Homeschool World Forum

[hollycruz]

I am thinking about going back to work. I haven't worked since my daughter was born. My daughter is 18 months, and I decide before she was born I was going to homeschool. However, with our current financial situation, I may need to work. My biggest concern, will I be able to home school her if my husband and I are both working?

AND... Is 2 years old the best time to start homeschool?

[Theodore]

You should be able to homeschool so long as you and your husband aren't working the same hours, or you have someone who can watch your daughter while you're working. Obviously, you can't leave a young child home alone. That having been said, homeschooling doesn't take much time - perhaps an hour or two per day - and it probably won't be too much for you to handle after coming home from work.

As for when to start homeschooling, you can start reading to your daughter at any age. This will build language patterns and make it easier for her to learn to read later on. At age 2, you can also try teaching her letters and numbers, but you probably shouldn't expect her to comprehend much beyond that. Phonetic reading won't come until at least age 3 or 4, and depending on her learning style, could take a bit longer even.
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[Princess_Fyara]

Great post Theodore!

Hollycruz, there is a website I'd like to tell you about, it's http://biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/ There is a link to their Yahoo group, and it is basically Internet ladies who work from home and share how they do it, ask questions, and encourage each other. If you are really not wanting to go back out to work, they have some really good information to help you get started from home.
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[Tabz]

the nice thing about homeschooling is it's flexible. While you still want to give your child some sense of order and schedule no one says that learning has to happen bright and early at 7am. The only thing I'd caution is if you're in a situation where you might have to work late. If your routine is going to be fairly 9-to-5ish, then you should be in good shape.

Two is an excellant time to start "school". Even if it's simply putting in a baby Enstine video or taking time to go through colors (i.e. holding a book and pointing to the colors and saying "red", "blue" etc.). Music is also very key in a two year old's life. Getting a sense of memory. When we were babysitting a two year while her mother worked she watched the same Veggie Tales movies over and over. She'd clap and say "Tales!" along with the theme song.

Reading to your child also is very very important. I can't stress how important reading is. Reading, after all, is the core of all learning. Children do what we do... so if you establish a love for reading early on your child will flourish.
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