Here's my dilemma: I have 4 children (10, 8, 6, 4) They all attend ps at this point. dd10 will be in 6th grade next year and I am NOT willing to send her to ps in middle school. I will be hs'ing her for sure, no doubt. The middle 2 attend a Spanish immersion program as does dd10. DS4 is in a prek program right now, so he'll be in kinder next year. I'm not necessarily a fan of ps, but I love the Spanish aspect of it and all that they're gaining from being there. I want them to be able to be kids and play in the evening, not do hours of homework after being gone all day long. My dh works nights during the week, so they never see him until the weekend (I work nights on the weekend). I'd love to hs them all, and they're ok with the idea too, we've talked about it. I would need to continue the Spanish with reading and listening to it, but I'm not Spanish speaking myself so I couldn't teach it. Here's my concern. I'm in school myself, about to begin nursing school. I understand that nursing school will be harder than HARD and I will have no time for a life due to the studying. I'll be in school, homeschooling and working on weekends. Is it stupid for me to want to start this in the fall and start nursing school the next spring? Should I leave them in ps until middle school? Once they're out of this school they're out, they won't be able to go back. So I need to be positive about my decision. I know only I can make this decision and whatever works for us is what I should do, I'm just looking for some outside ideas...
It would be my inclination to say go for it. Maybe you can find some other homeschoolers who are learning Spanish for the kids to converse with, or a Spanish speaking somebody in your neighborhood? You won't be in nursing school forever. Can dad help with homeschooling at all? Household stuff? My DGD is in a French immersion program at "the best public school" but I certainly wish my DD had the inclination to homeschool. What with all this Common Core stuff, I really wish...
I am thinking that the school they are in must have a waiting list or something and that's why once they are out, they are out. What I would do personally is do year around school to give ALL of you enough time. What I would do, is start this summer, three to four days a week, using a free curr like easy peasy to see if homeschooling is for you (if it isn't you didn't lose anything, not their school slot, nor money since ep is free). If it works, then keep on going through fall, start nursing school in the spring as planned, and continue to just school year around. If you do it year around, you can take a week off here and there when you need to for school, and homeschool during times when you are off of nursing school too-like if you take summer break for nursing school, I would full time homeschool during the summer then (5 days a week), then cut back down to 3 or 4 days a week of homeschooling while you are actually in nursing school. And of course also ask your DH when ever possible to help out too...
SO FREAKIN' WHAT??? What does that have to do with helping this mom solve her problem? Who cares what you have where you live? If you have nothing constructive to say, don't post it.
I agree with you about middle school! We started homeschooling in 5th grade and my kids love it. Could you start with your older dd and let the others "graduate" to home school when they are finished with the school you love? Then you would not be so overwhelmed with all 4 at once. As they get older they can work independently and the older could help with the youngers. I admire you for wanting to take it all on! If you feel this is best for your children, you can do it!
Can you do it... heck yeah! It is totally possible, there are single moms out there homeschooling while working and going to school, so I'm sure you can do it too. We are biased and are pretty sure it's best for your kids... lol Really though, what is right for your family is totally up to you. Not all of us are completely against public school. I have one in PS and 3 at home. It's what works for us. It's ok to have some here and some there.... if that is what works for you
I think it depends on you. I couldn't do it; I know my limits. Full-time nursing school PLUS homeschooling four would be a galaxy outside of my limits! Personally, I'd start with the one in middle school and bring them home one at a time -- particularly because it sound like your decision has an element of finality.
I don't have any advise, but I believe it will be great for your kids to see you study! It really models your value of education and that it's a life long thing. You can work when they work. Read when they read. Yes, it's hard. I'm doing an accelerated masters while being full time mum (single) to a toddler. I get to read my books, one page at a time. Sometimes we even sit next to eachother, he reads his books on cars and I read mind on teaching. If I were in your situation, though (and I mean, looking at my personal skills, attitude, character etc) I would stagger the kids. Take one home, see how you go, get used to the change, take the next home. Then it's not a huge change all at once as that is something I'd find stressful. But then again, knowing myself, I would do it all at once anyway How much is your husband involved? Does he just "help out" Or is he fully responsible and involved. If you both work full time (as study is), then he needs to be just as full time with his children and his housework. That's the opinion of someone who's husband fled the house, though LOL.
I worked full time thru pre reqresites and my first two semesters of nursing school. Plus volunteered one day per week in the boys classrooms, and earned A's and B's. It was incredibly hard. I studied every spare minute. I even took my flash cards to Disneyland! For my last two semesters, I quit work because school was way too intense. If you have a strong partner, you could manage homeschool ad nursing school, but time management and an understanding family are definitely the keys to success. I work full time now, and homeschool two teens and chase a toddler in my spare time. Life is crazy and hectic and the best decisions that we have made.
I really like the idea of starting this summer to see if I think I can handle it all. I won't be in school, but at least I'll see how much time and energy it will consume. Having never been a part of a homeschool I really don't know. It sounds good, but I'm also really scared that I won't be able to handle it and there we'd be. Stuck. I just know that as it is while they're in school it takes 2 hrs a day drive time, plus about 3 hours a day in their homework. So really it wouldn't be much different except my husband would help in the mornings or late afternoon when he wakes up..and then I'd have evenings for my own schoolwork. I just have so many convictions about ps vs hs and i just wonder if the spanish is worth all the "other" stuff they're getting/missing in ps...but of course I don't want to cheat them for my convenience.... I think I will start in June and then I'd have almost 3 months to see how it is. thanks so much ladies!!
you could be completely done with school in 2 to 3 hours a day....when you home school! 4 y/o no more then 30 minutes a day. 6-no more then a hour a day. 8-no more then 1 1/2 hours a day... and the 10 year old some where between 2 and 3 hours a day max. And she should mainly be able to do most of her work on her own, as long as she can read and comprehend on her age/grade level.
I'm going to go against the consensus on this one and say that it might be too much to homeschool, go to school and work. I homeschool three kids ages 13, 13 and 11. I also work from home 32 hours per week. I KNOW my kids are not getting as much as I could give them if I didn't have to juggle my own schedule. It is hard, all the time. And each year I question my decision. But each year I see my kids learning more and more and HOPE I'm doing everything they need. I wouldn't have these questions though, if I didn't have a job to worry about, and could focus exclusively on homeschool! Being in a Spanish immersion program is a blessing, and being bi-lingual will be a huge asset for your kids someday. I'd keep them there and homeschool your kids when they hit middle school. YOU will have a learning curve too, and this will ease you into homeschooling gently. The downside, your middle schooler could get lonely so you will want to find plenty of opportunities for her to school with friends or co-ops too. I started with just one child at home, and he was lonely many days. Good luck with your decision!
A few thoughts come to mind. IMO, this will not work unless you husband is completely invested in this process. Do you have to attend nursing school full time? Can you reduce your load and finish in an extra year? Just a thought, if you found you want to take on homeschooling but thought it was slightly over your limit. If you and your husband learn Spanish along with the kids, you 6 will be your own immersion group. You can watch news on Spanish television, and watch Spanish language programming with English subtitles and other things together as a family. Have kids make out grocery lists and menus in Spanish and many other things to have an immersion right at home. You could make certain hours a day Spanish only hours. If you are commuting 2 hours a day and spending 3 on homework, then you have many of your HS hours accounted for with no increase in time spent over leaving them in PS. The students will require less time per day than they spend in PS, transportation, and homework time. The kids will gain many hours a day. Part of one of these could be spent on chores. Having the kids fix lunch, vacuum, dust, fold laundry, clean bathrooms, water plants, take garbage out, take care of pets etc. 20-30 minutes a day in addition to making their bed and tidying up their room would add up to having much less housework, and make them cogs in the machine. I make new chore lists every few months so I can teach my girls new chores so they learn all aspects of cooking and cleaning over time. Home Ec. used to be an important part of education and by the looks of many homes these days, and peeking in cars, it still should be. LOL Having the children spending more time with dad is a good thing. It will build stronger family ties. I can remember when my kids were little bitties, people were surprised I kept them up until 9:30 at night. However DH did not get home until 6pm and by time he did his cleanup routines around the house and got a shower, and then we ate, and then the kids needed bathed, etc etc it was about 8 pm. Had we put them to bedright then, they would have had little if any time with daddy. We did what was best for us even if the other kids were in bed early. I think the trial run this summer is a great idea. Figure out what your class and study hours will look like and do not school during those times. Keep in your mind that you would be at school, or studying and consider when would you shop or take kids to Dr, or other things. Can your DH sleep with 4 kids home in the house? If he has to sleep off schedule due to work this might be a consideration.
Since we only have 3 children instead of 30 I don't see a need to have as long a day as public school, seems like we would be doing a lot of filler. We get done with every thing extremely fast, plus little littles like 4 year olds learn more from playing then sitting down and doing worksheets.
