Would you be happy if childminder started home schooling whilst minding?

[doingitalllagain]

Childminder home schooled her autistic son during covid and found he thrived at home as opposed to struggling in school so has decided to keep him being home schooled. Obviously after the pandemic her minded kids went back to her and she continued to home school. She would do Instagram stories showing activities she’s laid out for the minded kids and then pan over to her sons school work. We were already having some difficulties, my son was unhappy there, so we pulled him out and put him in nursery, but it was the nail in the coffin as I did worry that if doing both of course her sons education would take priority and I imagined the minded kids were going to lose atleast some of her time and attention and activities/trips out they were doing. I had forgotten about it to be honest but saw her tagged in a post by her husband saying that she’s superwoman juggling 8 hours a day of childminding and home school and how well their son is doing. I just wandered if I other people would be happy with such a change if your kids were with a childminder who decided to do this?

I don’t think I would mind.

A childminder is supposed to do more than just basic care for babies, toddlers and preschoolers though. They have an obligation to educate them and provide social experiences and trips out. I’m sure you did a fabulous job of all of that for your younger ones while homeschooling but you were a parent juggling things for your own children, not a professional being paid to look after someone else’s. It’s just not the same.

It would depend on the age of her child I think.

It would depend on the age of the child being educated. My own child was home educated for over a year during Covid. Academically, she thrived During that time. It was wonderful. She was old enough that she worked largely independently. I was able to assist her very easily around my regular job. The only time there were conflicts were computer problems.

I wouldn’t have an issue with this, in-fact I think the set up could bring something to the toddlers who are there.

I'm a childminder, I think if you 're concerned then you need to talk to them first it's possible the home schooling happens after minded children leave or possibly elsewhere - local to me a lot of home educated children go to a local outdoor setting for learning during mornings. Home educated can mean a lot of different things & is generally flexible around work hours of parents.
Some childminders will look after school aged children who are being home educated & attend purely for the social aspect while being educated in evenings.
Lots of possibilities so ask your childminder!

Also child minding is in the carers family home and is a job chosen to fit around personal commitments

As long as ratios are maintained why would it matter is a child was hers or another toddler? I don't see this as a problem at all.

The minded children would be under school age, wouldn’t they? So meeting the needs of different children throughout the day would be challenging for one person. Nurseries have different staff ratios for different ages for a reason, and children divided into age groups for the same reason.

I think you have to remember that 'homeschooling' during the pandemic is different from normal homeschooling.

During the pandemic schools to a greater or lesser extent provided work to be done and then uploaded, and maybe wanted children to be present on zoom calls at specific times.

Homeschooling 1 autistic child is quite possibly very different and it might well be possible to set up similar activities for younger mindees. Plus homeschoolers often go out and about. It won't be being sat for 5 hours a day doing formal learning.

So I would say it very much depends on the situation.

I actively sought out childminders who had older children around, as my child craved their company and thrived on it. Little kids learn a lot from big kids. My child's access to children of various ages in a home-like setting was a key benefit of using a CM instead of a nursery. Plus no getting hauled out on school runs!

It has now been a long while since your former CM started this arrangement, so it's clear that her clients who decided to keep their kids with her find it a good setup. Or if she has new children then their parents must have been happy with the idea. She's obviously being very upfront about it.

I'm sure there are parents who wouldn't like it. For example, the parent (former client) who was given as a reference when I was interviewing one home educating CM had two complaints. First, the CM took her holidays in term-time, and though she gave parents plenty of notice about her holidays, they would have found it easier to get alternative childcare in the school holidays when playschemes were running. Second, as her own children approached school age, this parent thought it would be hard to explain to them why they had to go to school when the CM's children didn't. (I did think that second concern was odd because surely it's easy to explain?! Either you tell your kids they can't stay home with their own family because your job doesn't let you bring kids along - which the kids must know, since they are being sent to a CM! - or if you've chosen school for educational reasons then you tell your kids why you believe school is better for them even though the CM made a different choice for her children.)