StaceyinLA Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 And, if so, do you participate in their education in any way? This kind of goes along with my other post because I'm planning to have my grandkids one day each week to do projects and give my daughters an "errand" day. I'd just like to know if you do help in any way with home schooling you grandchildren, what are some things that you do with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Mine are but they live 850 miles away. I contribute by buying school books and paying for some extracurriculars. We hope to relocate near them when dh retires in a few years and plan to be more involved with their education. I hope others who live far from their grands can give me ideas on how to be more involved in a meaningful way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 I live far from several of mine right now, but that is going to change later this year since they are moving back to LA. I absolutely cannot WAIT!! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I am not a grandma but my MIL helps me out. She started doing art class with my DD when she was pretty young. It gave me a light day each week. I dropped DD off at MIL's house, dropped off middle kid at pre-school, and that left me with just the youngest who was a baby at the time. It was a nice break for me and a good bonding time for DD and grandma. As the kids grew older she started adding the youngers to art class as they got to be school age (Kindergarten). Now she does it less often because I need more time with the kids doing work at home, but they still go about twice a month for half a day. My DD has really gotten into art and is planning to study animation when she goes to college. For art class MIL often does seasonal art projects in lots of different mediums. My MIL is an artist herself, and has an art studio at her home that she designed to work with the kids. They each have their own desk to work at. She also takes the kids on trips to art museums but sometimes they just go swimming or to the park. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 MIL looks after the kids one day a week while I work. They usually do some kind of exploration (local beaches, walkways, etc) or at home experiences - baking, sewing, etc and then write it up for me. My mother used to but it was pretty much just "eat lots of junk food, watch TV and hang out and get Grandma to do it for you" if I sent any work, and we can't afford that time off now, so that doesn't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I am going to be a first time grandma in February. So no experience yet, but I do not think it is likely that any of my grands will be homeschooled. It is not due to a lack of desire. Dd and hubby would love to, but economics will prevail. Wages are stagnant and inflation had outpaced them by a horrific percentage. Her husband will take two or three times as long my dh did to get to a place where there is any hope of squeaking out an existence on one income. My boys all feel they will not be able to earn enough, early enough in their careers to support a single income family. Maybe they will marry women with high incomes and do it themselves, but I think it is pretty unlikely. I hope they all land in places with the more top notch public schools. Ours are atrocious here! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My grandkids are too young yet, but the plan is for them to be homeschooled. I will probably try to help out in some way, but I'm not sure how that will look when it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicMom Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 We are a two income family who can only homeschool because both grandmas help out. Fortunately DH and I were home homeschooled through 12th grade, so our moms are veteran homeschoolers. There is no way we can ever live on a single income, no matter how frugally we live. I may be able to cut back to part time someday. But we really rely heavily on grandmas in order to make it all work. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Medicmom :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Thanking of you today! I am glad the grandmas can help. My dd lives nine hours away so I am not going to be of any assistance, at least not with dh needing to work ten more years before leaving his current rat race. Sigh....I can buy books though! Lots and lots of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Three out of eight grandkids are homeschooled. I teach the three HS kids Latin once a week for an hour or two. (Two 3rd graders and a 1st grader.) I'll probably teach them algebra when they get there. I enjoy teaching a class for them, but not being in charge of their entire education. My older (step) daughter is quite capable and doing a great job, even though she just pulled them out after Christmas. They are thriving with homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I would love to be an involved grandmother, I love this thread. Of course, my oldest would have to decide to grow up before someone would want to marry her, so no grand kids there for awhile. My middle son would have to decide to change his shirt without it being able to stand on its own before finding a wife. My youngest is only 15, so probably no grand babies for me for a long time. But a girl can dream! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My grandchildren are too young, but their parents want to homeschool, finances allowing. Jobs and wages in their area are not in their favor, but we shall see what the future brings. My other married dd says if she has children, they WILL be homeschooled. Her dh is in agreement but not quite as adamant as my dd is. Dd would be able to work from home and keep her salary so it could probably work. If they have children, that is. I would love to be involved but not with a big commitment. I love my grandchildren and enjoy spending time with them, but I'm also looking forward to the next season of my life where dh and I can focus on us. I see myself as more of a sounding board and cheerleader than actually taking an active pay in their homeschooling. I've been at this for 20 years with 4 more to go. I'm ready to pass on the torch. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Only one grandchild this far, and she will be two in late September. Unnervingly, she is on the way to reading, entirely of her own initiative. Her mother really liked my sales pitch for AlphaPhonics, including that the program can be as low-key and as slow moving as the child asks for it to be. I really do swear by this reading program, after twice using it. Never used it for long, though, as the two of my children who learned to read with it were done quickly, well before one-third of the lessons were presented. The son who used it was off and reading after the fifteenth lesson, when barely four. My granddaughter resembles him, it seems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I fear I will never be a grandma! :lol: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I fear I will never be a grandma! :lol: I think you have some justification for your fear. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 And, if so, do you participate in their education in any way? This kind of goes along with my other post because I'm planning to have my grandkids one day each week to do projects and give my daughters an "errand" day. I'd just like to know if you do help in any way with home schooling you grandchildren, what are some things that you do with them? Nothing to add, really, because I'm sure you can come up with better projects than i can. But, I want to say this is awesome. I would be in heaven if I had someone to support me like this! Especially a grandma. Your daughters are so fortunate. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLMom Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My granddaughter is only 2, but my dd, who was homeschooled all the way through says she does not want to homeschool her. I will help out any of my kids if they decide to homeschool any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 No grandchildren yet, although two married children! We always were very clear to our kids that we didn't necessarily think homeschooling was for everyone, and we would never be disappointed in them if they chose not to homeschool. And, even one year ago I would have said that probably none of them would end up homeschooling. They all will say that they had very positive experiences homeschooling, but their lives are different: most of my daughters will probably end up holding professional careers etc. But lately, they have all talked about the possibility of homeschooling their children someday. If they do, I would love to help. In fact, that might be the only way it would work out for some of them, and I think I'd really enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Only one infant grandchild so far. Grandma has and does help with our homeschooling, though. In the early years, while dh was in school, the dear in laws helped us with curriculum for several years. My family also helped by getting us science and art center memberships. These days I'm pretty much at home and finances are good, but dear mil helps by supervising dd's school work when she stays with her. It's been a nice to be able to travel occassionally with dh or to go to appointments with no worries. Mil has also agreed to take dd in case of our deaths and continue homeschooling her. Just having a back-up plan with her has been so helpful and alleviates any stress. I hope to be able to do the same for my kiddos if they choose to school at home. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Mine are 1-1/2 and 3, so it's a few years off even for the oldest. Unless something big changes they won't be homeschooled. They live an hour away, so me homeschooling them isn't realistic either. However, neither parent was homeschooled so it's not like homeschooled adults rejecting hs for their own children. I have no idea what ds (almost) 18, the one who was homeschooled, will do. I doubt he knows at this point but he won't rule it out (so he tells me). Most likely it will depend on whether both he and his spouse work, what the school system where they live is like, and many of the other reasons why anyone does or doesn't choose to homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Yes, but the ones that are don't live near me. There is a possibility that some of the younger ones will be in the future. I don't know how involved I would be then. Depends on which family it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndGenHomeschooler Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'm not a grandma but my DH and I were both home schooled. My MIL will occasionally make comments about helping me with school but I'm glad she hasn't. Mostly because of methodology differences. She homeschooled my DH and his brother with Abeka video school and was a K teacher using Abeka before that. I am too CM for that. I don't like all the drill, the dry textbooks, or the comprehension questions. I prefer short lessons with engaging books and narration. She definitely means well but many of her ideas for helping me have been much too traditional for my taste. I don't think it's because she thinks I'm doing it "wrong", but more because that's all she knows. (We get along extremely well in case that sounds like we don't.) I would recommend finding out what your DD or DS wants their homeschool to look like (traditional, interest led, CM, classical, etc.) so that you can help them in a way that fits with their goals and then learn more about that style if it's new to you. I don't homeschool the way either of our mothers did and your son or daughter probably won't either. Maybe attend a conference with them so you can see what catches their attention. (I would love to bring my MIL to one so she could see what the homeschooling world looks like now and what part of it I'm drawn to but I really don't think she could handle the crowds or schedule.) I don't anticipate my mom ever wanting to help me homeschool. My youngest sister has one year left of HS and then my mom will finally be done after 27 years of homeschooling. She is ready to be done! She was never terribly confident homeschooling anyway and I actually dragged her along to a convention and helped her figure out my sister's HS plan a few years ago. She might teach sewing/quilting lessons though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 My eldest always insisted that he NEVER would homeschool any future children. (He was homeschooled for grades 3-12.) It is his daughter of whom I wrote earlier. :laugh: His wife was educated via a mix of homeschooling and private Christian schooling. She and my son both are determined to homeschool their children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Nothing to add, really, because I'm sure you can come up with better projects than i can. But, I want to say this is awesome. I would be in heaven if I had someone to support me like this! Especially a grandma. Your daughters are so fortunate. ITA.....all of you supportive grandparents are wonderful! :hurray: My parents only live 2 miles away and see our dc frequently, but they are adamantly opposed to homeschooling and don't hesitate to make their opinions known. It's been hard, and a strain on our relationship. MIL is supportive but lives across the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 We did attend a home school convention this past spring. I was always very eclectic, and it appears they may be as well. They both love Homegrown Preschooler and Montessori methods, as well as some more traditional methods. It seems like they'll do a nice mix. I'm glad they are both committed to home schooling. My other daughter and my son have told me they want me to home school their kids for them (when they have some). I just want to stay in the game because I enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Mine are but they live 850 miles away. I contribute by buying school books and paying for some extracurriculars. We hope to relocate near them when dh retires in a few years and plan to be more involved with their education. I hope others who live far from their grands can give me ideas on how to be more involved in a meaningful way. Skype is amazing. You could get involved by teaching them something over skype. I saw a post from someone recently who was doing a kids programming thing through screen-sharing and skype. But, it needn't be technological. Do you know a language? Latin? Getting involved with their literature or english? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndGenHomeschooler Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 We did attend a home school convention this past spring. I was always very eclectic, and it appears they may be as well. They both love Homegrown Preschooler and Montessori methods, as well as some more traditional methods. It seems like they'll do a nice mix. I'm glad they are both committed to home schooling. My other daughter and my son have told me they want me to home school their kids for them (when they have some). I just want to stay in the game because I enjoy it! I hope my post didn't sound like you should reconsider helping with homeschooling. It's awesome that you are able and willing to help them out! I am an extremely independent person. I have definite ideas of how I want things done and I don't accept help well. There are times when I really could use some help but refuse to ask or accept it because things wouldn't be done exactly as I would do it. Definitely a character flaw on my part that I am working on. I'm sure my personality influences my thoughts on homeschooling help. After re-reading my post I thought it may not have come across as I intended and could maybe use some clarification. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abba12 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I am not a grandma obviously, but I am a homeschooled child who is homeschooling their children. My grandma used to do art class with us, and religious education (mum was questioning her faith but still wanted us to learn about it, or something like that...) She would come over once a week to give mum a day to focus on the little kids DH was homeschooled, and while his grandma has nothing to do with schooling, she also came over once a week to babysit while his mum did the grocery shopping with one child. As for me now? My mother is gone, my DH's mother has been forced to work, so neither is actually able to help. My grandmother is still young and she and grandad get involved with the kids still, which is great. I don't want anyone taking over the core subjects, but I would love it if a grandma wanted to take over the time consuming, hands on subjects that I always end up not getting around to. Things like art and cooking and science experiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 My children's grandparents are not involved. My parents live 700 miles away and my inlaws are just busy. My inlaws are very involved in my kids' lives, just not part of their education. I think I would be open to helping my kids homeschool their kids if we lived nearby. But that's a theoretical way in the future thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Skype is amazing. You could get involved by teaching them something over skype. I saw a post from someone recently who was doing a kids programming thing through screen-sharing and skype. But, it needn't be technological. Do you know a language? Latin? Getting involved with their literature or english? Yeah, I thought about Latin since they started it this year but their dad got pretty excited about it and is teaching it. Don't want to step on his toes. He went to seminary and is looking forward to using stuff he learned. Dd is a math and science type, and has a masters in chemistry. She's pretty weak in history and literature, so I hope to fill a need in those subjects eventually. Just not quite sure how to do that over Skype., and they're still pretty young. Thanks for the Skype idea- I hadn't even thought of that. Duh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Mine are too young and they live a couple days drive away, but I would most definitely be open to helping in their education if their parents wanted me to and if we lived close enough. I love spending time with my granddaughter! My grandson was just a newborn when I spent time with him, so he was either sleeping or nursing. :) I will get to see them both again in September for an entire month! Can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I am revisiting the original question of whether I, a grandmother, participate in any way. I shall tread this path carefully and respectfully, inclining toward the hands-off for the most part. Homeschooling can be (or become) inextricable from "the very person" the mother (sometimes also the father) considers herself to be. Homeschooling becomes a facet of parenting itself. Parenting is part of the marriage itself. With rare exception, my proper place is outside of all this. Homeschooling approaches and curricular choices are all-over-the-map. I definitely have strong opinions about what is "good", "bad", and "mediocre." Early experience with homeschooling -- (We began in 1995.) -- taught me that what works for another family will not necessarily work for me, what works for one of my children will not necessarily work for another one of them, and what works well for one of my children may be impossible for me to use for teaching. My much-loved d-i-l has many homeschooling friends through our parish. They are her "peer group", and I envision that they will be her main advisors. She and I are close though, and I anticipate that our conversations about homeschooling will continue. I am a resource, as is her own mother. We also have a massive, hand-picked home library which is available to her. As noted in an earlier post, she was attracted to what I showed her of a particular reading method, and wants to use it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 My MIL helps significantly with my children's schooling. She is a retired teacher and principal and has my older boys two mornings a week. She does their math and language arts with them. In fact, she is my biggest homeschooling supporter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yes I will be homeschooling my grandchild, along with my child, but it's a different situation since I have custody of the grandchild. Stefanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I don't have any helpful ideas, but I am shocked that so many people would be interested in outsourcing the best parts of homeschooling: messy, wild science experiments and art projects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I am revisiting the original question of whether I, a grandmother, participate in any way. I shall tread this path carefully and respectfully, inclining toward the hands-off for the most part. Homeschooling can be (or become) inextricable from "the very person" the mother (sometimes also the father) considers herself to be. Homeschooling becomes a facet of parenting itself. Parenting is part of the marriage itself. With rare exception, my proper place is outside of all this. Homeschooling approaches and curricular choices are all-over-the-map. I definitely have strong opinions about what is "good", "bad", and "mediocre." Early experience with homeschooling -- (We began in 1995.) -- taught me that what works for another family will not necessarily work for me, what works for one of my children will not necessarily work for another one of them, and what works well for one of my children may be impossible for me to use for teaching. My much-loved d-i-l has many homeschooling friends through our parish. They are her "peer group", and I envision that they will be her main advisors. She and I are close though, and I anticipate that our conversations about homeschooling will continue. I am a resource, as is her own mother. We also have a massive, hand-picked home library which is available to her. As noted in an earlier post, she was attracted to what I showed her of a particular reading method, and wants to use it. I know what you mean. I don't want to impose my ideas on dd unless she asks. And usually when she asks I know what she really wants is confirmation that she's making a good choice, not whether I think the math program she's changing to is better. Her experiences are SO different than ours were- we were independent homeschoolers and most people now do co-ops or Classical Conversations or other one day schools. So in a lot of ways, I can't really butt in because homeschooling is way different than when we started in '92. (Some ways better, some ways not better) Your comment about your home library reminded me that we have an extensive collection of books for kids. When dd was here last month she asked for a book on geography and I handed her like ten. She took one. It wasn't the best in the stack, and not the one I thought best for the kids, but she'll do fine with it. It's not about what *I* would do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 I don't know how to quote on my phone, but no I didn't take that wrong 2ndgenhomeschooler. I just didn't want it to sound like I was gonna take over! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I'm a homeschooled child (through 6th grade) who is homeschooling her children. If my mom knew how to navigate a forum, she'd weigh in. I expect at least one of my brothers to homeschool his kids. Two out of my three best homeschooled friends are homeschooling their kids. It happens. I wish the economy were what it was when we were young (I'm working part time this year and headed back to school to earn more), but I value home education and we prioritize it. 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.