Only an Option For The Wealthy? Nonsense!

I came across this article in Newsweek about homeschooling. What I wanted to respond to was the comments.

Over and over, I saw the refrain, "Homeschooling is only a viable option for affluent, 2 parent households, because one parent needs to stay home to school the kids."

Nonsense. 

I am a single, working mother.  I homeschool.  I have made it work.  Oh, and I am far from rich.  Far, far from rich.

In today's world, I don't see any reason for a mother to have to leave her kids at home to work at a job 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.  There are too many options these days to work at home, or create a flex time position, or work graveyards. Even if Mom does have to work outside the home, with support from the community and her child care providers, she can still successfully homeschool. 

I work from home as a bookkeeper and virtual assistant.  I work outside the home a few hours a day, but not much.  Schoolwork is set the night before, and sometimes the kids stay up late in their rooms to do it, other times they get up early and get it done.  Total daily time on formal lessons?  Less than 2 hours.  We're done before lunch, and then I get to shoo them outside to play (PE!) for the rest of the day while I work.

Since I don't work outside the home every day, I don't have to drive as often, nor do I have to have expensive business clothing and shoes.  I can also plan and prepare meals, which keeps the grocery bill low.  I do work about 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. 

My son attends Cub Scouts, and my daughter is in ballet, jazz, and modern dance at a local studio.  I do the books for the studio to pay for her dance.  Both kids attend a math learning center - again, paid for with trade work (yup, I do their books too). 

We love hitting yard sales, and were delighted to find a student microscope at a yard sale for $10.  They have examined almost anything you can put on a slide and are constantly looking for new things to examine.

Kids love to learn.  They want to learn, as long as that love of learning isn't killed.  I put my focus on reading, writing, math, grammar, history, and language, and more or less get out of the way for the rest.

Khan Academy offers a huge number of no-cost videos and self-test, mostly on math and science.  I log them in and let them go to it.  They love it.

If you want to teach your kids at home, there is always an option.  Always.  It may involve some creative thinking, but there are options.