I have been homeschooling my 3 kids for the past 3 years, and I just opened my home daycare in February. I have been really struggling with keeping up with homeschooling since I've started daycare, and I'm looking for advice from other in-home provides that also homeschool.

This year's schooling has looked a lot different than the previous years. Lots more worksheets, a lot less hands-on/fun stuff and field trips. I just have not had the time to plan like I used to! I feel like my brain is torn in a hundred different directions all the time, and I can't seem to focus on one thing long enough to plan something meaningful and fun for my own kids. It's all I can do to get things in order for the daycare, like planning crafts, grocery lists/menus, etc. while also trying to keep up with my family's grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, cleaning, and all that. It's so much! I have dcb on the couch watching Little Einsteins right now so I can type this; I am so overwhelmed this week.

How do you manage to be a great dc provider AND still have meaningful school time with your own kids? I don't want our homeschooling to be all about one boring worksheet after another, and that's what it's become this past year. And some days I struggle even to get that in. The logical choice to some would be to just quit homeschooling; but a big reason why I started doing dc in the first place was so I could work AND continue to hs my kids. I know other people do it, so I don't want to give up just yet. What have you found helpful as far as scheduling, planning, and managing your time so you can get it all done? TIA!

Reply

It's hard...I don't have any real tricks, but having a regular routine helps. Sometimes it takes longer to get into a routine then you expect! Maybe looking into different types of curriculum and seeing if there's a better fit? I don't use anything formal just yet (my oldest is only 3!) but maybe checking a few different ones out could make it easier? Take on less kids or maybe do before/after care so you have some time in the middle? Not sure if any of those would help! Good luck!!

Reply

How old are your children? Have you tried an online curriculum to help assist with your homeschoolers like www.k12.com ?

Reply

My daughter's only 5, so I have the "vast" experience of 2 1/2 months of homeschooling combined with child care to speak from. :-) But what's helped me:

--I closed on Fridays. Friday is generally my day to focus exclusively on homeschooling.

--I raised the age level of my group (now 2-5). From now on, I intend to take 2-year-olds only if they're siblings of current children, but generally add only 3 and up (hopefully, another homeschooler or two!)

--Next year, I may pare down even lower, keeping one day a week to 3 kids only (what fits in my car), so we can do more trips. Most of my kids are part-time anyway, so it should work out.

--We are influenced by both unschooling and the preschools of Reggio Emilia. So right now, my daughter is deep into a "history of Massachusetts" project (her choice), focused intensely at the moment on Plymouth. Our house is full of related books and she's often in costume and arranging dramatic play scenarios, so it becomes the project of the whole group.

--My daughter naps with the kids, but I get her up a few minutes earlier than the rest of them so we can have some 1-1 reading time.

--Here's a great bonus: any wonderful new homeschooling tool I want becomes a partial write-off, because it's also a toy the kids use. For example, this week I bought a wonderful scale and they've been exploring numbers and weight. For my daughter, it's homeschooling. For the other kids, it's just plain fun.

Reply

This is my third year of homeschooling, yet I've only been a dc provider for about 1.5 months now. I have 3 children of my own, but am only hschooling the oldest. Next year, I will start my 2nd child in kindergarten, so then I'll have 2 that I'll be hschooling.

Here's the thing. I only watch one child. I actually did not advertise myself, it just sort of happened. I had an old acquaintance who had a 1 year old who needed someone to watch her. She called me up, my dh and I prayed about it, and we agreed to 'try'. She needed me 4 days out of the week. She arrives as early as 8:30am and leaves as late as 5:30. We have a very loose contract. In fact we have no contract at all. We said simply that it would be a set fee per day and that if she doesn't show, she doesn't pay. I know that is not the norm in dc, but as I said, this wasn't something that I was pursuing as a career, it just sort of landed in my lap.

I found out quickly that we couldn't casually hschool like we did in the past. Instead of getting up at 8:00 or later to start our day, I now had to get up at 6:00am to get a few personal things done and then start school officially at 7:00am with my daughter. We take care of one on one stuff before my baby wakes and our dcg arrives. While the babies are awake/here, she does her independent work. While the babies nap, she and I do more of the one on one stuff again. I also, prep for the next day, the evening before (for both dc and hschooling). Works wonders! We have actually been a little more productive with me being a provider than when I was not because it keeps us on a tighter schedule. We will see what kind of drama will unfold when I am teaching 2 instead of just 1. If it gets in the way of hschooling, then sadly, I'll have to break down and tell my dcm that I just can't do it anymore because I really like her daughter and she seems to be adjusting to us well (after a very hard adjustment period).

So overall, I guess my advice would be to:

1. get up earlier (this one is a biggie for me)
2. make the most of naps if possible
3. do the independent work while the other children are up
4. cut back on how many children you watch if possible
5. Make sure the hours are working for you (I saw where someone said to watch just the SA children for before and after school care)
6. prep the night before

Just some advice from someone who's not been at it for very long. Hope it all works out for you!

Reply

I have done daycare for 7 years and homeschooled for 5 yrs since my oldest was in KG. I will tell you this. It really is not easy. I can relate to a lot of what you are saying. Juggling everything and being torn in different directions.

Now I have never homeschooled without daycare so I am not spoiled in that way. But even so, I am dedicated to homeschooling and the daycare is our whole income so t is not an option to change that. I have 8 preschoolers and my girls are in 2nd and 4th grade.

We have tried a ton of different things, but what we are doing now that is working is starting school as soon as naptime starts. We get the bulk done during that quiet time and then the kids finish up from 3-4pm once the kids are up and quietly on their work mats.

So the morning is free (which is the busiest time of my daycare days) for me to do circle time, activities, prepare and clean up meals, take care of any phone calls or other household chores when the daycare kiddos are playing. My kids can wake up, get dressed, eat and work on whatever they like (crafts, drawing, reading etc...) until noon. Then they need to be sure they are dressed and ready for the day and have eaten lunch. As soon as the kids are down for nap we start our school work in peace and quiet.

You may find it difficult to do a lot of the extra stuff now that your plate is so full. Don't beat yourself up. But you can still throw in some science projects, field trips on the weekends, and unit studies to spice things up.

Even though it is a lot to take on, I am so glad I homeschool and do daycare. It is worth the time and effort.

Reply

I am interested in homeschooling my 3 kids, but was told that In Maryland I can not homeschool and legally operate a daycare. Is this true at all and if so where would I find this information? My kids are ages 5, 7 1/2, and 12.
As far as your question though I would definitely look at the k-12 curriculum and try to prepare in advance. Some of the pp have some really good ideas as far as making it work. I will be checking back because I am very interested in this. Thanks

Reply

I have been home schooling and running a daycare together for almost 30 years, at one point schooling 6 kids and providing care to 6-9 more.
Suggestions:
1. You do not have to school Monday-Friday. We have on occasion used Saturday and most of Sunday to do school, and taken off days on the weekdays.
2. Take advantage of early mornings, nap times or late nights. I have done math before the kids arrive, and chemistry experiments at midnight. Right now my two teens do science experiments, discuss composers, discuss history questions and learn logic at nap time. They read independently at night before bed and we talk about it while fixing lunch for the littles. They get math help if needed during free play.
3. You do not have to do crafts every day. You also do not have to do science every day. It is best if you have your kids do math, read and write daily. All other subjects can be done in blocks. We have had periods where we did history and science on an every other day basis. Ditto the trade off on foreign languages and art/music.
4. Use a couple hours one day a week to plan EVERYTHING. Know what your kids are going to need to learn/do. Plan a craft for the week. Know what lunch will be.
5. You can also integrate, depending on your ages. Last year, for example, the little kids did an art project about the water cycle right along with the big ones. Everyone had a ball. I have had daycare kids participate in mummifying chickens, building Native American homes, cool science experiments, etc. Combine what you can so everyone learns and has fun. Physics is not above a 3yo. It can be fun.
6. Get your kids involved in the work. It is healthy for kids to have chores, help with younger kids, etc. It is excellent experience. Every one of my children could change a diaper at the age of 6. They all started doing their own laundry at 6. By 8, they could efficiently clean a bathroom, and by 10 they could clean a kitchen, including dishes. By 12, I could drop them off at a grocery store with a list they helped make and pick them up at the front door when they were done. They are all comfortable with small children and infants.

One of the coolest benefits of home schooling is the exposure young children get to ideas that are "above their heads." When they get to these concepts again later, they already have an upper hand. They have seen the material before; even seen it in action. What you are doing is beneficial to ALL the kids, not just your own. Don't give up. You can do this!

Reply

Nope, not true. I am licensed in a small home & am not restricted w/ the daycare in any way bc of homeschooling.

Reply

I used to homeschool and I did a learning time with my DC kids as well. Sometimes each is working on different levels/activities. At this time I also had my DD sit with her work and do things too. When everyone was all done, she would switch to the computer for some work time while I finished circle time and prepared lunch. When naptime came, we would finish her learning time in a more private setting since the littles were all sleeping. This is when I did the things she needed one on one or quiet time to do. It worked well. My issue was field trips. They had to be narrowed down to evenings or weekends.

Reply