Home Schooling by Someone Else

Hi M.,

Just responding to let you know that there are people (usually women) who homeschool other people's children. I know of a few different scenario's in my area of this. Some may not go five full days like public school, but some may(?)...it varies. I would try to find homeschool groups (co-ops), one-day academies or a homeschool organization. Also, you could check with local churches to see if they have homeschoolers to give you leads. I know of one lady who has a college degree and recently got her PHD that has homeschooled many children throughout the years and had like a little one room school house on her property, others may not have a degree and homeschool just a few or an extra child with their child. As far as price, that varies on how often they are there and each person, etc...I think it is similiar to private school or a little cheaper. It certainly is an alternative to consider, the kids I know who were in this tiny school, have done very well academically when they went on to other schools.

I would find a homeschool group
http://www.sethsa.org/
http://www.hslda.org/orgs/default.asp

or a church in your area that has a high number of homeschoolers such as
http://www.ncfic.org/church-network
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Churches/USMap.aspx

there's another such listing of churches but I can't seem to find it but that's a really good start. It should be much cheaper then the private school that I went to, but I don't know how much it would be. If you were friends with someone already then it may have been free.

Some people homeschool AND work but with an 8 YO you'd have to have someone watch him while you work. I have a friend who quit her $600K a year job (attorney) to homeschool. Of course she also sold her house and paid cash for something smaller. But she's made it work. I've known singles who homeschool too. So it can be done, but I'm sure it's very difficult.

I hope things go well for you,
S. (homeschooling mom to 4 girls.)

im sure there are people who do it, post your question on one of the homeschooling sites like homeschoolreviews.com, or find a homeschooling group in your area. cost wise i am not sure, it depends how long they would be working with your child. it takes me 5 hours to school my son, i would imagine it costing almost as much as private school tuition which in my area runs at around $400 a month. i use a dvd homeschool program called bju press, if your son is older he could almost follow it himself

You've got some good responses...We live south austin but I know that this option is out there if you can just make the connection. I know of women who homeschool their own children and also work...they just find jobs that have time schedules that work for them and find supervision for their children for the time that they can't be at home. I know there are academic co ops and probably field trip co ops (ours, S.Austin, is free except for the cost of the trips themselves...and many of these are free) in Round Rock. I think there is a P.E. group that meets north, google CHAA, it meets for 3 hours at a time and the kids have a blast, and get some exercise/play games (this is about $70 a month.) There are park days around the town to play on Thursdays or Fridays. The challenge to home schooling this way is all the running around. You start to think: "Why don't I just put him in school its under one roof!" So we choose to handle academics at home and pick one or two activities to supplement (music and p.e....and a field trip once a month...we're doing church and scouts too...o ya...AWANA...(Bible memory) ...ok we're doing way too much but some of this is on the weekend. If you could find a couple college students that could do your running around and to supervise work (while getting some of his own studying in?) a couple days a week it might fill in the gap.

We like Sonlight Curriculum because it's literature based and is easy to use...my husband likes to do read aloud books when he comes home from work, so I save some of these for him to do. The kids really develop a love for reading. The books are that good (lots of Newberry award winners.) They are generally grouped by a historic or geographic theme. They've recently revamped their Language Arts program, and have suggestions for Math and Science. The cost looks more than some other curriculum, but I think is still less than private school for a year. www.sonlight.com
I've used www.rainbowresource.com to find reviews on math curriculum ETC (warning: they carry a lot--in print form its the size of a phonebook-- and it all seems good :) We use a combination of Letz Farmer's Mastering Mathmatics (games and math fact mastery) and Making Math Meaningful by David Quine...this one is scripted and for older students can be self taught. We're also starting (6th grade) Life of Fred math (what a hoot!) and will probably stick with it up through Calculus.

For purchasing new resources I think the two I've listed have some of the best prices...unless you want to do the legwork and compile it all yourself, and that's a whole 'nother set of time commitments.

Check out Texas Home School Coalition for information on withdrawing and requirements in Texas www.thsc.org

Looking forward to hearing what you decide after all this information comes your way. Blessings to you!

OH! I forgot to say that I know my neighbor home schooled with a couple of friends...she took in their children and they helped her out with things around the house and paid a little too...especially to cover the cost of curriculum etc. So another place to start is with your own friends...see if they'd be willing to help.

I know that many years ago my sister was homeschooled at someone's house. She also went to a co-op once a week for one of her subjects. We are currently homeschooling our 14 year old through Texas Tech University Independent School District (TTUISD) and all of the grades and tests are done through them. (We chose them because they are accredited and should we choose to enroll her back in public or transfer over to a private school, all of her courses would be transferable and recognized where ever she went.) I honestly don't have to do much as far as instructing her is concerned. She reads her textbooks and answers questions in the workbooks and then we send the completed work into TTUISD for grading. I don't know where you and your family reside but in our area there are a lot of options for homeschoolers including many if not all courses taught by others (many are co-ops) for a fraction of the cost of private schools. We live in Montgomery County north of Houston. If you are not far, check out Conroe Area Christian Home Educators (http://www.cacheonline.org/). Their website lists some of the options (Christian and non-Christian) available in this area. There is also a competitive sports organization as well as cheerleading/drill team in Montgomery County for homeschoolers called SATCH see their site: http://www.eteamz.com/satch/. I hope you find what you are looking for!

Good Luck and God Bless!
J. F.

We are using a university model school called Summit Christian Academy in Boerne. It's just like a university where you go to school a few days a week and do independent study at home the other days. Not sure if this is an option for you but it really works for us. They go to school Tues & Thurs. and home school on Mon, Wed & Fri. They have K thru 6th this year. Hope you find a solution.