Homeschooling with studying for a PhD

[Guest Amyisham]

Hi All,

 

My kids are 4 and 2 and my 4 yo is making good progress in our home 'kinder'. She can write her name, is good at asking questions and passed an assessment by an occupational therapist to show that she was ahead of a lot of kids her age in terms of the skills expected of a kid not yet in kinder proper.  I have been working as a research assistant while sending our kids to daycare one day a week ( I am in Australia).  I am nearly finished a piece of my own research and have been talking to a distance education university where I did my Masters degree in Librarianship about doing some research subjects and pursuing a pHd in Library science.

My question is - has anyone managed doing a phD while homeschooling?  I know a lot of women who finished the major research ( surveys and observation etc) before kids came on the scene and other mums who do their pHd when their kids reach uni age.

 

I feel like I have a topic I really want to pursue now but my daughter will be doing kinder for real next year and then first and second grade.  Then of course my son will follow suit!  If I got a scholarship I may able to afford childcare but I will no longer get paid from my job next year so not sure if its economically viable - or if one day a week would be enough??? I would prefer to keep them at home, doing their bookwork in the morning for an hour tops, increasing as they grow older, an educational outing followed by audiobooks in the afternoon so I could do reading and writing, then more reading and writing in the evening after they are in bed.  Not sure if this would be enough, for them or for me?

Experiences please!

Many thanks to all!

[ByGrace3]

No actual advice as dh is doing his PhD right now and I am holding off...but my one question would be how many years would it take you? My dh is doing a distance program and it will take him probably about 5 years... And he travels on site about once every 4-6 weeks.

 

I think it is doable for you if you don't have to work and if it is only a few years. K, 1st and even 2nd can be done in a few short hours, but adding a 2nd child and higher grades take more time...

 

My dh spends a lot of time on schoolwork. I think it is a very personal choice. What do you plan to do with it once you have it. It is a huge sacrifice, is it worth it? Only you can answer that for you.

[G5052]

Possible, but you'll have to think through your priorities.  The reality is that at some point you can't do everything well.

 

I stopped short of my PhD because of problems with my dissertation advisor and burn-out. I've always homeschooled and worked, and I've taken classes here and there because I'm a professor in a field that constantly changes. It was easier to do that when they were younger because their schooling took about half a day.  At times it still caused problems though.  I still remember having to close my office door to write a paper, and the day my 1st grader pushed a note under the door that she missed me and wished that I would come out.

 

But needing to work more put away any plans to do a PhD.  I'm now working full-time and still homeschooling my high schoolers, and that's all that I can do.  At this point the bills and their education are my focus. Maybe 3 years from now when they're both in college, but we'll have to see. 

[Starr]

You've been studying so you know how much time it takes. Follow your plan and see how it works out over time. You won't ruin a 5 or 6 year old whatever you do. :D

[Momling]

I had preschool aged kids while working on a PhD and found it impossible to be both the student I wanted to be and the mother I wanted to be. I had them in daycare until 6 for a while and used an au pair for a while, but it was still pretty near impossible. Perhaps if you had a more flexible or humane program... Or a spouse who could help out... But I had neither and hated how many evenings and weekends and birthdays and holidays I missed.

[Legomom]

I have always wanted to get my PhD in accounting and have started thinking about again as my kids are reaching high school age.

I am anticipating homeschooling them for 3 more years and then they would start dual enrollment. I am 48, so I am not sure if it is worth the time and commitment at this point. Dh thinks that I should go for it. I can't decide, but am still evaluating it.

[Guest Amyisham]

Thanks everyone for your honest and experienced answers and questions to help me think.  I really appreciate this community!!
 

"My dh spends a lot of time on schoolwork. I think it is a very personal choice. What do you plan to do with it once you have it. It is a huge sacrifice, is it worth it? Only you can answer that for you."

ByGrace3  - Yes I think this is key!  I only want to do a PhD because I know that when we move next year ( my husband has two options to work as a full-time pastor next year and they are both in rural/regional areas without close access to conferences or collaborators and not near relevant universities) I will not keep doing research unless I have someone to motivate me.  I feel a bit of a 'call' to do it, but also feel 'called' to homeschool my kids as discipleship as well as academically.

​I have a topic I am fascinated with - its to do with how people look for information and I want to survey how people use formal and informal sources and networks to find data and their information needs ( I am a librarian). at the moment, my review is on how dentists seek information as they are less internet based and much more informal network based, which is unlike most health providers.  I fell into the job I have working with a dental researcher and now have a scholarship ( for 120 hours total) to finish a literature review on it and would only need one more subject to be eligible for a PhD. The topic I feel could branch out to how pastors and politicians and other people groups seek data and lifelong learning itself.

In Australia a PhD is free but I would need to get a scholarship to make it worthwhile for my family - I think from what people have said I would need a babysitter  - which I may be able to find a teenager for to take the kids somewhere a few mornings a week so I could work. But if there are significant deadlines, travel and heaps of work, then I might need family day care to make it work, which would mean $$.

People talked about humane schedule! I think I will need to discuss this with the potential supervisor - I am not ambitious really, although a lecturer position one day when the kids are independent would be great.  My husband can earn enough for us, we live pretty frugally and I am not planning to spend a lot on curriculum, but dance and swimming classes at this age will spread into music and more dance which could be the main expense.  I would like to try and publish while studying but this is quite difficult as I have experienced trying to get some papers I am co-author on published this year.  

​I could go for part-time - which would mean 7-8 years plus next year to finish the prerequisite subjects.  Which would also give me some reading time.  I need to know how many hours of reading and writing would need to be done in a week. 7-8 years is a good time  - my boss said only to do it full-time, but he had one child who had left home at that time.

​I suppose if I got a scholarship I could invest in more 'out of the box' curriculum as the kids education needs get more advanced but stick to simple for kinder...

Any more advice, experiences and probing questions appreciated!