabulous addition to our homeschool. He was struggling with reading and with her help he is making headway and isn't so "down" about it. We still do our own stuff and she gives us stuff to work on during the week so its "extra" but it has been great.

[Ellie]

I don't think most homeschoolers have tutors. The most "outside help" they utilize is co-ops, although I suppose you could count video/internet-based instruction (ABeka or BJUP, SOS, Teaching Textbooks, et al) as "outside help."

 

Do your dc have special needs of some kind? I'm just wondering, because they are so young, why you are pondering having tutors.

[Murphy101]

Not in the younger grade, tho I would for a foreign language or music.

 

However, at age 10, they start e instrument of their choice.

And in high school. Pay for foreign language outside the home, which is very expensive. Otherwise, I would insist on twice weekly foreign language tutoring/lessons for all of them age 7 and up.

[Negin]

Chemistry :)

[amy g.]

We use tutors. My son is trying a new Math tutor this week.

 

We do not do coops where other moms just teach classes they enjoy, but we do have outsourced classes where I pay each month for the kids to have classes with a teacher who specializes in that subject.

 

For example, I just dropped my 13 year old off at her writing class taught by a former writing teacher and High School principal. When I pick her up, my son will go to his Spanish class with a native speaker.

 

We also use some community college classes for High School.

 

This has worked well for my family. I'm in a homeschooling marathon, and I don't want to burn myself out by trying to do it all by myself.

[plansrme]

Yes. For several years, I worked four days per week, and we had a teacher come to our home those four days. I taught the fifth day. I picked and scheduled the curriculum, but our teacher ran the school days.

 

I have since cut back to two days in the office per week. I have their language tutor here one of those days and another mom here to supervise their work on the other.

 

Another option I once considered when I was working outside the home more, was to block schedule and outsource entire subject areas to different tutors. Monday would be all science, and I would have a science tutor, for example; Tuesdays for math; Wednesdays for foreign language, etc.

 

There is nothing wrong with outsourcing a chunk and still calling it homeschool! I do like the current arrangement better, in that I enjoy the teaching, but having our own teacher was the right thing for us for a long time.

 

Terri

[plansrme]

I don't think most homeschoolers have tutors. The most "outside help" they utilize is co-ops, although I suppose you could count video/internet-based instruction (ABeka or BJUP, SOS, Teaching Textbooks, et al) as "outside help."

 

Do your dc have special needs of some kind? I'm just wondering, because they are so young, why you are pondering having tutors.

 

This is not true in my experience with other homeschoolers I know in real life. Almost every homeschooler I know outsources something, even for young kids. And if I had a dollar for every homeschool or private-school parent who expressed serious interest in schooling the way we did, I could have paid my teacher for a year!

 

Terri

[Jean in Newcastle]

We have a tutor for high school math and chemistry. I did not need one though until the maths and sciences got beyond my ability to teach. I'm on my second tutor. The first one was never on time and did not cover the material adequately. I am very very happy with this second tutor and am very happy with the arrangement.

 

Oh wait, I did try using a tutor for dd when she was in 2nd grade. I was extremely ill at that time with my chronic illness. It was a disaster in my case because of the tutor I hired. I hired a friend who was a teacher but she was lazy. She just wouldn't do the assignments that she didn't like. Of course, thoseh were always the time consuming project type things that I really needed the help on. I ended up having to fire her without her knowing that she was really being fired since she was a friend.

[Bluegoat]

We outsource music, and if I could find a good program I'd love to outsource French. My dd is 7.

[JenneinCA]

I outsourced music lessons from the very beginning. I do not know how to play a musical instrument so that was a very easy decision. Kids started this at between 3 and 6 years old.

 

I outsourced foreign language when we started it too. I don't speak anything other than english so outside help was required. Kids were 12, 10, and 6 when we started.

 

I don't do co-ops. I haven't found any that met our needs. If I am going to pay that much money and give up that much time to a class I want it taught by someone with credentials and teaching experience, a tutor I can interview or another person for whom I can get recommendations from past students.

[Riverland]

We do not have a tutor come to our home, but we are very fortunate to have a business nearby that hires highly qualified teachers for homeschooler classes. My dd attends Chinese 2x/week with 3 kids and she has a private tutor there for Spanish 1x/week. This year, her writing (IEW) and some pe (tae kwon do) is from a parent ran co-op. My dd needs lots of peer social interaction, so I will outsource if I find instruction that equals or exceeds mine.

[snowbeltmom]

The older my kids get, the more I outsource. We don't do co-ops because I haven't found any that are at the appropriate academic level.

 

My kids enjoy the interaction of the online classes, and they like having some subjects that don't involve me.

 

My kids have taken online literature classes with online g-3. I also outsource foreign language, writing instruction, sometimes math, and high school science. The only subject that I won't outsource during the high school years is history simply because I don't think I can screw that one up.:D

[Wabi Sabi]

Ds takes a couple of classes- art, nature, pottery- so I suppose you could consider that outsourcing. If I could find a Japanese tutor I could afford who is willing to work with a young child I'd jump all over that opportunity as well but alas, I haven't been able to find anyone.

 

My kids are both pretty young, but as they get older I imagine we'll outsource as needed. I don't see really ourselves doing co-ops that are taught by other homeschooling parents but would prefer to hire people who are experts in a given field/subject as the need arises.

[QueenCat]

We love the once a week tutorial, with both academic and enrichment classes. For pre-calculus, we hired a tutor to work with ds once a week.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We love the once a week tutorial, with both academic and enrichment classes. For pre-calculus, we hired a tutor to work with ds once a week.

 

Yes - I forgot to say that our tutoring is only once a week. I couldn't afford to pay for more than that!

[AndyJoy]

I am a math tutor to 3 teens from a homeschooling family.:001_smile: I meet with them 3 times a week for 30 minutes each.

[Tarreymere]

When my older daughters were in high school I had a retired math teacher come to the house twice a week to tutor them in math. I'm not particularly strong in higher level math and I found it hard to explain the concepts in different ways like the tutor could. It was easier for me to support what he did and help the girls work through their assignments. The girls were also much less inclined to whine and fuss when it was the tutor with them :glare:

[Hannah]

Yes. For several years, I worked four days per week, and we had a teacher come to our home those four days. I taught the fifth day. I picked and scheduled the curriculum, but our teacher ran the school days.

 

This is our situation. I work mornings (25 hours per week) and we have an au pair who comes to our house. I pick curriculum and work out schedules and assignments. I teach all math and whatever else I think requires extra work after I've done the grading. She runs the school day. This is our seventh year and it works well for us. We've been extremely fortunate to have the same fantastic au pair during all this time.

 

I know that there are homeschool purists who don't like us calling ourselves homeschoolers as we're not 'living the lifestyle', but there isn't really any other label that fits either.

[sylvi76]

I get help with music and art. Sometimes my babysitter will do math or science with dd if I need her to help out during the day.

[GoVanGogh]

This is not true in my experience with other homeschoolers I know in real life. Almost every homeschooler I know outsources something, even for young kids. And if I had a dollar for every homeschool or private-school parent who expressed serious interest in schooling the way we did, I could have paid my teacher for a year!

:iagree:

Most people I know outsource at least one class.

For us, we have outsourced music and art from a very early age. I am not musical. I do love art, but my son has sensory issue and does not like the smell of the art materials in the house.

Next year, we will be outsourcing a foreign language.

Once we hit high school level math and science, DS will probably enroll in the local community college. DH and I are qualified to teach (both have heavy science/math backgrounds) but we want our son to take those in a more structured environment.

 

An interesting thing I have observed over the past few years in this area: more and more moms are going back to their professional jobs and hiring nannies to homeschool/oversee their children. They don't want to put them in private schools, but need the extra paycheck.

[TheApprentice]

We've had teachers for music, and 2 of my sons went to a writing class a woman held in her class, and there have been a couple of homeschool classes at our local CC, but I've never used a tutor.

[KatieJ]

We used an IEW writing Tutor for 2 years and she was worth every penny!

Private music lessons were the norm for each of my kids while they were homeschooled and in Public school. ( Highschool)

 

We also had a Physics tutor for a few months. His wife got cancer and he had to quit or we would have used him longer.

 

We also did Co-ops for science several years.

[Julie Smith]

I outsourced music lessons from the very beginning. I do not know how to play a musical instrument so that was a very easy decision. Kids started this at between 3 and 6 years old.

 

I outsourced foreign language when we started it too. I don't speak anything other than english so outside help was required. Kids were 12, 10, and 6 when we started.

 

Similar to this. I outsource music lessons.

 

I want to outsource French, but haven't been able to find a good way to do so yet.

[missmoe]

I have a friend that has a tutor come to her home three times a week. He teaches math and science. She has three children and he rotates through the three children working an hour and fifteen minutes with each child. The two days he is not there, they complete the work he assigns.

[justasque]

My background/education is in engineering, so I have a solid background in math. I have taught math to individual homeschoolers, in some cases working through a specific curriculum and in other cases doing custom-designed tutoring with specific goals in mind. I have taught formal math classes, in some cases in my home and in some cases at a local formal co-op. For the classes in my home, I've put the word out locally to find homeschoolers who need, say, Algebra I in order to gather enough kids for a class.

 

I have also led more hands-on, workshop-type classes for groups of homeschoolers, sometimes as part of a larger, less-formal co-op situation, and sometimes as more of a one-off. These co-ops were organized by groups of like-minded friends with kids of similar ages. Some were more academic than others, some were more DIY-flavored than others.

 

I've also taught chemistry, electricity, science, sewing, crafts of various kinds (usually as part of a history unit study), and so on, in many different settings.

 

I've also organised field trips and workshop series, in subjects as varied as gardening/plants, dance, and history. Sometimes, these were chosen to tie in with a unit study for a co-op, though usually they were attended by more than just the co-op students.

 

I've partnered with other homeschool moms to hire a tutor/teacher to create/teach a specific class to our kids (who were similar in their academic level and needs). By sharing the tutor, our kids had more fun and our cost was significantly reduced.

 

I've been part of informal, casual co-ops, more formal/structured but still very DIY co-ops, and a quite formal school-for-homeschoolers co-op.

 

There are SO MANY ways our children can learn!

[Kim in Appalachia]

My dd14 is taking 2 classes online. I have found the online classes to be a huge help. My oldest did the Bob Jones DVD's one year for high school. They were also a great help.

[Photo Ninja]

I have a friend who managed her dc's education by hiring tutors. She taught very little herself. It varied depending on the year, but she would have one person teach writing, another teach math, another teach history and science, and so on. She wanted what she considered the best education for her dc, so she found people who met her expectations as instructors, and had them teach her dc.

[Unicorn.]

My dc took/take science w/ a homeschool mom who makes her living teaching math/science classes. She teaches mainly high school, but does a science class for younger kids. If I were going to homeschool high school, they would take math and science from her then too. My girls also took a writing class from one of the teachers at a co-op class last year. I only know 1 person IRL that does it all herself. Everyone else I know outsources some stuff.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Do your dc have special needs of some kind? I'm just wondering, because they are so young, why you are pondering having tutors.

 

 

No, my children don't have special needs. Starting next year, when they are 3rd & 4th graders, I'd like to be a little more hands off in a couple subjects so that's why I'm asking.

[desertmum]

DS goes to football academy every Saturday. Does this account for outside help with PE?

 

He is also expressed interest in playing an instrument. I can't sing or play anything myself so again I will be looking for outside tutoring.

[MomatHWTK]

If you are not wanting an in-person tutor, Currclick now offers live classes online and there are several other businesses offering online classes either live or pre-recorded. Some local co-ops offer access to individual subjects and I've seen homeschool highschoolers or former homeschoolers in our area offer to tutor.

 

I have taken the children to rock climbing and art classes in the past, but in general don't use tutors simply because I don't want to worry about who is around my kids. I'm a pretty anxious person in general though. ;) I tend more toward the pre-recorded online options.

Edited February 18, 2012 by MomatHWTK

[Heather in Neverland]

I've used online classes, tutors, DVD lessons, you name it.

 

If you want something all-encompassing you could check out Liberty Online Academy. They have full online curriculums for grades 3 and up.

[ElizaG]

For months now, I've been hesitating about writing a similar post because I figured someone would start questioning my motivations. And I'd rather not parade my personal circumstances all over the Internet. I'm guessing that the OP probably feels the same way. Suffice it to say that just as much as homeschooling parents value the right to be 24/7 direct teachers and trainers of their own children, some also value the right to hire someone else to help with parts of it. :)

 

So far, we've just had mother's helpers on and off for general child care, but I would be interested in having someone to join in with the homeschooling if we could find the right person. It would open up some new possibilities.

[LucyStoner]

We do piano lessons out of the house. While my husband is a talented pianist, he is not a great music teacher and our son's piano teacher has a lot of experience with Autism. I have an engineering friend who works with him on physics and engineering stuff. In the summer we send him to art and science daycamp type things for fun. This year he will go for 3-4 weeks at least. We will see what we can afford. Most of the people I know who home school outsource at least 1 or 2 things, if not more.

[mom2att]

My oldest attends Providence Extension Program. It's a two-day per week tutoring program where she attends classes in History, Composition/Literature, Western Thought (a Humanities/Religion/Philosophy sort of class), and Chemistry. The tutors are paid and the classes are excellent. While I have loved teaching my children for the elementary and middle school grades, I didn't feel I was giving my daughter what she needed by the time she got to high school. This program has been a good compromise at a time when she was expressing a desire to go to school, and she is learning way more than she would in a traditional school.

 

Not sure what I will do with my boys when they are that age, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Edited February 18, 2012 by mom2att

[9763653]

We haven't outsourced anything so far, but I will hire a tutor for local language and math, later on. I'm also considering hiring a Latin tutor for me, so I can teach the kids later on. Another option would be having a tutor for all of us :).

 

We did try a semi-coop with several homeschooling families exchanging classes in various subjects, and it worked out terribly.

[DawnM]

No, BUT, that doesn't mean I am against it. I just haven't found the need nor do I want to pay the prices.

 

Around here, an two hours per week of tutoring is the same price as sending your child to our local church school. I just can't justify that cost when we haven't needed it.

 

You could look into a program like BJU distance learning if you want a teacher to instruct your kids. There are many here who have used it and you can do a search for info.

 

Dawn

[lmrich]

We use a university model school. My oldest two attend two days a week. They are home 3 days. I guess some would not consider this homeschooling. I am fine with that (I think labeling people is a bad idea anyway), but it works great for my family.

 

I also teach 7 girls along with my youngest at my home two days week composition, history, science, and literature. I tutor as well and teach classes at local arts center. It helps to pay for the extras.

 

Look around and see what you can find to work for your family. Do what works for you.

[Jennifer in MI]

We do. My oldest has been using Write at Home for a couple years now. He started taking classes at the community college when he was 13. And, now I've just discovered Derek Owens for math and science.

 

Next year, my rising 9th grader will be doing the same thing.

 

I'm keeping lit and history and grammar and bible at home.

 

I need to find an on line foreign language.

[zaichiki]

We have friends who have used modern language tutors and reading tutors. Another has her younger child mentor with a professional scientist. They do all kinds of interesting things together that goes quite beyond a science textbook or typical syllabus.

 

My own family has used occasional co-ops, DVD/online lectures, online classes, and regular outside music instruction.

[GoVanGogh]

Quote:

Do your dc have special needs of some kind? I'm just wondering, because they are so young, why you are pondering having tutors.

...

No, my children don't have special needs. Starting next year, when they are 3rd & 4th graders, I'd like to be a little more hands off in a couple subjects so that's why I'm asking.

I don't think children need to have special needs for a family to consider outsourcing at a young age.

My child has taken outside classes off and on since he was in Kindergarten. In fact, he has taken classes at one place for over five years now - and I am perfectly qualified to teach the class.

 

My reason for outsourcing that class:

I have an only child and I think it is a great social outlet for my child.

The price is unbelievable.

It allows my child to sit and listen to a teacher w/o being in a formal school classroom.

It takes something off of my plate.

And... I enjoy that two hour break every other week. I am able to go out to lunch by myself, recharge my batteries, etc.

 

I do think there are a lot of valid reasons for outsourcing a class, whatever your child's age or needs.

We happen to live in an area where there are a lot of activities for homeschoolers - drama classes, art classes, science classes, writing classes, etc.

I am homescooling to give my child a better education that he would receive in public school, and a large part of that - to us - is that he be out in the community, not "inside" all day, whether at home or at a brick and mortar school.

[Ester Maria]

Yes. Practical arts (drawing / design, music lessons), modern languages, religious stuff, and even high level science for one child. If we reach a conclusion together that what they need to truly blossom is some kind of tutor oversight and help, and we have it available, we incorporate it too.

 

I really got into outsourcing in the past two years, though. Prior to that, I was a model DIY mom, with only minimal and occasional outsourcing (e.g. drawing lessons). My life has become infinitely easier by outsourcing some areas (it still does not mean I am *inactive* and do not discuss it with DC, but the bulk of the responsibility and oversight is not on me) and, in many ways, it has enriched our homeschooling rather than crippled it.