Hello,

I am a married mother of two boys (20 months & 2 months) and Lord willing I plan to start informally homeschooling my older boy when he turns 2. I will have to return to work full time (32hrs/week) in the evenings. My husband, so far is ok with our children learning at home instead of going to preschool. I pray he will feel the same when our children are older however I doubt he will want to actually do any of the teaching. So my question is, can one parent homeschool while working full time? For me, public school is out of the question & private Christian school is not within our budget. I'm not concerned about socialization. I'm just worried that I won't be able to teach them everything I feel they need to learn. Is anyone else in a similar situation? Thank you for reading.

Kelly

I worked and homeschooled, but while my children were junior/high school age. It worked well, but you do have some sort of safe place for the children to be while you are working. If your husband is at home while you work, that is best, or some type of daycare situation. When they are elementary school aged, that gets harder. I live on a farm, and my in-laws (the grandparents) were next door, so the kids had a safe place to be while I was working and they were home.

Welcome, Kelly!

I don't work, so cannot help you with that bit, but I can say that you can teach a preschooler all they need to know - easily- in 2 hours a day with lots of breaks.

Since your eldest is 2, you have lots of time to try it out and see how it works for you before they hit compulsory age. My guess is that by the time you've done it one year (not to mention 3 years!) and compare your kid to where he or she would be in a "far away school" setting - you won't have any more doubts about your abilities. (My Little One coined the term "far away school"and I like it : )

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

I know *I* couldn't work full time and homeschool, probably not even part time. I am too scatterbrained. When I was working full time, I couldn't keep the home organized and I wouldn't have been able to work full time, keep up the home, plan lessons, and be able to teach it effectively. Now that I'm staying home full time, it takes all I have to keep up the home, run errands, teach the kids, and take care of the baby (also 2 months old!). And this is with help from my mom! Both working full time and homeschooling would be too much for me, with my kids still being so young. BTW, I'm thinking of when your kids get a little older. It would be really easy to teach them now, in a short amount of time, but it gets harder and more time consuming, so it may be hard to tell this early on how it will work out for you in the long run.

BUT, each person is different and I would say it is at least worth a try if you think you are the type of person that would be able to do it. I think anything is possible if you want it bad enough and work to make it happen. We planned for two years before I quit my job, paying off debt and saving money, so that I would be able to stay home. Maybe being able to stay home at least part time someday is something you could work towards, but I know that is not always an option. If staying home now or in the future is definitely not an option, I would at least try my best at homeschooling while working.

I know what you mean about public and private school not being an option, not to mention that most private schools are no better than public school.

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Mom to Christian (13), Saphira (10), Xavier (5), and Adrian (2).

Hi Kelly! Welcome! YES, you can definitely homeschool and work. Let's take a look at some of the items you need to consider.

Is your dh willing to watch the kids in the evening while you work or is he also working at that time? Obviously, you have to have someone looking after them.

Are you organized? It's important to get a plan for what you want to accomplish so you can stay on track since you won't have scads of spare time. As others have said, your children are small now, and even up to age 10 or so, just an hour or two of school is PLENTY. If you school year round, an hour will probably do it. Now, they child would also need to read or listen to quality literature on CD during some of the rest of the day, but once you get them reading, they can do that on their own.

Do you get overwhelmed when you are tired? You WILL be tired from working full time and having kids. Adding in homeschooling is just a little more weight on that load. On the positive side, you will actually have LESS of a load than if you sent the kids to school because they would come home with lots of homework (Yes, even Kindergartners!) every night that your hubby would have to supervise. So actually his workload would drop from homeschooling rather than classroom school.

I recommend doing a lot more reading. Check out our beginner page where there are lots of wonderful testimonies and informational articles:
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/beginner.php

Also, look in your library for books by John Taylor Gatto. If possible, start with his book "Dumbing Us Down." That will show you some very good reasons for homeschooling to share with your dh.

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"On the positive side, you will actually have LESS of a load than if you sent the kids to school because they would come home with lots of homework (Yes, even Kindergartners!) every night that your hubby would have to supervise. So actually his workload would drop from homeschooling rather than classroom school.

That's a *great* point, Martha! I was speaking to the Mom of one of DD's little friends who is in first grade this year in "far away school." Her Mom said the homework load is such that her daughter is in tears lots of nights.

I really don't get that. Why can't they teach in 6 hours what I can teach in less than two? But, they can't - they send it home for the parents to teach, when the kid is already exhausted from a full day at school.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

Hi and thank you for all of the encouraging replies. I am definitely motivated to teach my children at home so I will do whatever I need to to make it happen. Seeing the report on the news today about another shooting, in an elementary school, further solidifies my resolve to keep my boys home.

My husband will be home in the evenings to take care of our boys. He has a mentally & physically taxing job so I doubt he would even have the energy to do any schooling with them. I would like to encourage him to read to them for a few minutes every night at least.

Perhaps in a few years I will be able to work only a couple days per week, but we live in a very expensive area so that might not be possible unless I can earn an income from home.

I pray I am able to get myself organized and get us into a routine before my older boy turns 5. I'm quite good at planning but not so good when it comes to implementing my plans. I know I have to get myself more organized. It is a relief to know that I don't need to have my children doing 8 hours of schooling every day.

I was thinking to homeschool all year, with breaks for the holidays & in the summer. I think that's better anyway. I'm glad to know homeschooling & working is possible for me and I'm happy to read of others' successes doing the same.

Just wanted to welcome you here and encourage you. You've already gotten great advice. I did work and homeschool but my daughter was 15-16, so I don't have a lot to offer but as Martha said, read and study up on it and you'll find the perfect nitch for you and your family.

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa

Welcome! I just wanted to reiterate what someone else said....your kids are very young and you do not need to "do" formal schooling at such a young age. Playing "educational games" with them in whatever capacity is the best learning and it is fun, especially at this age. Matching socks from the laundry teaches them all about "same and different", different colors, etc. Cooking is a great way to teach them math. They may not understand the terms "1/2 cup or teaspoon and so on" but it will one day "click." Leap Frog has turned out some wonderful dvds on the alphabet and basic numbers.

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Prayer should be your first response.
Not your last resort.

HI!. I am now working full time, and continuing to homeschool. My girls that are still at home are 12 and 13, so looking at totally different ages. Since yours are still so young, you do not have to do a thing except what you have been doing all along. Children will naturally learn if they are in a safe, joyful, home that allows them to explore their environment. There is nothing you will need except love and attention. They will be so full of questions and wonderment that each thing they do is a continuum of learning that they have been on since birth. If you play with them, read to them, sing with them, snuggle with them, then they will be learning every moment of every day (even in sleep because their brains will continue to develop and process what they do when awake). If they are not at the legal age of schooling in your state (5 or 6 usually) they are not needing any formal education, and even after that age you can still continue providing whatever materials fits their personalities and desires and you will see such beautiful learning going on for years!!! Kids will learn what they need, when they need it so be watching them and they will let you know what and how much they need at any given time.

Welcome to the group.