Sep

16

Does a Single Mother have Time to Homeschool Her Child(ren)?

Posted by singlemom

September 16, 2008 |

Yes, you have plenty of time for this. Just because children are at school six hours a day, does not mean that they are taught for that long. It does not take long to homeschool your child each day.

When I began homeschooling, I worked up to 30 hours a week outside the home. I now work at home, but this does not give me any more time for homeschooling. I care for other people’s children in my home, so my time is limited.

When children are younger, they need more individualized attention than when they are teenagers. Teenagers are better able to work independently. However, I began homeschooling when my children were in the fourth and second grades, so I had to work with them.

I quickly learned that we only spent about two or three hours a day on school. That was all that was necessary at that age. They spent a bit more time studying as they got older.

Here are some tips that you may find helpful:

  • Let them choose something that they want to learn about, and leave this as the last subject of the day. This will give them something to look forward to.
  • Whenever possible, teach subjects together. I mostly did this with science and history when my daughters were little, and then with math later on. If they are at the same level, use that.
  • If your children are in daycare while you work, or are old enough to stay at home alone, have them work on their independent studies while you are away. These are studies that they can do without you. Anything they need you for can wait until after work.
  • If you don’t know enough about a subject to teach it, can you find someone who does?
  • Children need to help out with household tasks. Get them involved to free up time for you to help them with school.
  • You can practice multiplication tables, spelling and more while cooking dinner together.
  • Baking is numerous subjects at once: Life skills, reading and math are but a few.

As you can see, it is possible for a single mother to find enough time to homeschool her children. Many single women do this every year. If you truly believe that homeschooling is right for your family, don’t let being single stop you.

Shannon


Comments

4 Comments so far

  1. Carletta on September 17, 2008 6:48 pm

    Thank you for this post! I am a firm believer that single parents and working parents can successfully teach their children at home.

  2. Wade on September 18, 2008 2:11 am

    What an inspiring and informative article. Recently, one of the couples in our homeschool circle filed for a divorce. Basically, the husband is moving out and moving onto another woman in his life. I’ve been worried about the mom and her kids. Will she be able to adjust? Will she still be able to homeschool her kids? There are a lot of parents out there who could use the boost of confidence your blog offers.

    Thanks! (And thanks for all of your contributions on my blog!)

  3. singlemom on September 18, 2008 10:38 am

    Carletta - I completely agree with you. It makes it easier for us to do what is best for the children in our lives.

    Wade - Thank you! For anyone who needs support from a single homeschool mom, they can go to http://www.thehomeschoolmomof2.com. They can contact me through the site or at thehsmomof2@aol.com.

  4. singles dating on October 30, 2008 5:21 pm

    singles dating…

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