Homeschool and Daycare?

[mommiebookworm]

My 13 year old went to a private school this past year, but we are tossing around the idea of homeschooling for this coming year.
Have you homeschooled and had a full time daycare? Any tips or advice?

[Martha Stewart]

I just sent my 13 yo daughter back to 7th grade mid year after homeschooling for the last 1.5 years. The biggest challenge we faced was on days where I had a baby who cried most of the day (colic). It was distracting at best.

What I did was fill out a lesson planner for a week at a time. She knew what each reading assignment, work assignment and project was each day by looking at it. I had her get up the same time as our other children who were/are public schooled and she began her school day at 8:00am. Much of what she did was self guided and didn't involve much in the way of direction beyond written instruction. I loosely used SonLight IG because it was very heavy on learning through literature and I really liked the Story of the World series for this age. She did well with this. For Science we used a standard text book and just worked through it. The only real instruction I gave her each day was math. During morning rest time, she and i would go over the new material, she would complete it, and then during the start of afternoon nap we would reconvene and go over everything she had done.

I would also say that we were very successful with this, as she is ahead in every subject back in public school.

[Controlled Chaos]

First let me say I tip my hat to those disciplined enough to home school well.

Second, I think it matters why you want to homeschool. Religious reasons? Developmental issue? Bad/unsafe schools? I can't imagine being able to successfully homeschool a child with a developmental delay or sensory issue AND run an attentive and successful home daycare. That's just me. I would also avoid assuming your child will get more one on one time at home, it totally depends on your group and the type of program you provide.

[Martha Stewart]

First let me say I tip my hat to those disciplined enough to home school well.

Second, I think it matters why you want to homeschool. Religious reasons? Developmental issue? Bad/unsafe schools? I can't imagine being able to successfully homeschool a child with a developmental delay or sensory issue AND run an attentive and successful home daycare. That's just me. I would also avoid assuming your child will get more one on one time at home, it totally depends on your group and the type of program you provide.

It takes an insane amount of organization and commitment. I know for us, we pulled dd when her cluster migraines became debilitating and we were actively working with a neurologist to figure things out. We needed to minimize her stress level. She definitely did not get as much 1 on 1 as she did in a regular school setting. She DID get the benefit of not being held up by a class, she DID get customized curriculum and help - but she very much missed the social setting - and she took a drama class, played soccer and participated in a variety of art classes & extra curriculars through the school.

Before anyone starts homeschooling, I'd recommend talking to others who have done it in your state. Some states are easier than others (require less reporting/testing) than others. Look into what the regulations are.

[Meyou]

We homeschool. My dd does most work independently (she's almost 16) and I assist at naptime when I need to. We use time4learning and coursera for most of her core subject curriculum with a lot of extra time spent on crafting, reading and writing. She also dances 7 days per week, teaches dance and is in a performance company. I'm hoping my 11 year old will want to stay home within the next year or two too but she's very happy in public school right now and doing well so I'm not pushing it.

[mommiebookworm]

First let me say I tip my hat to those disciplined enough to home school well.

Second, I think it matters why you want to homeschool. Religious reasons? Developmental issue? Bad/unsafe schools? I can't imagine being able to successfully homeschool a child with a developmental delay or sensory issue AND run an attentive and successful home daycare. That's just me. I would also avoid assuming your child will get more one on one time at home, it totally depends on your group and the type of program you provide.

I too am in awe of those that can do it successfully!
We pulled her from the public school last year because of some problems with other students. She was/is not as emotionally mature as her peers.
We have discussed homeschooling, or sending her back to the private school. I'm working on a list of pros/cons for homeschooling.

[originalkat]

We have been homeschooling for the last 4 years. My kids are in 2nd and 4th grade. I have 8 preschoolers enrolled full time. I have done my best to be diligent in both. But honestly it is very hard to do. We are considering puting the girls in a private school next school year. We shall see... but it CAN be done.

[mduck]

I homeschool 2nd grade and will be adding kindergarten this fall. I have three of my own and I daycare one 16 month old. She is close to the age of my youngest so it's like having twins. I know it's only one but I still cannot do much in the way of teaching while she is here and awake (she is VERY high spirited). Meaning, think bmx moves, but on a riding toy. Yeah that's her. Not cool. I can't take my eyes off of her for very long. Anyhow, I make it work by starting school really early before my dcg gets here and before my own baby wakes up. Then I work on the other teacher guided stuff while the babies nap. My homeschooler does her independant stuff by herself in another room while the babies are awake. Now come this fall? We'll see if I'm still this optimistic

[NightOwl]

I'vebeen doing it since October and it's been great. I think it depends on the kid. My 12th year old is very independent and self motivated, so she gets her stuff done on her own and needs minimal help from me. If she required more attention/help, I don't know if I could do it.I would probably have her do her work in the evenings if that was the case. That's the beauty of homeschool, it's very fluid.

[SilverSabre25]

I homeschool my 7 year old and it's tricky, at best, but doable. Helps to have a relaxed/partial unschooly approach!

[Annalee]

Homeschooling is picking up here due to the testing (TCAP) expectations in the schools. Personally, I do not homeschool my sons (5th & 7th grade), but I totally get it. This common core is crazy. My fifth grader has school work like my College Praxis exam????? I do feel it would take strict organization to homeschool and work FCC at the same time. Not saying I will never cross that bridge but am keeping my sons in the small community school right now.

[Blackcat31]

My 13 year old went to a private school this past year, but we are tossing around the idea of homeschooling for this coming year.
Have you homeschooled and had a full time daycare? Any tips or advice?

Here are a few more threads about homeschool and daycare

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=homeschooling

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I have been homeschooling and doing childcare for the past 16 years. This is my last year as my ds will graduate. ;(
For my dd (now 24 and graduated from college) homeschooling was a great fit. She learned to study and did a great job. Now, she is a teacher
Ds it has given him the opportunity to shoot competitively and travel much more than he could have in school. He is dyslexic and it has also given him the advantage of extra time and attention. He is headed off to college in the fall.

Most years I have had 6 little ones here. Some groups have been easier than others to homeschool and do childcare. I tend to give instruction 15 minutes at a time. I now run down what needs to be done and do math with ds. In the past i have used every minute of naptime to do instructions. My kids are 6 years apart so I was doing 1st grade and 7th at the same time.

It is not easy and I will say I am looking forward with being done so that I can just worry about the littles. But, I will miss having the extra hands here. The benefit is that if I have a fussy one, I can hand off a child. Both of my kids were awesome with the littles. My son will truly miss them when he is at college. They become part of your lifestyle. Right now when Ds and I sit down to do math I have a 18 month old that "has" to sit with us! Michael will bounce her on his knee and do math. I figure if they can do schoolwork through this chaos they will be great at college.

If you have any specific questions- just ask.

[jenn]

I homeschool my 1st grade daughter. I am in Kansas, and we have VERY relaxed laws regarding homeschool.

You need to be very organized and very dedicated in order to do both, but it is very possible.

I have a helper (registered) that comes and sits with the daycare kids during nap time, and that is our prime homeschool direct instruction time. My daughter does some independent work during the day.

Another option (at least in Kansas) is enrolling in a virtual school. Basically, online instruction and guidance from licensed teachers. Some prefer a virtual school as it takes care of most of the paperwork and legal requirements of the state they are in, but still allows them the influence and guidance of being at home with a parents input.

[originalkat]

I homeschool my 7 year old and it's tricky, at best, but doable. Helps to have a relaxed/partial unschooly approach!

I agree. This is what we had to do. I called us "relaxed homeschoolers".