Traveling Single Parent, is Homeschooling a Good Idea?

by Michele Thorne | More from this Blogger

08 Feb 2007 12:24 PM

Salena asked the following.

I have a question, I am a full time auditor Mystery Shopper. I make between 2000-4000 a month and it's not about Money, at all BUT I am always on the computer or traveling. My daughter is simply failing the 7th grade in Private school. When I travel, I need to take my Daughter with me because I have no support. My sister is a Full time teacher and is willing to oversee. Is homeschooling a good idea for my daughter as she wants to travel with me when I go. No father, he is dead. No support, as I moved 100's of miles from my family, so I can't legit travel without her. Thanks Salena

My first question would be why is your daughter getting failing grades. Is it because she has to travel with you and is not able to attend enough school? Is it because she is bored out of her mind, and just decided to stop doing it? Is it because it is too hard, or she needs extra help that she's not getting from the school? Is it because she is depressed about not being able to spend time with you when she is in school, and she sees school as taking away time from you? Is she having a hard time making friends, feels uncomfortable, or is being bullied? Finding out why she's getting these grades is an important step, it could explain a lot in and of itself, and could help you make the decision.

You state that your daughter wants to travel with you when you do travel. I am guessing that she has already stated this to you as a big priority for her in at least one of your conversations. Being that you are a single parent with little support network right now, and do a lot of work on the computer and on the road, your daughter may be feeling like she doesn't get enough time with you. This is another one of the many wonderful things about homeschooling. You get to spend a lot more time with your children. Not only would you get to spend more time with your child, you would also get to give her an education on a larger scale. She gets to travel to new places, and learn so many new things in and about these new places that she would not be able to experience otherwise. Instead of sitting in a classroom hearing about it for seven hours a day, she will be able to be out there living it.

I also believe that if you are considering homeschooling, for whatever reason, whoever you are, you are a good candidate for homeschooling. Whether you are a single parent, or a married couple, whether you work 9-5 or overnights, whether you are a school teacher, or don't want anything to do with the educational system, if you are considering homeschooling, you can make it work. I love homeschooling as a single parent because as a single parent, you don't normally get to choose whether or not you work, and sometimes you don't have a choice when or where you work, but homeschooling allows you to still have the quality time with your children on a daily basis. You don't have to spend seven or eight hours on school, like they do in public school, because you don't have 30 children, and the time you spend depends on their abilities and learning styles. So you can school for two or three hours, and have the extra time they would have spent in school for other things.

Everyone who homeschools does it for different reasons. In your case it would be because you want more time with your daughter, and she wants more time with you, and you feel that you could give her a better education than she is receiving. Those reasons alone would be reason enough for me to begin homeschooling if I wasn't already.

Have you talked to your daughter about homeschooling? That would be my first step. Sit down with her. Tell her you are considering pulling her out of school and homeschooling her. Explain that this doesn't mean she would no longer have to work on her education, but it would just be under different circumstances. She would not only still need to study, work, read, and learn, but also be more involved in the household and everyday living if she is not already. At this point, from the sounds of it, she will probably be very excited, and she should be. Then get her involved in the process. Have her help you with picking out the style of homeschooling that would fit you as a family. Have her help you pick out her curriculum or develop the curriculum based on how she learns best.

There are a lot of people who have to travel a lot for/with their work that homeschool successfully. The only difference that you may find between them and you is that you are a single mom, and that means you get to spend even more of your time with your child. This is not to mention the fact that colleges now a days are looking to recruit students who are not the norm. By homeschooling your daughter, and allowing her to travel with you, you are actually opening more doors for her in her future.

Don't forget to check out Andrea's blog about car schooling.

Learn more about Michele Thorne

Michele Thorne is an all purpose person. She is a full time single mom (her son's father is not involved in his life in any way, shape, or form) caring for her son Jonathan.

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Salena (127) 11 Feb 2007 11:23 PM

She is failing becuase she travels with me and her attendance is poor. Her comprehension level is very high.

Is she depressed probably. She wants to be homeschooled, she wants to be with me as she knows I am, in her mind the only "one" she has left.

She is pushing me too. The Cleveland school system, even the private schools are in a miserable state of decay. I have a 5 year substitute certificate in the state of Ohio and I am constantly traveling and I need, many tiomes, to take her with me.

And finally, I am selfish too. I want her with me, I want to travel with her and I want to be with her. I am constantly fighting the fear that she is going to end up alone ( which is sooo very illegal at her age) becuse I was in Cinci when my car broke down and now I need to spend the night. I cannot drive at night as for whatever reason, I have recently gone blind in my left eye ( and no, I have NOT gone to the DR. yet to finds out why, frankly I am terrified he will say my career, or even worse, my life is over (ie:cancer, displaced or detached retina....no better way to kill a MS career then to never be able to drive again) so getting home would be a death sentence since I cannot see out of my left eye.

Nonetheless, I want my daughter with me, she is my best friend and sole companion becuase I am a mean nasty person that is opinionated and no one else can tolerate except her....and the guy who is stalking me ( seriously) . I don't want to miss out on one second of her life and I am missing out on all of them when I travel...every day.

Andrea Hermitt (5512) 12 Feb 2007 07:02 AM

Salena... have your eye checked... for your daughter. If you are the only one she has, then you need to take extra special care of her.

Meanwhile, you CAN homeschool her. Get a laptop. Use hotels with internet connections. Use an online school. Best of luck to you.

Michele Thorne (461) 12 Feb 2007 09:05 AM

Since her grades are due to the travel anyway, homeschooling her is a very good option. If it were for other reasons, it would just mean you would have to spend a little more time with her studies. While I can't understand what she is feeling, I can only imagine, it is understandable that she feels this way. Which is why homeschooling is also a good option for you both.

You wanting to have more time with your daughter is NOT selfish. It's a good thing. It makes you a good mom who is raising a good person who you want to spend time with.

As far as your health problems are concerned, get to the doctor as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the worse it will be. It could be something simple right now, but if you wait, it will get worse. I totally understand your fear, as I'm afraid for my son if anything happened to me, which is why you need to take the best care of yourself and take care of problems as soon as they arise. If you need someone to talk to, please feel free to E-mail me.

Salena (127) 12 Feb 2007 09:36 PM

Actually, I have a DRs appointment Friday. I did go to Web MD and typed in my symptoms and guess what came up, especially under the "prism effect ( I see, in daylight, everything split into rainbows) GLAUCOMA!!!! Yeah me, let's throw a Glaucoma party!! You bring the chips!!!

I made an appointment asap. That's why alot of my blogs/comments are mispelled because I can't see out of my left eye.

There is plenty wrong with me but my kid is not one of those things. I asked if she was bored today when she went with me. She said she wasn't and she wants to be with me. She said she is my best friend and although she has plenty of friends ( our phones blow up constantly with people calling her) so socialization is not an issue ( I've heard that can be one of the largest issues with HS, getting proper socialization) and she acts and talks like a 20 year old so I know ( as do her teachers) she is a smartie but... she just wants to be with me/