Hi–I’m not yet homeschooling my two boys, who are just turning 4 and 2 this month. However, my husband and I are strongly leaning toward keeping our oldest home in 1.5 years when he is ready to start kindergarten. Our public schools aren’t too bad, but they are very liberal and we are not. The closest Christian school that I would be ok sending them to is about a 45-50 minute drive away, which isn’t feasible for us.
I’ve already started looking in the vast resources available online–it’s overwhelming!–because our situation is a bit different than most families and I feel I need to start researching now. I currently work 10-hour shifts, either 3 or 4 days per week which is 70 hours per 2-week pay period. When we start homeschooling I plan to drop my hours down to 3 days per week. Me staying home full-time is not an option as my salary is required for us to pay our mortgage and live where we live. I often work weekends (healthcare) which means I’ll be working only 2 weekdays on either side of the weekend. My husband’s schedule is fairly flexible and he’s off every Friday; he also works outside the house. My parents and husband’s parents both live an hour away and are very involved in our lives–our boys adore their grandparents.
My question to the community is: has anyone ever tag-team taught their children at home with their husbands and possibly grandparents? I plan on doing the bulk of the teaching (2-3 days per week), and husband would do 1-2 days, and grandparents would do 1 day per week. All six of us adults feel strongly that homeschooling is the best option for our boys…my mom in particular has stated that she wants to be involved and help any way she can. Our public school system has a part-time option that I am leaning towards where I could send my son to a nearby school one day a week with other homeschool kids where they would do drama, music, art, and Spanish–this would take some of the pressure off of us!
My concern is for lack of continuity in teaching. I think it might work best if we did things in a block schedule–my husband and I are both very good at math, I’m good at science, grammar, and reading, and neither of us prefer history! I would love any insights or experience anyone could provide on tag-teaming, especially in the younger years of homeschooling.
(Also–I’m particularly interested in curriculums that lean toward combining Bible/reading/grammar/literature/history and have little prep time required, so any input on that is also appreciated!)
HI!
I did actually do this “tag team” approach with my first. I was going to school full time and working as well while my oldest was in kindergarten. My MIL was watching her and I would just send a few cut/paste pages and a workbook page everyday with her to complete. It was not the best system since my MIL was not fully on board with my plan and just not able to do what I needed at that time. Hard to explain, anyways…IF your Mom or MIL is willing and wanting to help AND is on board with homeschooling, you have a great chance at success!
AS far as curriculum goes, Id suggest reading some books and really try and relax at the age of 3/4/5. I’d recommend using simple stuff and focus on basics only.
Id look into these:
All about reading pre level + Handwriting without tears Get ready for school + Preschool math at home
That would be plenty for that age. You could also add in Get ready for the code books, as a bonus.
For History and Bible, I would get a good children’s bible and read aloud from it daily, then talk or color some pictures and what not. You could also look into a full blown curriculum to incorporate everything. My fathers world or Heart of Dakota and Sonlight are all well known and reputable companies.
Bedes history of me is for little kids, but honestly just reading aloud to them is enough at this age. Honey for a childs heart is a great book for lists of books to read and at certain ages.
Just keep it simple and let them play and explore, with a little bit of school work thrown in when they want it
I forgot to add the best resource for all things (history/math/art/feelings:science) Before 5 in a row!!!
If you just did that alone it’d be a full cheap curriculum, if you got the books from the library.
I’d stack Before 5 in a row with the above stuff and do a little a few times a week. It’s easy and a very well rounded learning experience. It’s my plan for my 3rd kiddo coming up on 4years soon
Thanks for your replies! I was actually strongly considering doing FIAR with my oldest. I love the idea of the literature-based learning, and it would also keep my youngest (VERY kinesthetic signs in that one!) entertained as well. I have a friend whose two boys are grown and out on their own who she homeschooled and she also recommended FIAR.
I’ve looked into AAR quite a bit and am leaning towards that–he’s constantly sounding out letters in books and showing signs that he’s ready. He’s also constantly counting things and doing simple addition (in the car: “Mama, did you know that 3 plus 2 equals 5?”) with no prompts from me, so thinking he’s nearly ready for a math curriculum too.
