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Home ed

Find advice from other parents on our Homeschool forum. You may also find our round up of the best online learning resources useful.

Original poster

Has anyone home educated alongside working full time?

30 replies

AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 14:22

If so what does your child do during the day? Is it feasable to work a full day then come home to start home ed evenings & weekends. Ds also currently does various extra curricular activities too.
Would the LA not look very well on this type of arrangement?

OP posts:
PoundlandUK · 28/03/2017 14:28

I would suggest the DC age is most relevant, plus your definition of "full day" ie when would homeschooling start on a weekday?

I'd be less concerned about the LEA opinion; moreso about how to fit a good quality age-appropriate education into unconventional schooling times.

PoundlandUK · 28/03/2017 14:30

PS I've not combined home ed and FT work, but I have home edded and also schooled conventionally and see pros and cons of both approaches depending on circs.

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 14:35

He is 13. I leave the house at 8am & could be home by 4pm.

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ZilphasHatpin · 28/03/2017 14:35

I'm planning to. I am registering as a CMer at which point I will withdraw DS (7) from school. How much actual educating happens during working hours is yet to be seen but I'll have no commute and we'll have evenings, weekends etc.

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 14:36

I have an older child in a different school but her dad takes & collectsher

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WindwardCircle · 28/03/2017 14:40

i don't know much about it but on here I've seen people talk about Interhigh, which if I've understood correctly is secondary school distance learning done online. Something like that which he could do on his own combined with input from you might work for a teenager.

OlennasWimple · 28/03/2017 14:44

I'm not a HE expert, but I can't honestly see how leaving a 13 yo in the house all day then coming home after you have done a full day's work is going to lead to a sucessful education for him

Presumably most of the extracurricular stuff he does is in the late afternoon and evenings, so he won't be able to study then. And he will want to have some time to hang out with his friends, so won't want to study then. So the available hours during which you could do some quality learning are pretty slim across the week.

Plus I would be too tired to do a good job of educating my DS after I had been at work all day.

Abraiid2 · 28/03/2017 14:46

Leaving him alone in the house all day sounds very isolating for him.

boodlethistle · 28/03/2017 14:46

I think you should expect your son to do a few hours' work while you are out. Maybe give him a schedule at the weekend, to cover the following week. This could include online learning, reading set pages in a book, writing an essay, studying French grammar, researching a project, watching a history or science dvd etc. Then you can go over what he's done when you return, and give him a couple of lessons as well. There is so much good teaching on the internet, much of it free or very cheap.

PoundlandUK · 28/03/2017 14:47

OP, well I can only say what I'd do if I was in this position and based on my DS personality. I'd look into enrolling him at something like Interhigh online school because I'd be worried about skipping foundation lessons required to do GCSE courses smoothly. I'd expect all homework that can be done independently to be completed by 4pm, then to enjoy family and non-school time at the weekends (or for me to support with catch up work).

But everyone is so different. Parents and DC! There is loads of guidance if you want to go solo. Very best of luck!

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 14:47

He's autistic with slow processing & currently attends a selective school. I want to move him to a non selective as he's not coping with the stress, he can't cope with the homework load (supposed to be 60-45 mins per day but takes him over 2 hours) & I think it's best to move him before he is expelled for bad behaviour.

But he has major meltdowns every time I mention moving him to a local non selective school. I expect homework load will be similar & it's a bigger school. They also don't offer the range of creative subjects he wants to do.

He just doesn't cope well with the pressure of the school system.

OP posts:
boodlethistle · 28/03/2017 14:48

I agree that in this situation there would need to be a very very good reason for not sending him to school.
Could you arrange for a tutor to visit him in the course of the day, to liven things up a bit?

2boytrouble · 28/03/2017 14:49

I home educate and work full time, but I'm a nanny so ds(5) comes with me, we got a lot of the home education in during the day, it works really well

Nicotina · 28/03/2017 14:49

I'm not sure leaving him alone for several hours is what he needs. Obviously you know the situation best and your son best but I really struggle to see how isolation makes this a better experience for him.

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 14:50

I currently collect him from school then spend two hours helping him with his homework/reminding him to stay on task, trying to avoid a meltdown, except on drama nights.

He doesn't socialise with friends out if school anyway. He's got one best friend who lives a distance away butvis very isolated except for his drama & hockey clubs both of who are brilliant with him.

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Nicotina · 28/03/2017 14:55

The drama and hockey clubs sound great.
Does he have the self discipline to "stay on task" as you put it? Can he shake off a negative learning experience and not let it distract him from a new one. Concerned that he doesn't have strong self motivation skills yet.
Tutoring sounds like an option but is it realistic for you.

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 15:00

No & no I guess.

If he takes against a particular teacher you might as just forget it. Hence I'm having to re-teach him the entire maths curriculum as he goes along because he switches off & she goes too fast for him. I asked for him to be dropped down a set but they said no as he belongs in that set as he can do the work they just think he chooses not to. Cue a massive meltdown.

He will spend ages researching the Americsn war of independence or composing music on Sibelius software or writing drama scripts but gets overloaded by homework tasks.

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PoundlandUK · 28/03/2017 15:06

OP I have to go out now but please investigate Interhigh and see what you think. Check MN threads about it.

My understanding is a few hours school per day with all lessons recorded so they can be repeated off line if required. Group lessons but non-group communication so no child can detail class.

Opportunity for social interaction face to face as well as on line but obv not as full on as conventional school. You get to track class attendance. Support and supervision from teachers. I have the impression they're experienced with autism.

To be brutally honest, sounds like you need educational support for him (and for you...already 2 hours per night on homework support does not sound very happy Flowers). Doing a whole secondary curriculum on top sounds like a nightmare to me.

We are in conventional school now and no SN but move internationally a lot so I looked into this as an option for continuity purposes.

PoundlandUK · 28/03/2017 15:07

*derail class

DaffodilTime · 28/03/2017 15:13

This sounds so difficult as home ed sounds so good for him but I don't think the isolation factor is and he wouldn't be able to learn from all the things he could experience out of the home on his own in the same way.
Are there any alternatives to the schools you mention? Moving our DS to a tiny class has made such a difference to him as he no longer just copes but actually seems happy. I think larger groups are very tiring especially with such a work load as you mention

DaffodilTime · 28/03/2017 15:14

Could you otherwise change your hours at all and do any from home in the evening? It depends what your job is so you'd probably have thought of this

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 15:16

He's in a small school with small class sizes at the moment but it's selective.

There is an outstanding school in the next county (where he goes for hockey) but it's huge & very oversubscribed.

He refuses to contemplate the other local school which is a faith school. I know he'd cause havoc as he is very anti organised religion.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 15:17

Unfortunately not. I'm admin support & payroll in an office of a construction firm so I have to be available in office hours to answer the phone & do paperwork that can't be removed from the office.

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TheFirstMrsDV · 28/03/2017 15:18

Is it just the homework causing the problems?
I am sorry, I don't know anything about HE but I know a lot about homework induced meltdowns in boys with ASD.

I expect its a no no at his selective school but could he be excused homework if you moved him and would that help him agree to go to a new school?

My DS cannot handle homework at all. Never has.

He goes to a special school now and doesn't get any. I don't know how you would arrange that with a more academic child though.

Original poster
AlexanderHamilton · 28/03/2017 15:18

I actually changed my job 18 months ago in order to be closer to his school & to be around to support him more.

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