Last week, we talked about how you can earn money while homeschooling, and at this week’s live session (now part of the 2020-2021 School Year Sessions), Julie Mendez gave us many more ideas. But the question remains: who will watch your kids while you’re working? How do you find childcare for homeschoolers?
As with jobs, there is no one answer. Different homeschooling families solve this problem differently. Of course, a lot depends on your children’s ages and stages, and things change as they grow and mature. And, believe it or not, children do eventually grow up 😊. At this stage of my life, my children no longer need constant supervision, and I can even work outside the home. But back when I had babies and toddlers, it didn’t seem possible that I would ever get to this point.
My favorite childcare option back then was trading off childcare with a friend who had children close in age. We would have a regular schedule for when her kids would come to my house and when my kids would go to her house. It was a win for everyone: we mothers got our work done and the kids got to play with their friends.
Another win-win childcare arrangement is dropping your kids off at a class or co-op. I’ve gotten a lot of work done during my kids’ classes. Of course, the trick is to find classes that all of your kids can attend at the same time. And if you have a baby, ideally these classes should be during his or her nap. But I’ve found that classes and co-ops specifically intended for homeschoolers are usually very accommodating in that way. My kids took classes that were aimed for a large range of ages, and their age differences were not a problem. And sometimes, the same homeschool program would have different classes for different ages that took place at the same time.
Sometimes, we have to be creative and think out of the box when arranging childcare for our homeschooled children, especially once they claim that they are too old to be left with babysitters. But it can be done! You can find more ideas in this blog post by Jen Mackinnon.
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