Hiring a governess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What curriculum would you follow? Or would it be very 19th century? Walks in the park and nature journals?

For 2 elementary kids, it probably doesn't matter much. Especially if they already know how to read. Some reading time, some math workbooks, walks, picking up leaves, a couple science projects from kits...seems OK.

Ok then. Kids need to be instructed in phonics and grammar.

[Anonymous]

Ha! I have joked about wanting a governess as well but in all seriousness it is doable. We have homeschooled and like most people were shocked that the academic portion of school maxed out at 2-3 hours per day. The rest of the day is independent reading, field trips and group activities with other hs'ers that you wouldn't need a trained teacher for.

So it's within reason that you could hire a retired teacher or part time tutor for a couple days a week for less that $50k then pay a nanny for the non specialized portion of the day.

[Anonymous]

I could see this being very attractive to new grads.

[Anonymous]

Where would you find such a person? Nanny agencies?

[Anonymous]

We hired a teacher for part of the summer. Considering hiring a teacher for Sept 2020 - Summer 2021.

[Anonymous]

I did it this school year the first semester. I obviously picked the wrong semester to do it. I work part-time so I hired a teacher who speaks our heritage language to come in for 4 hours a day M-Th. I paid her $40 an hour. She was a retired teacher. If you don't work you don't really need more than 4 hours if your kids are elementary age. We traveled some weekends Thursday nights through Sunday. We went for a week to Disney in late September. It was great. There are so many resource that it is so easy to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What curriculum would you follow? Or would it be very 19th century? Walks in the park and nature journals?

For 2 elementary kids, it probably doesn't matter much. Especially if they already know how to read. Some reading time, some math workbooks, walks, picking up leaves, a couple science projects from kits...seems OK.

Ok then. Kids need to be instructed in phonics and grammar.

Must be able to sing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

[Anonymous]

Just hire a nanny with a college degree and teaching experience. We have a nanny with a masters and plan to keep her forever! Other families I know who used to take long stints overseas brought an educated nanny with them to teach the older children.

[Anonymous]

Have considered doing it as a share with another family. We did a nanny share with a young child; I don't see this as that different.

[Anonymous]

Or a retired teacher who doesn't want to teach in public/private with all the germs there. More likely to be good teachers also b/c they came up before all this prescribed learning.

[Anonymous]

I hired a governess when I unexpectedly took custody of my niece and nephew. It didn't work out. She had a bizarre obsession with two previous employees of mine, to the point that she thought my wards were communicating with their ghosts, or actually possessed by them -- she wasn't altogether clear on that point. It didn't end well for anyone, tbh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just joking about the “governess” label, but seriously considering hiring a teacher for my kids next year if schools can’t have a reasonable plan in place. Anyone else do this or think about doing this? If wouldn’t be any more expensive than private anyway. Thoughts?

Are you expecting to pay teacher salary and insurance, etc? I can see this being an attractive idea for a new teacher grad.

Maybe if there wasn’t a teacher shorter. However, with top districts in this area eager to get quality new grads, who would want to delay getting tenure and vesting in a pension plan to play Mary Poppins in your dining room?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hired a governess when I unexpectedly took custody of my niece and nephew. It didn't work out. She had a bizarre obsession with two previous employees of mine, to the point that she thought my wards were communicating with their ghosts, or actually possessed by them -- she wasn't altogether clear on that point. It didn't end well for anyone, tbh.

I can refer you mine if you need another. Wonderful young lady. Former nun, industrious and confident, talented music teacher. And resourceful—made play clothes for the kids out of drapes once!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hired a governess when I unexpectedly took custody of my niece and nephew. It didn't work out. She had a bizarre obsession with two previous employees of mine, to the point that she thought my wards were communicating with their ghosts, or actually possessed by them -- she wasn't altogether clear on that point. It didn't end well for anyone, tbh.

I can refer you mine if you need another. Wonderful young lady. Former nun, industrious and confident, talented music teacher. And resourceful—made play clothes for the kids out of drapes once!

Ours married my damn husband while I was locked in the attic.

[Anonymous]

No way. Last governess died under unusual circumstances and the current one thinks she sees ghosts.