Homeschooling only one child!!! New territory

[PrairieSong]

We've homeschooled since dinosaurs roamed the earth...well anyway, since before the Internet was commonly found in most people's homes..early 90's! Our first year I had a 3rd grader, 1st grader, 3yo and 1yo, and over the years my number of students ranged from 2-5. However, 18yo dd just went off to college, and my youngest is starting 9th grade!!!

 

After all these years of babies, toddlers, multiple grades and ages, chaos....IT'S SO QUIET HERE!!! And I'm not sure I like that. At least I'm not used to it.

 

Tell me about homeschooling one kid...the joys, the struggles, the downsides. Do people assume your kid is lonely? I want to have a great year. Our youngest is a great kid. He is smart and easy going and funny. He wants to homeschool. It's just weird and hard to adjust.

[AK_Mom4]

Homeschooling just one is very nice. Our days are moving quickly and DD13 is finishing earlier. We have more time for lessons and outside activities as well. I think I mentioned in another thread, last year with DS home, I had to spend time with him and it really cut down on our field trips. Next week, we are spending a whole day at the marsh looking at marshy-things (DD's interest, not necessarily mine). Doing school work in coffee shops and at the library becomes an easy treat again.

[elegantlion]

Since I only have one, I have no clue what multiple children would be like. We have a cat and dog that provide distractions, but we can shoo them out of the room.  :lol:

 

We end up doing a lot of discussion, working through some subjects together. This year, I've been sitting in the classroom and working on other stuff while he works. We have a lot of flexibility and spontaneity in how things get done. 

 

He's a joy to homeschool and laughed at me today when I asked if he call me when he's 25 and tell me he regrets being homeschooled. 

[Guest]

This is my first year with just one at home. Granted, we're just one day in, ;) but I loved today. It was so great to be able to listen to ds with my full attention. I fixed him homemade mac and cheese for lunch, simply because he said he would like to have it and there was no rushing off I had to do instead. We walked out to the pond together and I took pictures of him. It was just awesomely unrushed, and I can't remember when it was last unhurried.

[Aelwydd]

It's great. The only distractions are my own A.D.D. tendencies to divert down rabbit trails, lol.

[Guest]

You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I still LOVE having time for feelings, both ds's and my own, without having meltdowns, unexpected teachable moments, and rabbit trails derail the "innocent" child's lessons and plans for family time.

 

 

 

 

[Catwoman]

I only have one ds, and he's 14. We have homeschooled right from the start, and we have always loved it.

 

Well, OK, he didn't always love the "school" part... ;)

[Mimm]

I'm homeschooling one this year though I do have a baby wrecking havoc on our day. We just started our third week and I'm enjoying it so much. My oldest is one of those kids that demands tons of attention and my 11 year old is more laid back, not very assertive. So school was pretty much structured for what my oldest needed. I'm loving being able to do exactly what my 11 year old needs now. We talk about what we're going to do each day, we use the baby's morning nap for the things that she needs the most help with. This seems kind of mean, but I've never enjoyed homeschooling so much. :)

[PrairieSong]

Thanks everyone! It's so good to hear from others homeschooling an only...or only one child even if he or she has siblings.

 

These walls still echo with giggling, yelling, footsteps on the stairs.. Every afternoon the basement family room was a SEA of madness, toys everywhere. Every day we scurried to pick them all up. Every day I cooked massive quantities of food and washed piles of laundry (kids helped a lot). Every day we did it over again.

 

When did they grow up? I am not wallowing in sadness...I'm just amazed that the seemingly endless busy years flew by so fast.

 

Life is moving into a new stage, and the silence shouts at me. I need to fill it with something else. Ds and I always have good conversations...about schoolwork and just life. I want to take him on trips. I want to visit my friend halfway across the country. I play my guitar and practice French and knit, but I want to find some kind of volunteer work to do as well. I've taken on more of the landlord duties which is fine, because I have more time now.

 

Don't stop telling me your stories! Please, I need to hear them.

[SoCalLynn]

I homeschool only one. I have two daughters, but my older daughter is 14 years older and was never homeschooled. My youngest daughter and I have become very close, she is hilariously funny, talented and smart and we have wonderful discussions. We like to take off on spur of the moment field trips and do geometry together. She has a great set of friends, too, and their moms are my good friends.

 

The downside is that she doesn't have a close sibling at home, and when she was younger that was more of a problem because she expected, needed maybe, me to be her playmate all the time. I felt like I never got a break from all that energy she had and it was exhausting sometimes. Now that she's older and has more of her own interests (like fencing) it's not a problem.

 

I hope you really enjoy this special time.

[Luckymama]

I've only ever homeschooled one. Now that her siblings are away at college, we don't have the distractions of picking up/homework/activities to work around.

 

I love it. She loves it :D

[LLMom]

I homeschooled just one last year.  It was a joy in that I finally had some alone time with my youngest child (of 7).  Both of us enjoyed that.  I also liked that I didn't feel rushed because there wasn't someone else to get to.  This allowed us lots of hands on projects, field trips, and spur of the moment things.  The down side was that she became lonely because she was used to her siblings being around to play with.  She wanted me to play with her after school time which I did a bit, but there are other things mom has to get done.  Another factor in her loneliness is that we live in a small town that doesn't have many homeschoolers.  She is in school this year with everyone else. Enjoy your alone time with this child!  It is special.

[Zebra]

I've only ever homeschooled one.

 

We get everything done, in a timely fashion.   Partly, because I have a very motivated child and partly because there are no distractions.   None. 

 

Social stuff is harder.   I really have to put all that extra effort into the social life of the only.   I can't just send my only out into the yard, I have to very carefully find things to do with friends and other kids, we can't just "show up at the playground".  I also really have to be there for her socially a lot.   I have noticed that mothers of multiples have to adopt more of a "me against the kids" attitude.   I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just there are clearer lines.  Whereas, I have to be more of a buddy.   My dd is wonderful at playing alone, but I just feel like I put an exhausting amount of effort into her having any sort of social life.   We have to do all the giving, because everyone else has more kids and is busier and less motivated to hang out with us because they have enough playmates at home.

 

It's not good or bad it's just different :) .   The extra time I don't do laundry I put into other things.

[PrairieSong]

I can't seem to keep my dining room table clear as we've been using that for a lot of our schooling. I cannot imagine how it would look for multiple children using it ha.

Oh, I can imagine the piles on the dining room table...and in the living room and bedrooms. That was our house.

[Guest]

Oh, I can imagine the piles on the dining room table...and in the living room and bedrooms. That was our house.

 

It used to drive me nuts when my parents visited and kept spilling food all over the school table!

 

I like being able to wash dishes and cook in the schoolroom, but I'd rather eat in the living room. My house still looks more like a school or a day care than anything out of Better Homes and Gardens, but that feels like home to me at this point. ;)

[PrairieSong]

I know some women get very sad and depressed as their children leave the nest. I've had my pangs but mainly I've adjusted pretty well..but this year when second youngest left for college the reality hit me hard.

 

I saw good things about having lots of kids at home, and I see good in our current situation, too. I'm thankful our youngest son is so easy-going and smart...and hilarious! So...I'm embracing the relative silence, the freedom, the ability to do something on a moment's notice with ease, and the uninterrupted conversations. We're digging into ancient history, geometry, biology, French, and more.

 

Here's to a great year! (Ah..now I need to find a glass of something for a toast!)

[Lolly]

I went down to one last year. I have to watch it because I tend to want to fill every second of his day with learning. He, on the other hand, thinks he shouldn't have to do anything and it isn't worth my time to just teach him... :confused1: It is extremely quiet. I went from 4 kids in the house to one in a matter of weeks (all the girls went away to school the same year. not to mention it was 3 girls who chatted and sang all day. To one boy who thinks he has contributed to a conversation when he nods or goes "hmm".._) 

[PrairieSong]

I went down to one last year. I have to watch it because I tend to want to fill every second of his day with learning. He, on the other hand, thinks he shouldn't have to do anything and it isn't worth my time to just teach him... :confused1: It is extremely quiet. I went from 4 kids in the house to one in a matter of weeks (all the girls went away to school the same year. not to mention it was 3 girls who chatted and sang all day. To one boy who thinks he has contributed to a conversation when he nods or goes "hmm".._)

Lolly, your post made me chuckle! How old is he? I had a boy like that but my youngest is quite verbal. I had the chatty, singing girls, too. :-)

[HS Mom in NC]

Last year was my first year with only 1 kid.  My older two are 22 mos. apart and the younger has been a math whiz since she was preschool age so they were always school to some degree, together.

 

I'm loving schooling only one. She gets to do more hands on activities and projects than her sisters did when I was juggling 2 and then 3. The day is more relaxed because I don't have to bounce between kids. 

She has a best friend her age across the street that she plays with 2-3 times a week and homeschooled friends a 5 minute drive away that she plays with about 3 times a week.  She does TKD and Art Class year round and PE 9 months of the year.  She has plenty of socializing.

[Cinder]

This is my 3rd year teaching only one. Ds1 is away at college but ds2 is at a private school and my days are still full of driving him to school and sports. So we don't really have the freedom to order our days as we'd like. And dd isn't one to just get the work done. She'd rather sit and daydream so I have to be with her all the time reminding her to focus. Plus she's only in 4th so I still actually have to teach. :p

[Lolly]

Lolly, your post made me chuckle! How old is he? I had a boy like that but my youngest is quite verbal. I had the chatty, singing girls, too. :-)

He is 17. He had very few words at age 2. The pediatrician assured me it was because he had 3 very verbal older sisters. They never gave the poor boy a chance to talk. It just kind of continued on...