A couple of questions...

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Both of our children are in school. One is perfectly happy, the other seems happy but there are areas where he might be helped by a little more input and he is socially a little different from his peers. I am interested in exploring the option of home education, in case it's a suggestion I might want to make in the future.

Does anyone do home ed for one child while another attends school? How does this work for you?

In terms of work / employment what do you do?

I'm currently working p/t. My OH has been out of work a long time. He is a great dad but I think he might struggle to put enough variety in the day to ensure a well rounded approach.
I'm torn between being there for my kids and setting a good example / work ethic.

Hi, Lots of people have mixed families of home ed and schoolies. It really can work well. Every family is different and goes about it in a different manner. For us it means we continue to keep to school terms because it's hard to get the home ed child to work when the other child is getting off scot free on school hols. But actually that just means we put away the text books it doesn't mean that the education stops.

I'm lucky in that I work from home as a childminder and foster carer and my partner also works full time. So we have 3 wages (all be it low ones) coming in and can carry on regardless. But many people manage on little money. I know someone who knits their own socks and unpicks the ends when the children grow, so that they can knit them longer to fit again. There's that old adage of 'the best things in life are free' which easily applies when it comes to education. I have spent out money on 2 courses and both didn't work out for my ds. Whereas the library and carboot bargains have paid dividends.

The best advice is to join a group of other home eders.

The well rounded approach -- home education doesn't have to cover all the topics which schools try to squeeze in. They are trying to find something that each child can learn to love. You already know what your child loves so teach that. Pop in some Maths, English and general knowledge and your child will seek out their own specialisms and head to a career.

Hello OP

I would like to echo the last paragraph of Maggi post.
There are lots of free resources online and we have bought a few study books too many, before realising you don't need so much.

I am a sahp and dh has lots of time at home as partly wah. however, all families are different and many combine H.ed and work.
Some dc work at night for a couple of hours and this is usually enough and equates to the time they have to learn if attending school.

If you think it is the right thing to do, then I am sure you will find a way that works for your family.
We only have dd H.ed and none at school but we follow school term so that dd gets to play with schooled friends when they are on holiday and her activities/ commitments break then as well.

Being there for your kids IS setting a good work ethic:) Whilst I home educate my children I also write, work on painting commissions and educate in the community. A whole world opens up when you home educate, and though I do not get paid for 99% of what I do, I still believe I am setting my children a good example. I love my life, I think that is a great example. It is also possible to fit work in around HE'ing. I have child minded in the past to make ends meet & that works ok.
I think both my DH and myself working part-time would be great. I'm sure DH would bring things to their HE that I would not & vice versa. Also with home ed, it does not need to follow 'school hours' so for example my two often get motivated about something right at the end of the day. Education and learning happens all the time:)

Thank you all for your replies which are very inspiring. I had a little chat with my son tonight (having done a bit of homework on HE!) and he seemed pretty excited about the idea, particularly being able to study insects in more depth. He actually opened up about something which happened at school which was unusual, as normally we're left guessing. I said if things didn't improve that HE wasa serious option, although it would take a little time to sort out.
Well it's back to school tomorrow but I'll be true to my word, and if his emotional well-being doesn't improve then home education it where we're headed.