How do parents manage home education while working full-time?

[2kidswelshmum]

Just curious about homeschooling and those who do it. This isn’t for me, I’m wondering about the logistics of someone I know who’s recently put on Facebook that she’s homeschooling her three children herself whilst working full-time. Without wanting to cause her offence or question her parenting, I’m just struggling to understand how that is doable? Three different aged children, all under 8, one ADHD. No judgement about homeschooling, I understand mainstream isn’t right for everyone and everyone has their own reasons. I’m purely just curious how she’s going to have the time? I find doing homework with two children in the evening takes a lot of focus, I couldn’t be working at the same time.

let's face it, they don't!!

I know people who do it by working different hours and using nannies and tutors as well. Early years nannies are amazing home edders.

Depend on the childrens ages as well as personalities.
I refuse to do homework as a f.t working parent.

I had to take one of mine out of school (due to illness) when she was eight. Her elder brother stayed at school but I also had a pre-schooler, a toddler and a baby and it was anarchy. I could never work out how anyone with more than, say, two children with a small gap could home educate.

I think that your interpretation of what represents a proper education is important in answering your question, OP.
We educate our DC, via EOTAS (similar to home education but funded)..when waiting for funding we self funded much of the resources & activities, so joined a few home ed groups for the interim.
All were wonderful people, but many were on a schedule of Laser quest, forest school, bowling & park meet-ups.
Few were delivering any tangible academics and by their own admission were so burnt or opposed to the school system they didn’t intend to.
I can tell you that delivering a full curriculum from home, with or without teaching support, whilst ensuring social opportunities happen is a full-on, full-time job, especially if your child has SEND.
Some parents do part-time remote work, evenings etc, but to educate properly & consistently, working full-time is imposdible.

They are 2 (so too little yet but will need to be cared for obviously whilst others learn) 5 and 7 years old

Sorry hit send too soon.
We really need to consider the current school system’s inability to deliver to all children & the impact it has on so many families, this leads to many opting out from school to protect their children.
EHE carries minimal guidance & support for parents, what does exist frightens many so they shut out support.
How did we get here, where parents need income, but assume a dual role 5 x days a week as they view this as their only choice?

So true, I can imagine it will be very difficult. I understand there are other ways to learn outside of mainstream education etc, I suppose my question was less about the syllabus or curriculum she follows, more around how will she physically have the time and attention to manage it all alongside working. I respect her choice, I just don’t understand how she can do it without burnout or a time machine. I don’t think they have the money for a nanny or additional support.

I mean, I was a SAHM and I couldn't manage much in the way of HE for my DD with the other kids crawling, climbing on the table when I sat with her, trying to get my attention all the time. If she'd needed more than half a term out of school I would have had to buy in help - either someone to watch the smaller children or someone to do the HE while I fielded the small ones. It wasn't even the children at home - the pre-schooler had to be driven to HER playgroup sessions which took up a lot of the time I ought to have been teaching.

Fortunately DD ended up going to Oxford - but no thanks to my half term of inadequate provision for her.

It is difficult.
The reality is that many HE children have either never attended school, or were pulled out for good reasons, but have in doing so developed delays in academic, social & developmental progress.
Correcting damage from schools, assessing areas that need work, creating learning plans and activities, schedules etc all takes a huge amount of time, research & diligence.
Doing any of the above, in addition to actuslly delivering learning x 3 alongside a full time role would be hell on earth for even the best trained teachers.
Even with competent online providers, encouragement, prompting and monitoring is needed. But who wants their kids on screens all day?

There are many ways to learn, and not all of them involve direct instruction or supervision. Both of my kids followed their own interests and led their own learning. I was around, but I wasn't "teaching". I only worked part time, but I feel they learned just as much when they were with the childminder as with me. One ended up doing really well at university, which demonstrates that this approach isn't just for "less academic" kids. and the other has a learning disability and is still home educated.

For little kids, the challenge isn't about how to find the time to educate them. It's about childcare: how to keep them safe and happy while you are working. That is tough. Some families use paid childcare such as childminders, some rely on relatives, some two-parent families work opposite shifts, some do jobs which are compatible with looking after their own children. They've turned their backs on the free childcare which school represents.

You can't do both properly

I know a family who EHE where both parents work full-time. The mother is a HCP who works 3 long shifts a week with set days and the father WFH normal office hours but compressed into 4 days rather than 5. The weekdays are covered by two days with their DM, one day with their DF and two days at a forest school with the DGPs dropping off and collecting.

I know a couple of others who EHE and both work full-time but they rely more on DGPs during the day or where DC are older and get be left to get on with learning themselves for some of the time.

Using tutors, setting schedules and tasks.. you don’t have to educate 8:30-3:15 as you would in school. She likely does some before work in the morning (in their pyjamas since there’s no need to rush around getting ready for a school run) and then after work too, as they’ll have the evening.

I know a family with 6 kids who home educated. I always wondered how they did it with a new born and several
toddlers. But they seem to have done ok.

That sounds like it works well. This family don’t have a support network around them to facilitate something like that- their families both live overseas! Which is how I’m puzzled about the logistics

That all makes sense (although I’m not sure how long you can leave a two year old unsupervised to play whilst you work - I worked from home with children during Covid lockdowns when they were toddlers and it was very very hard but we managed….).

Hats off to them for trying, definitely more resilient than me. I’d be very burnt out. But I do see the 100 percent how mainstream school simply isn’t right for all children. So it’s worth the sacrifice of doing the hard work at home.

They can't, let's be honest.

The two people I know who 'home educated' were tradespeople, and surprise surprise their young teenage sons turned up during the daytime with them to help with the decorating and carpentry!

It's no different to when school children are on holiday or before they reach 5.

Family, childcare (after school clubs or nanny), work opposite shifts, work in the evening.

Even if you're trying to match school (which most wont) 5 year old will be play based learning with a little bit of phonics - at most 30 minutes.

7 year old - again mostly play based learning with maybe 60-90 minutes of more formal work.

The rest is just living life - science is gardening, cooking, going for walks outside, PE is playing at the park (go after school for added socialising with peers).

Well they're either rich enough to afford child care which incorporates educational sessions or link in with programmes that can provide this

Or the children are not educated

In this example, where is the 2 year old in any case if both parents work full time?

@SandyThumb Sounds like a vastly more useful vocational education than provided at school.

Tradespeople need a vast array of skills outside their trade - pricing/marketing/accounts etc.

She'll neglect her work or neglect her kids. Probably the latter.

Education is not schooling, it's much bigger than that.

Schooling is pretty narrow in educational terms.

I have two nephews who are home educated while their parents work full time, but they’re both very bright, very academically inclined, and really happily log on to their online classes or get out their workbooks without any prompting.

Their parents (my brother and SIL) take turns to work from home and when they can’t then SIL’s mum will have the kids over, and they do their school work and hobbies there.

They also live in a friendly village and seem to do all their socialising at the park at the end of their street when the other kids get out of school for the day, plus local play dates, so they don’t need to be ferried around anywhere.

They’re Christians and also actively involved in their church so do voluntary work through that, and know people of a range of ages.

So it works really well for them but that’s a very specific and unusual set of circumstances! I think for most families - especially with less money for online classes, less academically inclined kids, less family support - it would be impossible.

I agree, to some extent, but in these cases there was no evidence that the boys were getting any of the basics they needed in maths, english etc.

I do feel that there need to be some checks to ensure that at least the basics are being covered.