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Any single parents?
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Hi everyone! I am brand new to homeschooling. I have an 8 year old daughter who just finished a rough second grade year after an even worse first grade year. I’ve decided to start homeschooling her for many many reasons, but I’m not sure how to balance homeschooling, and working from home (which will be a new thing as well–I’ve been working in an office setting for the last 5 years since my husband died).
How do you do it? How do you get it all done in a day? Also, how much time/material should my daughter and I expect to cover in a day?
Thanks
Kate
Welcome, Kate! So sorry to hear about your husband. I hope you and your dd are doing o.k. I’m not a single parent, but I had a 3rd grader last year. Since you’re working from home and juggling a lot, I would spend time helping her to be a proficient reader and teaching her to work independently on whatever you can. I’d focus on the reading/writing/math/religion (if you cover religion) first, then once a routine is going you could slowly add in the other subjects (just what I’d do:) So, a schedule might be something (estimated) like:
Math 20-30 min. per day (Teaching Textbooks is very independent on the computer…we like Math-U-See which my kids are pretty independent with, too)
Copywork 10 min. few times a week
Cursive (if doing/haven’t learned) 5 min.
Spelling Wisdom/dictation (sold here) 10-15 min./2x per week
Literature 30 min. per day
Vocabulary 5 min. per day (look up unknown words from daily readings)
SCM History Module (history/geography/Bible) 30 min. per day
Memory Work (Scripture if your family does it, poetry, math facts) 10-15 min. per day
Science (nature study once per week, science reading/experimentation as desired….106 Days of Creation sold here and Apologia are good)
I’d have her orally narrate her readings.
The arts could be added in later. You could add them in one at a time after you get comfortable w/the other subjects. I probably wouldn’t spend more than 3 hours a day or so. And she should be able to do half or so independently (if she can read decently and works well on her own w/o dawdling). I hope that wasn’t overwhelming. I’d really take things slowly w/minimal subjects at first and helping her to de-school and work on relationship building and character (diligence/obedience/orderliness, etc.) HTH some. Blessings, Gina
Welcome Kate! I have a little Kate at home. 🙂
I just wanted to say that I agree with Gina. Short, simple lessons and getting your dd used to being more independent is important. Don’t forget to add in something fun that you and your daughter can do together, possibly during the evenings. Curling up with a good book, learning a craft (SCM has great tutorial DVDs for crocheting, etc), or nature walks and/or zoo days, etc.
HTH! If you have questions along the way, this forum is the best support group! ❤
Thank you both! this does help give me an idea of what to start with. I’m hoping to teach her to work well on her own, but I’m afraid she doesn’t at the moment (that was the #1 arguement with her teachers in PS!) I think she’d love the crafting and nature walks, and fine arts would be a good excuse to put her back in dance class like she’s been begging. 🙂
I’m sure I’ll play it by ear, but I’m hoping to do breakfast and Bible together, then have both of us working independently for a half hour or so at a time. She will need my help with math, but is a decent reader and would have no problem reading history or literature on her own. We’ll see what happens! Right now we’re both adjusting and de-schooling.
Hi Kate! I can’t really say much in regards to homeschool while working from home b/c haven’t done that myself, but I am a single mom. Just letting you know there are single moms on here. I do work but outside the home for 12 hour shifts on the weekend & occasional work here or there during the week but nothing regular. I have worked from home but not while homeschooling. Your daughter is old enough to understand that she has to not interrupt you for periods of time while you’re working so am guessing you will be fine there. Mine were quite little (6 & 3 now) & was actually nursing much of the time I did work from home so constant breaks, couldn’t focus to complete the thoughts I needed to in writing up client notes, etc. It was hard so did most my work after they went to bed. I think y’all will do fine…just help her identify what she needs to work on independently with shelves of books, checklists, workboxes or whatever will inspire her to feel like she’s in control of her learning but can get the help when needed. I know my friend did workboxes that had a tag the kids could pull & hand quietly to her when they needed help. They knew she was aware & would move on with something else or wait on her to come to them. Ultimately, you don’t have to worry about whether a particular day gets all the work completed you think HAS to be completed b/c a lovely thing about homeschooling is that you can take things at your own pace even if that is simply b/c your family situation dictates speeding up or slowing down for a time. Hopefully my post bumps this up where some of the other single moms that have been homeschooling longer can be of help : ) Best wishes & nice to “meet” you!
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