I don't, but my boss does (daughter is 7) and it does not work at all. She is never available during the day and daughter interrupts most meetings. Bizarre. |
LOL OP I am sure you are a competent teacher while working 40 hours a week.... |
I did it for a year with a then 3rd grader during Covid. My spouse and I both work FT but do shift work. I would do the lesson plans ahead of time and do the bulk of the homeschool on my days at home. I would literally write down on a white board what my kid needed to do on my work days and she would do them and check them off. Spouse works 4-midnight so one of us was always home during the day. Not sure how you would do it if you both work 9-5 type jobs. |
That sounds absolutely miserable. |
I’m a SAH mom, but people post in homeschooling groups sometimes saying that they work full time and homeschool. It seems like most who do that either homeschool during the day and work in the evening when their spouse can watch the kids or work as a full time nurse Friday-Sunday. Many seem to only school 4 days a week instead of 5 to make it easier to work.
Are you part of the Fb group Working Homeschool Mom Club by Jen Mackinnon? |
It’s the hardest best thing I’ve ever done. |
Some of my friends who work full-time and homeschool:
1. Two work full-time hours over the weekend, e.g., 12 hr/day, Fri-Sun. One is divorced and kid stays with dad on weekends, then is with her Mon-Thurs when they homeschool. The other is married, but similar situation, kids are with the dad while she works, then she homeschools them during the week. 2. One works something crazy like 70 hours, but only every other week. The weeks she works, her kid is schooled by nanny and a little bit by dad, and the weeks she's off work, she does most of the schooling with help from nanny. The typical school day for traditional school is 6.5 hours, but when you homeschool, you don't need to do even half that, at least for younger kids, because they are learning one on one. It's totally doable to work full-time and homeschool, but I wouldn't want to do it if my work hours were classic 9-5. |
Young kids don't need much formal schooling - if you have a bright kid, schools are largely day care.. Older kids can do online classes. It's not impossible, but requires commitment and $$ (though much less than private school). |
More like online school (not homeschooling). |
I did it for 5th grade. Child went to a co-op activity group 3 days a week and was home alone while I worked for 2 days. You have to keep in mind that when you homeschool, there’s much less instruction time than in a school setting. Fwiw, child went to very selective middle school and is now in a selective college. |
Can I ask why you homeschooled just for that one year? |
My son was in 4th/5th during Covid. MCPS virtual did not work for him. I enrolled him in an accredited online school. I’ve WFH for 15 years. I set his desk up in my office. I worked while he was in school but he was next to me.
He really loved it. MCPS MS is not going so great and he’s asking to back to the online program. If I do it now, I would supplement the online classes with in person activities. Since my job is remote, as long as the in person location activity has wifi, I can work. |
Yes. I am self employed and can, for the most part, set my own hours. My spouse has a f/t job with a somewhat flexible schedule too. We do our work while our child is in co-op sessions, doing in-person programs, online programs, or reading, working on things independently, or at playdates, as well as in the evenings when necessary. (Yes, we have downtime too.) This has been the case most of the way through elementary and into middle school. We're by no means the only ones doing this. It works best when you get to know other homeschooling parents who can support each other via carpooling, taking turns hosting things or leading field trips or other activities, etc., have flexible hours, and can work from home or other locations.
We've experienced the school routine with office jobs and set work hours too, and overall, I don't think we're stretched any thinner than a lot of parents who have to drive their children to school by a set time, commute to work, pick up their child (or make plans for them to be picked up and cared for by someone else), help with homework, and make contingency plans on days when their child is sick or schools are closed. |
Why not try MCPS Virtual Academy? Its very different than how it was with covid. |
Online classes, parents don't teach |