To wonder how ordinary people afford home schooling?

[toptramp]

I do have respect for people who home school. It is not for me principally because I cannot afford not to work and also I love my job too much to jack in in. I wouldn't like to work at home.

Do homeschoolers rely on a working partner, working at home, benefits or charities to fund their home schooling.

For all those who work from home- how do you balence it with schooling your kids?

SDuechars did you answer my question about how you got productive work done with DC at home 24/7? I'm still intrigued!!

My HE friends who manage to work at home, they take turns taking the kids out, or they have helpful relatives/friends who might take the kids on outings/overnight quite often.

I think HErs should get some sort of credit for GCSE exams, that seems very unfair they have to pay fees when state school pupils get first sitting for free (I think?).

Imho, maybe the social life HE kids get is perfectly adequate, but it still doesn't compare to the intensity of the social experience from being in school 6+ hours, 35+ weeks/yr. For better or worse.

It's funny how folk online talk so much about HE support/social groups, the RL HEdders I know seem to actually do very little if any of that kind of networking.

Most people (who don't HE) have this fixation that a child's friends must be born between spetember 1st and august 31st of the same school year as that child. I never quite figured out why this is so all fired important or what Dire Things happen if they aren't... but if you ask people what is "bad" about or "wrong with" HE, that's what they will say "the children have no friends" So many HE families pay the great myth lipservice online, and witter on about groups and networking and all that shit just to placate the well meaning fools and ignorant people who know nothing about HE passers by --and family members who feel they must pass comment.
With younger children, it's called going to playgroup or parent and toddler, so there's no need to differentiate between children who go to school and those who are educated at home.
HE children tend to meet and interact with a much wider circle of people of all ages, rather than just their peer group. Whether you think this is better for them or not is a matter of personal opinion.

lljkk: did you answer my question about how you got productive work done with DC at home 24/7? I'm still intrigued!!

Sorry, I didn't because the thread had moved on. I worked v early in the morning (5-8am) and in the evenings after they were in bed. I also worked only about 22 hours per week (on average). When they were small, my then H looked after them for two days a week and a friend and I childminded between us in my house. We didn't have relatives nearby and the DC almost never went anywhere overnight. I got used to toting a laptop around and working anywhere when I could get some time (e.g. all Saturday morning waiting for them to come out of the local music school). It's an extreme version of the juggling that many mothers do.

HE doesn't compare to the intensity of the social experience from being in school 6+ hours, 35+ weeks/yr

I'm not convinced that experience is very sociable. And I'm sure it is not healthy. My DC have not spent the 6x5x35 time with 30 others... But they are perfectly capable of being on their own, they don't look for approval from others and their friends stretch over a wide age range. I was not in a very good place socially when at school. I've never since been in that situation (so did not really need training for it) and am perfectly happy with a few good friends - but have no problem in larger groups when it is necessary.

My ds has social communication difficulties. He is on the first percentile. After a year at nursery an Independent Educational Psychologist assessed him as being on the First percentile. We took him out and HEd and another independent Educational psychologist has rated him as on the 8th percentil socially stating that he is catching up with his peers in just 3 months of being out of school.