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Homeschooling other people's kids – have questions
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Hey gang 🙂
Besides praying about this , I need to hash this out with other fellow homeschooling moms. I was approached this last week about the idea of homeschooling a friend’s grand daughter 1 day a week. Let me explain further and hopefully clear enough – I go to church with the grandmother , her daughter lost her job , housing etc. and moved back home bringing her 5 year old daughter with her. The 2 women lightly discussed homeschooling the 5 year old. The mother was offered a full time teaching job 2 weeks ago . The grandmother offered to help homeschool her granddaughter but she herself is only semi-retired and must travel 1 day each week. That is where I came in to the picture. She has asked if I would consider including her granddaughter in our schooling on the day that she needs to travel. It would be a 9am-5pm schedule. She asked how much I would charge or want to be compensated for.
I currently am schooling a 7 yr. old and a 5 yr. old , so theoretically she could slip in with what I am doing with my 5 yr. old . I sent the web link to them about Right Start math as that is the math we use , they loved it and got excited.
So…..
1) If I were to do this what would be a reasonable rate to charge her? It’s not like I would be “babysitting” , I would be doing instruction & teaching .
2) Have any of you tried to homeschool other kids than your’s? How did it go? How did you deal with discipline since they are in your home?
3) I don’t know if this would negatively impact the little homeschool we have set up in our home. Are there things you would caution me about?
4) Flexibility – I wouldn’t want to lose our flexibility and feel like we are trapped at home for the day and can’t leave . I would want / need the freedom to take their little one with us places … like our Tae Kwan Do classes in the afternoon , driving to a location for a nature study / nature walk etc….. Thoughts on this?
I think it’s a great idea to be able to earn some extra cash and still be able to homeschool my kids , I just don’t want to do it if it will be more of a burden or it will take away from our homeschool in any way ….. Or impact my kids in an undesirable way. I told the ladies to let me pray about it , talk with my husband and I would get back to them in a week.
Greatly appreciate your thoughts , advice & suggestions that you have to share 🙂
Thanks in advance !
Jamie
My first thought is to check with HSLDA to make sure it is legal in your state/province to homeschool children other than your own. I should check this out for myself, as it would be a great way to assist other families! Looking forward to what the others say…
Vanessa
Ok – I don’t know – but here are a few thoughts (besides what are the laws where you live….) These thoughts are mostly from me looking into doing a home daycare a few years ago….
– how are you paid? monthly? each week? what if they don’t show one of the days – so they still pay for it?
– what if the child gets sick – do they still pay? does she still come? What about if it is your kid that is sick? what if YOU are sick?
– what are the methods of discipline?
– who pays for lunch?
– how does it end? – (from either side…) – how much notice is required? how do you keep good relationships afterwards?
– how will it work when you leave the house… if your kids are taking lessons, does she just sit there and watch, or do they have to sign her up to?
as for the lessons…
ok – you are using RightStart – and they are using RightStart – but I assume your kids are already further ahead – and even if they are at the same spot now – you are only teacher her 1 day a week – and they are teaching her the other days – it is very unlikely they will stay at the same lesson. Now this might not be a problem if you do a “game day” for math when she is there….
what about teaching reading – same methods? again – you will be at different spots….
what about books you are reading aloud – this girl will miss any reading of those books during the week – unless you will have books specifically for when she is there….
what if the parent isn’t happy with her “progress”?
Anyway – these are just a few things to think through ahead of time. Doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a wonderful arrangement for everyone…. just make sure you think it through!
Thanks ladies for bringing some things to my attention! I will have to check about the laws here in our state. That one slipped my mind!
And sickness is not if it happens but when……..myself , my kids or the 5 year old . That is another thing to factor in. Yikes!!
I did think about the math thing & making it a math games day when she comes. It would be difficult to gain ground with only 1 day with her each week……..so maybe open & go subjects like nature study , math games, picture study ,whatever handwriting they choose I can have her practice, maybe save a read aloud for just when she is with us.
Reading instruction might have to be on them though. Maybe back it up with some sort of phonics / reading game?
Well looks like I have some things to figure out.
But bottom line what would be a fair price? Would $15 / hour be too high? Too low? We live in CA so everything is inflated & generally more expensive than some other states.
Thanks ladies!!
Jamie
Since the compulsory school age in CA is 6, you may have a little leeway with homeschooling her, since she is not required to be in school yet. However if she is currently enrolled in PS then maybe that changes things?? Just specifics to check on with HSLDA.
As for the cost, I really don’t know. That sounds like something you need to negotiate with the mom.
I would think since you have her just the one day a week, you should not be held responsible for her achievement and development in math and LA. I like your idea of doing nature study, math games and picture study with her. It would be more of an enrichment day for her. The grandmother could then focus on the basics on the other 4 days. They could always send some work with her (like the handwriting you mentioned).
Have your kids expressed any opinions on the matter?
To me, the way to answer the money question is this….Are you doing it because you need the money or are you doing it to be a ministry to the family?
If it’s because of the money, then you need to figure out what you think is fair for your time. If you’re doing it to be a ministry, then I would discuss with the family their budget constrainsts, etc.
I have done this before, for my sister in law (who is young…same age as one of my step kids). I just ended up being really, really flexible, because that’s what fit for our situation.
I was approached this summer about schooling another little girl along side my own, full time. For me, in the end, my biggest concern was the other parents’ lifestyle. We just didn’t hold the same beliefs, so I wasn’t comfortable not being free to discuss certain things to my own children in my own home, for fear of making the other girl uncomfortable. I think Suzukimom has some great things to think about there. I also agree with what Meagan said about the payment.
Rachel
I’m not homeschooling other people’s children yet, but I take care of two year old twins full time and their mom has talked about having me school her girls someday. Here are my thoughts.
First, make sure that you have permission to take the child wherever you go. Get it in writing. Make sure your vehicle insurance coverage is appropriate. I would not want to be tied down by not being able to go out when we want to. Will the family provide a carseat or booster and will it fit properly in your car?
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the expectations of what parts of school will be done at your home, so they aren’t expecting more than you plan to do. This will be even more important once the child is officially school aged.
For prices, I would find out what child care rates are in your area. Here, my dayhome agency charges $8 per hour for part time care! Full time care is $800 per month. So $15 definitely would not be too much. It will depend on your goal, though. Just make sure it is enough to compensate for the hassle and potential disruption to your family, and for food if you are providing that.
Hey guys just wanted to give an update on this thread. 🙂
So after some prayer & discussion with this family we came up with a trial / probationary period. I did have some concerns about how the dynamic would change adding a 3rd child that isn’t from our family ( would our kids mesh well together or clash & push one another’s buttons ) so that was a concern as well as what exactly their desires and goals were.
This little girl is not enrolled anywhere , they wish to formally enroll her as a 6 year old next school year. This is a short sighted , quick fix for them. They do not see needing my assistance past next June. This then shifts her time with us to purely enrichment & exposure to ideas & activities. I made it clear that I am not responsible for her progress seeing that she will not be enrolled until next school year. It just may create a really advanced kindergartner .
They will be packing her lunches & any snacks. They will leave her booster seat & are ok with me taking her places.
We decided to start with just 1 afternoon each week , 12-5 , to allow our kids to get to know each other, for everyone to adjust etc. . Then sometime after that , if it’s going smoothly we will switch to a full 8 hour day with her. I didn’t have peace about jumping in to a full day first.
I looked into what a christian private school in our area charges for monthly tuition to give me an idea . I asked for $100 for a full day & $60 for a 12-5 day .
She comes over tomorrow for her 1st afternoon with us. I hope it goes well & that everyone gets along !!
Jamie
Good for you! I hope it works out well. I have taken on a Prek student this year( in addition to my three children) two half days a week. It has been a real blessing for us not just financially. I feel like I do a better job when she’s here bc I’m getting paid ; ) I know that sounds funny, but true!
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