Can you really do it all...?

Question

teach the kids, keep the house cleaned, etc.? My little girls are 2 1/2 and 9 months, and I'm amazed at how little I can do during the day (aside from the VERY important work of raising my little angels:)). I'm planning on homeschooling them, but I'm a bit concerned about the other aspects of my life.

Do you have outside help, or do the kids pitch in? How does one get it all done?!?

Answer 1

Hello,
You really have a great answers here, I would like to just add one thing that helped me. I bought a book called "Managers of Their Homes" by Steven and Teri Maxwell. Although I did not implement everything they suggested into my life, there was a lot of helpful ideas.
Read a lot now while your kids are still little. There are a lot of books on Home schooling at the library.
I know you can do it. I currently Home school my 2 daughters and I take care of 3 preschoolers.
Good Luck

Answer 2

Well, I've never had any help from anyone, even my husband, and I've worked part-time and homeschooled for 4 years now. But I started when my son was in mid 4th grade. You can do it all but you have to be very organized. After wasting tons of time and money on purchasing books, trying out other on-line courses, researching the internet for hours during the wee hours of the night, etc., I've learned that the very best homeschool program is called "Time 4 Learning". It is free the first month and is $19.95 each month there after. They have a pre-school program also. There is even a "playground" section : ). I'm honestly not getting paid to promote them...I just am totally sold on the program! Regarding getting everything done, I've found that it's best to make as many meals as you can during the week-end and freeze stuff like meatloaf, etc. Do what you can with housework but don't worry so much about that, because too soon your babies will be grown. Since they are girls, they will probably want to start helping you with chores when they are old enough, so let them! Then when they are a little older still, be sure to have them help with housework as part of their homeschool assignments.

Answer 3

Glurpy is right about the baby thing!! Things will look different to you in a few years.

At the beginning of hsing, you don't have to spend much time doing it. My sister had told me when my first was starting kinder that I'd spend MAYBE an hour a day to teach kinder, and after that add 15-30 minutes each year up to a certain point. My kids just finished middle school and it is extremely rare to do school after lunch; the only reason to do it is if I didn't get around to grading math till after lunch and now need to correct it with a kid, or if for some reason we started really late. It would be hard to say how long we spend each day in school because we have such an irregular schedule, but I'd just estimate 3-3.5 hrs/day as an average.

The hardest years were when the kids were from about 5-8. I was spending more time schooling plus doing things with the hs group, and even though they had chores, most of the stuff still fell on me. When they were 9 and 10 things finally started falling into place and for the most part the house is not too bad. I will 'never' be an immaculate housekeeper, but that is NOT because of hsing!!

Answer 4

We started homeschooling when my children were 4 (pre-school) and 2.. this fall we will begin homeschooling second grader and kindergartener. I have found that because he saw his older brother schooled the younger son was much more interested in it. The younger son actually demanded to 'do school work' this year. So we have been working with him on a pre-school level.

I do have help, my mother lives next door and helps fill in when I have to go out and this fall she is going to be helping me homeschool both boys.

My husband does help with some of the cleaning, the boys have their own room to kept picked up. But I do have the majority of the work to do. However, I recently started having my 7 y/o put some of the clean dishes away, and as they get older they will have their chores to do.

I would also suggest that you find a homeschool group to join or just meet with, the mothers can actually give you a lot of good hints and ideas. Not to mention you and your girls will be getting to know parents and children you could be socializing with for many years to come.

Answer 5

Having kids who are 2.5 and 9 months is NOTHING like when they're older. A baby in the house usually means a lot of focus on the baby: feeding, changing, etc. Those who homeschool with babies in the house are very creative about it. :) They also set some strong routines and priorities so that they aren't wearing themselves out.

Have you ever looked into FlyLady? She has some great ideas on checklists and routines so you don't spend your entire day cleaning up after every little thing.

Once they're older, they can definitely help out a lot. For right now, just try to get a simple clean-up routine going with your 2.5yo. She's old enough to play little clean-up games before lunch, going out for a walk, things like that.

Answer 6

A family is a team and everyone has to contribute. That's a little harder when your kids are so young but you can involve them now. Helping with little things and increasing as they get older. Also somethings are just not as important as the few years you get to spend with kids at home like a spotless house, or all the laundry done all the time. Take advantage of this time you'll have plenty of time for everything else later.

Answer 7

Since your kids are so young, you now have to put your priorities on them. But by the time they are old enough for homeschool, the diaper changing, feeding them, etc will be in the past and you will have more time for homeschool.

I homeschool only 1 child and it's easy. I have heard of parents teaching 6 and even 12 kids. I just don't know how they do it. I am sure they have to get the older kids to help the younger ones.

But you will be fine. When they get old enough to do homeschool, lots of the things you have to do now , you won't have to do then.

Answer 8

I think you have to be very committed to homeschooling in order for it to work -- after all, it's a full-time job! You can make part of the education be cleaning the house and keeping things neat, though. My kids learned so much from going to pre-school, and once I learned the keywords the teachers used (and in one case, a clean-up song), I could get them to pitch in at home.

My kids went to pre-school, and go to elementary school but I home-school them in English as a second language. You really need to be on top of the lesson plans, and able to motivate the kids if you want to do this.

Also, most homeschoolers don't depend on their moms for everything. They often take outside classes in music, art, etc. Sometimes homeschooling moms pool their resources, and one mom teaches all the kids about her certain speciality.

I think home schooling has many benefits, but you have to think really hard about what it means when your children have not practiced socializing with kids their own age. They may come away with an unrealistic view of the world. Homeschooling isn't for everyone. But, teaching your kid *something* at home is a really rewarding experience!

By 2 1/2 you can start with some things like math, and very simple chores and possibly ABCs -- definitely story time. As they get older, things get a little easier, especially if you've laid down a great foundation.

Answer 9

You said it best your self, you and your husband have the awesome responsibility of raising your little angels, it is not to be given over to strangers.
When you state that you are amazed at how little you get done during the day, I would like to challenge you to look at how much you do during any given day, especially with your children.

Now let us dispel the myth that we have to "do it all".
No mother, should ever try to have a red "S" (super woman) on her shirt, unless she plans to burn out faster than a road flare.

Yes, home schooling is a life style, it begins the minute you hold those precious little ones in your arms.
You, and your husband teach them how to crawl, walk, eat, drink, wash their hands, talk with, and read to them to.
From there they move up to helping you with, shopping, making small meals, the dishes, set the table, pick up toys; it is all a big game at this point; but they are learning, and you are teaching.

The next step is coloring, spraying the counter top with shaving cream to practice writing letters, FUN...(at least it was in our house).
In the meantime you have the awesome opportunity to talk with them about everything, and anything.
Most importantly you, and your husband are there to answer their questions on the spot, as well as model what you want them to learn.

From this point, the academic part of home schooling is just a natural progression.

Depending on what your priorities are; a picture perfect house, or a one of a kind relationship with your family, you may have to take a "lived in house" for granted; we call it our home sweet home; and lower your expectations for a while.
I always tell people, I make no excuses for living, and working here, the house is here to serve us, we do not serve the house ^_^

As the children grow, so will their abilities, and that will give you, and your husband more time to do other things.

Support, and friendship comes from other home school families, I would recommend joining a support group even before you "officially start home schooling", these moms can help you learn more about home schooling,it's challenges, and rewards.

Also it may be a good idea to plan attending a home school convention in your state, or your neighboring state.
Conventions provide great workshops on a variety of topics, and vendors display all types of home school curriculum for you, and your husband to preview.

Best wishes on your journey.

"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child."
Dr . Forest E. Witcraft (1894-1967).

Answer 10

Some can. I can't. Or maybe I can... but I don't.

The children come first. We get very caught up in studies and activities. Some days are the pits for cleaning house.... but then for someone like me who'd rather be outside anyway......

We do have clean laundry, clean dishes, clean bathrooms... but oh the CLUTTER..... yikes... it is everywhere.

I've tried the flylady thing. It does work very well to follow simple routines. But give me 1-3 days of being down with a cold and oh boy the place is toast.

But, it's okay. We survive. AND we have fun.

Too much information????? tee hee.