How this busy Working Mom Homeschools

It can be done.

Yes, working outside the home with your spouse and homeschooling is a creative and doable endeavor. But it's not for the faint at heart.

WHY I DID IT

I have to be honest, I wasn't on board with homeschooling --ever before. I have four kids, two of which completed their education at various schools both private and public.

My youngest two kids started with public school and were later transferred to private schools.

Then, a major hiccup happened. My youngest son had been having major problems in school with bullying from teachers and peers. One teacher even physically harmed him. He started suffering from depression - mainly exhibited at school. Then we moved him to private school. He did pretty well but moving him up to the 4th grade in this school proved difficult since the teacher he would have would've been a terrible fit for him, but she was the only teacher that taught that grade.

Meanwhile, I started homeschooling my 10th grade daughter who'd been in the gifted and talented track in public school since elementary. We'd moved and the high school she would have to attend had many problems. So after research I presented the pros/cons of homeschooling to her and asked her if she wanted to try it out. She was thrilled with the control she had in her education, and we enrolled her into a Community College and an Umbrella oversight group which allowed her to use her college classes for dual credit. Also, she was still able to have a prom, dances, teen parties through our Co-op. It worked so well I ended up graduating her from homeschool high school after 1 year and 24 credits at the college.

HOW TO DO IT WHEN WORKING

It wasn't until I graduated my 16yr old, after 1 year of homeschooling I felt confident I could do it for my younger two kids while working. My husband and I realized that for us, we needed order.

- We flipped flopped our work schedules so most days someone is home and able to school the 4th and 7th grader we had.

- We hired a nanny/tutor to conduct school for us 2 days a week when our schedules didn't agree. Also, it was great when my Mother In Law retired and offered to do 1 of those days. In addition we found 2 daycares that will allow drop ins for our kids if we have to have backup care.

- We selected an out of the box Online/DVD based curriculum that had everything spelled out - making it easy for 3 different people to conduct school. Also, we figured we'd stick to the curriculum similar to the one in traditional school since we plan to give our kids a choice to return to traditional school each year.

- We homeschool starting in the summer and doing it only 4 days or evenings  a week (even weekends) if we have to. And I create a weekly calendar posted on the refrigerator for everyone to know what the family schedule is.

- We use a system similar to the workbox method (we augmented it for our family a bit) and everyone knows where to find what.

CONS of HOMESCHOOLING and WORKING

It's not easy. But it's worth it when I see that my kids want to continue learning after their 3 to 4 hrs a day class time with mom or dad. It takes a lot of organization on my part, which I do every Sunday evening. And doing it alone (especially with younger children) can be stressful, lucky for my husband is a great help.