The Working Parent's Guide to Homeschooling

With over 2 million families now homeschooling in the United States, it comes as no surprise that many are single working parents or two income families. Many more yet, would like to homeschool if they thought it was possible, while continuing to work. According to Mary Pride, creator and publisher of Practical Homeschooling Magazine –"Now that homeschooling is becoming more racially diverse, it's time to think about becoming more economically diverse. At present, those of any and all racial backgrounds who are the worst served by the public schools are the least likely to consider homeschooling…However, all the studies have shown that even homeschooling parents with no high-school diploma produce kids with better test scores than the public schools." ("What's Our Next Step? The Future of Homeschooling" By Mary Pride Printed in Practical Homeschooling #50, 2003).


Dissatisfaction with public and private schools continues to grow, and with more and more acceptance of homeschoolers at colleges and universities, now is the time to encourage all those who are ready and willing, that they are able and qualified to teach their children, even and especially if they must continue working. Homeschooling pioneer, John Holt says -"It is hard not to feel that there must be something very wrong with much of what we do in school, if we feel the need to worry so much about what many people call 'motivation'. A child has no stronger desire than to make sense of the world, to move freely in it, to do the things that he sees bigger people doing."


Now, more than ever, the tools and resources are readily available to working parents. The options are exploding. School can be accomplished online, offline, with ereaders, conventional textbooks, library resources, yard sale and thrift store finds, and even satellite television. The costs can range from zero to hundreds of dollars a year, and time invested on the part of the parent anywhere from half an hour to all day.


Parents need to be informed of the possibilities that exist, and if they choose, to be aware that they have the power to improve their own and their children's lives. It is the goal of The Working Parent's Guide to Homeschooling to inform and empower working parents with the tools and resources to pursue their children's education to the betterment of their family life.


The Working Parent's Guide to Homeschooling answers questions such as, "How can I work and homeschool?" by showing the reader how to find what works for them. Working parents will explore issues such as:


o Time management
o Child care arrangements while working
o How to teach


Real life working parents' solutions to each of these issues are presented in chapters on:


o Scheduling
o Who watches the kids?
o Curriculum
o Resources


Written specifically for working parents, the author's own experience peppers nearly every chapter of The Working Parent's Guide to Homeschooling. The author also draws upon several other families' experiences to illustrate solutions to scheduling, child care, etc.