I get quite a few emails from single parents and dual income families looking to find a homeschooling parent who will take their kids and homeschool them. This is problematic because when a homeschooling parent takes on other kids, their homeschool becomes more of a school, and less of a flexible home environment. For this reason, there are many families who would like to homeschool but don’t because they feel that they can’t work and homeschool at the same time.
Oh, but they can. As I wrote some time back in Can I Homeschool on the Road?, the most important aspect of homeschooling is flexibility. “You need to remember that homeschooling does not have to happen during traditional school hours. All you need is a good plan/curriculum and four to five days to homeschool… any four or five hours. ”
Still there is the big glaring issue of 8+ hours a day when parents need to work and the child needs to be monitored. Without a great deal of support, and a little extra money too, it is very difficult to fill that time. Here are some possible suggestions to help you with this issue.
Find a group of homeschooling families, each of whom would could take your child/children one to two days per week while you work. While many homeschooled families would turn down the idea of watching you child 5 days a week as it would impede with their flexibility, they would be happy to do one or two days a week according to their schedule. You will also need a back up person for when personal situations cause a conflict.
Find homeschooled Seniors and Juniors who would be happy to watch your kids while you work. They could come over to your home and “babysit” and possibly even tutor your child during the day while they also do their own independent study. It would be ideal to have two or three students as one student could get burned out working 5 days a week and keeping up with their own school work.
Ask your boss to make your schedule a bit more flexible. Perhaps you could work from home one or two days a week, or work opposite hours from the other parent so that someone is always with your child.
If you start talking to homeschooling families about your needs, it is just a matter of time before a few families will put their heads together with yours and help you come up with a great solution.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?