How Can an Entrepreneur Home School? Part 5

We completed the year took the break for summer and went on into 1st grade with K12.

It was a great day when the local school called us to see if our son was ready to be evaluated again for Kindergarten. We said, "No thanks he has already completed Kindergarten and is entering 1st grade."

Now we knew 1st grade would be more complicated than Kindergarten and sure enough it also held more curriculum to learn. But even with the added material our school days all summed up to about 3 hours. This of course did not include our "sneaky" review times we would perform as we went about our normal days.

3 hours.

This year Barbara and I had a new question. Our other children all had anywhere from 2 to 3 hours of school homework every day plus additional work for the weekends. I would say out of that we probably spent 3 to 4 ours a day ourselves helping our children with the home work.

So our new question this year was, "What the heck are the schools doing all day if they are sending 3 hours worth of work home every night?"

As our son progressed into each new grade the time did expand to complete lessons. By fourth grade Barbara and I each started teaching only certain courses as the school day had expanded to 5 hours. We each took on half giving our son a break in the middle.

Barbara had opened her own bath and body shop, at 74 mill Street, Gahanna, Ohio, by fourth grade. Before she had been making bath and body products at home and selling them over the internet and via wholesale outlets. I had been running my internet marketing company since 1995 and still do this from my house.

However since Barbara wanted to expand into her own retail shop we made an arrangement that she would not open her shop until 11 AM. Our son would go with her to help open the shop, which he just loves to do in exchange for spending money. I would work at home until 1 PM and them go pick up our young student and we would get lunch either at home or go to a cafe.

We have several cafes picked out and he eats the exact same thing each time and on each day. This is part of the behaviour from his Asperger's Syndrom. Routine is important.

I have a lap top with a roller leather case that carries books we need. We can open the laptop at the cafe while we have our lunch and log into K12. After we eat we can sit for an hour or so to complete some lessons.

After that we take a break and do some kind of activity. After the activity we do some more lessons and then about 5 PM or so he is ready to be on his own and get to the legos that he loves.

Our routine works very well and I get to spend about the same amount of time as I would if he were in a public school situation if you consider homework, driving back and forth to school, teacher meetings, (and our children usually required many extra teacher meetings), projects and all that goes with the time a parent spends getting their children through school.

We like to try to find odd places to do lessons. We are always searching for the oddest place to do a lesson. We have taken the laptop to the beach, to the mountains, on planes. We have traveled to learn history and geography to New York, Chicago, Wyoming, Florida, Texas, many places.

My son just loves trains and we have spent time by railroad tracks waiting for trains and doing lessons.

We sometimes go sit in a watch area by the airport working on lessons and when a plane starts to come in my son jumps out to run up to the fence to get a great look.

We even spent a night in a haunted hotel, although I think we did not get too much accomplished lesson wise, but certainly it was an odd spot.

The great thing about these odd spots is that we can associate them with the lessons. The place brings back the subject of learning at that time to his mind quite easily.

I don't know how long we will be homeschooling in this way but as of 6th grade I don't see any reason yet to quit.

So regarding the question, "How can an entrepreneur home school?"

The answer is, "Thanks to K12.com quite easily thank you."

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This is a 5 part series. This is the end of part 5.

Authored by Timothy L. Drobnick Sr. August, 2008.

No part of this story may be replicated without express written consent of Timothy L. Drobnick Sr.

Call Tim at these numbers:

1(800) 313-0377 24 hour recorded for Portal Directors & connect with Tim on his cell phone

1(866)571-1602 24 hour recorded for Avalanche Money System & connect with Tim on his cell phone

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