Unschooling when both parents work
rachelwalkkermft
We are a family exploring the idea of unschooling. I'm wondering if we could hear from those who have managed to balance work and unschooling. Both my husband and I have been blessed with fulfilling careers that bring us a lot of meaning. We also both have to work in order to sustain the family financially. We're wondering what people have learned about balancing unschooling with a vibrant working life. Thanks.
Joyce Fetteroll
On Jul 19, 2011, at 7:50 PM, rachelwalkkermft wrote:
People read that unschooling is kids pursuing their interests and
sometimes conjure up an image of unschooling running itself. But a big
part of unschooling is creating a vibrant rich life swirling around
them, connecting with them through their interests when the kids need
to connect.
The good thing about unschooling (and homeschooling for that matter)
is it doesn't need done between 8 and 3 like school. But it does need
someone there to facilitate it when interesting things are happening
that the kids want to go to or would be good to introduce them to.
If you and your husband are working different schedules that can work.
It really depends on your kids needs and how able you are to connect
with your kids and connect your kids to their interests.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> We're wondering what people have learned about balancingHow old are your kids?
> unschooling with a vibrant working life.
People read that unschooling is kids pursuing their interests and
sometimes conjure up an image of unschooling running itself. But a big
part of unschooling is creating a vibrant rich life swirling around
them, connecting with them through their interests when the kids need
to connect.
The good thing about unschooling (and homeschooling for that matter)
is it doesn't need done between 8 and 3 like school. But it does need
someone there to facilitate it when interesting things are happening
that the kids want to go to or would be good to introduce them to.
If you and your husband are working different schedules that can work.
It really depends on your kids needs and how able you are to connect
with your kids and connect your kids to their interests.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
I used to work PT from home while my partner worked full time, now I work full time and he's building his own business from home (so he also works full time, but without a lot of return as yet). In the very near future, that's all going to change again, maybe more than once as my job is moving out of state. In the short term, I'm going to be working part time and commuting to the new plant, but I don't know how long it will last so I'm looking into working part time and/or from home. It's an ever evolving process!
The biggest issue when home/unschooling while both parents try to work is finding ways to be flexible. Work odd hours as much as you can and from home as much as you can. If your kids are night-owls, you may be able to work early in the day and still spend a good bit of time with them in the late afternoon, early evening. If your kids are early-birds, look for evening/night hours to work.
It also helps a whole lot to think hard about priorities and what you mean by "really need to work". I know from my periods of unemployment that my kids are happier to have me home than when I'm working more and buying more fun things. They'd rather have me than a Wii - and that's heartening! Unschooling needs resources, but not necessarily *financial* resources. Parents are often the best resources a child can have ;)
---Meredith
The biggest issue when home/unschooling while both parents try to work is finding ways to be flexible. Work odd hours as much as you can and from home as much as you can. If your kids are night-owls, you may be able to work early in the day and still spend a good bit of time with them in the late afternoon, early evening. If your kids are early-birds, look for evening/night hours to work.
It also helps a whole lot to think hard about priorities and what you mean by "really need to work". I know from my periods of unemployment that my kids are happier to have me home than when I'm working more and buying more fun things. They'd rather have me than a Wii - and that's heartening! Unschooling needs resources, but not necessarily *financial* resources. Parents are often the best resources a child can have ;)
---Meredith