If you weren't homeschooling, what would you be doing?

[Diana in OR]

I know there are a few here who work FT and homeschool. But most of us either aren't employed, or only work PT. I'm just curious what we'd all be doing if our dc were in school all day. I know a lot depends on the ages of our dc.

Since my dc are older, I'd go crazy being at home alone all the time, but don't want to work FT. Along with my many volunteer pursuits, I'm toying with the idea of reinstating my teaching certificate so I could substitute teach when ds goes to ps next year. I think it would be a fun way to get to teach lots of different ages and subjects, kind of like hsing :001_smile: .

[Sharon in SC]

[QUOTE=Diana in OR;113620] I'm just curious what we'd all be doing if our dc were in school all day. QUOTE]

Most likely either working as an RN in the surgical trauma/neurosurgical ICU I left to homeschool my girls or working towards getting my master's degree in nursing. :)

[Lady_Dulcinea]

I would be a piano tuner/repair woman. I've started the education in the past and put it aside. I *will* pick it up again when the kids are older. In fact I even have dreams of someday having a used piano store with a room in the back for the kids to work on school work/play.

[CookieMonster]

Sitting in front of the TV eating bon bons and drinking coffee. :D

Seriously...teaching most likely.

[Mrs. H.]

I would really love to stay at home without or with the kids here, but I would write more than I have time for now. I would also knit, sew, practice the piano, read, clean, and organize more than I do now.

[AnneJ]

I work part time nights so I'd get to sleep during the day after a night shift. I'd also be more caught up on housekeeping. I'd go to Tuesday morning Bible study. I'd read a lot more books and go for runs during the day.

Lest you think I'm complaining, I wouldn't trade having my kids home for anything (well, most days anyway :-))

[KAR120C]

Whenever we're done homeschooling (either because he's graduated or we decide to send him to school), my plan is to work as a SAS (statistics) programmer for a bit until that drives me up a wall, and then go back to school for a masters in public health, either for epidemiology or biostats.

Before DS was born (and part time until he was six or seven), I was a database programmer, but it's the statistics end of things that I enjoy the most, and not the rest of it. I'm very very slowly working toward SAS certification, with the intent of getting DS to that point too if he's interested.

[Daisy]

Living in my children's classroom. It is what I did do. The private school they were at offered me a job. LOL. :lol:

[Sue G in PA]

:D But, oh what I COULD do if I weren't hsing all day. My house would look a bit less like a hurricane blew through, my scrapbooks *might* be more up to date, I could bring my Stampin Up! supplies out of hiding, work on some projects around the house that just don't end up getting done, catch up on some reading (for ME...not hs books or kids school reading, etc.), perhaps I could actually SEE my friends more than once a year :glare: and I think most importantly...spend time with my ds5, dd2 and new baby (coming soon...I HOPE!). Wow...I best not think on this topic too much longer...:tongue_smilie:

[Closeacademy]

I would be working as a legal secretary. I would probably die a little each day as I hate being tied to a workplace even if I enjoy my job. I love being home.

After my kids are through with homeschool, I would like to write and tutor in language arts and art. :)

[Frontier Mom]

Going to Wed. morning Women's bible study again and wishing I was a home school Mom again.

[mysticamethyst]

I would probably be busy with more wedding photography, or in school full-time myself.

[Donna]

Work another 2 days bringing the total work days to 4 then use the 5th day to keep house clean, scrapbook, read, etc...

Luckily my job hours are very flexible (I am a physical therapist in Early Intervention so set my own hours) so I could work them around kid's schedule.

[Needleroozer]

Making and selling art, taking art classes, and taking better care of the house- both regular cleaning and remodeling/painting/etc..

[Diana in OR]

Going to Wed. morning Women's bible study again and wishing I was a home school Mom again.

I've rarely had the opportunity to attend Bible study once my dc were school age. Even when they were younger (K-2), and we weren't so busy, it was difficult, b/c I was almost always the only hsing mom, and ladies' Bible studies aren't usually equipped to deal with any dc older than preschool age.

[6packofun]

I would be finishing my own education and then starting my own business. Those things are on the backburner right now. :) No rush, I plan to live a long time. LOL

[Holly IN]

I would be working full time in an accounting area whether it is patient accounts or bank accounting. I do not like either area but I would try my hardest to get into a computer job (what I went to college for!!):glare:
OR go back to school for business administration (what I am really good at which I found out by accident through the homeschool group)
Holly

[CleoQc]

I'd be programming computers. For which company, I don't know. Last time I worked, I was helping Bill Gates to get richer.

[Debbi in Texas]

Finishing my education degree and teaching(after we sell our house).

Debbi

[Antonia]

I'd probably be volunteering at the school all day as I did when my dc were attending. Otherwise, I'd love to get back into working with the elderly, if not as a social worker, then at least volunteering somehow.

[Jenny in Atl]

Making and selling art, taking art classes, and taking better care of the house- both regular cleaning and remodeling/painting/etc..

Ditto! In school, taking classes, and making stuff to sell.
:iagree:

[Janet in WA]

If we hadn't homeschooled, I assume I would have continued doing what I did before we began homeschooling. I spent extensive time volunteering at the boys' schools. I was there everyday doing all kinds of things in the classrooms, the office, etc. I think I may have ended up working at one of their schools eventually because I got numerous job offers as positions came up at the schools during the time I volunteered.

[AmyinPA]

doing all the things he hates to do administratively, but I love. Someday, I do hope to do this.

[Michelle T]

like I did before homeschooling.
Michelle T

[Karenciavo]

I would be my ideal weight, my house would be spotless, we'd have gourmet food on the table every night, I'd pay more attention to my dh. Oh, wait. :001_huh: That's what my dh thinks my life would be like.

[WendyK]

It is hard to say. Right now I still have a 2 year old. So I would be home a little longer anyway.

[JudoMom]

I would be thinking. I'm not a good thinker when it's noisy, and 5 boys=noise.

I would also read more. I can't read when it's noisy, see above.

I would catch up on my scrapbooks.

I might work part time at a place that interested me, like a bookstore or coffee shop.

But first I would enjoy the quiet, but I imagine that would get old pretty quick.

[Chris in VA]

When dd goes to school next year, I'll be working. Sigh.

[Shannon831]

I would be a SAHM to our 3 year old and probably be spending a lot of time in my other kid's classrooms.

[Testimony]

I would be there everyday. I would want to know everything that they were learning. I would call the teacher everyday and find out what she was teaching or I would be a volunteer mom. I would not just let my children go to school.

If I had no children, I would be working on my masters and probably counseling others.

Blessings,
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony:lurk5:

[asher]

:iagree: That's what I did when ds was in PreK. I think I drove his teacher nuts LOL. I would probably finish grad school & go back to social work :)

[Tracey in TX]

Shopping, lunching w/ friends, and working out.
I was bored out of my mind!!! Homeschooling gives me a purpose :) (plus the kids like it, too)

[Beth in Central TX]

I had a career, then I became a SAHM, then I started homeschooling. So, if I wasn't homeschooling now, I would still be a SAHM afterschooling my kids. I would probably have a cleaner house, and I would spend more more time on my hobbies (cross-stitch & scrapbooking). I like the homeschooling option better though.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I would be there everyday. I would want to know everything that they were learning. I would call the teacher everyday and find out what she was teaching or I would be a volunteer mom. I would not just let my children go to school.

If I had no children, I would be working on my masters and probably counseling others.


I agree! This is exactly what I'd be doing, that and thinking to myself, "I can probably do this better at home!":D

[melissel]

I would be thinking. I'm not a good thinker when it's noisy, and 5 boys=noise.

I would also read more. I can't read when it's noisy, see above.

I would catch up on my scrapbooks.

I might work part time at a place that interested me, like a bookstore or coffee shop.

But first I would enjoy the quiet, but I imagine that would get old pretty quick.

:thumbup:

I do work almost FT now, but if I didn't, and the kids were in school, I'd probably do the above, in addition to being very involved with my kids' school, more involved with my family, and doing more with the house as Needleroozer suggested. I'd also hope to volunteer, but I have too tender a heart and often prefer to give money instead :(

[Mekanamom]

If I had never started homeschooling in the first place, I would be practicing veterinary medicine. I would have gone back to school after my 3rd child was born.

If I quit homeschooling today, I'd be spending much more time training the horses while the girls were away at school.

And I'd still wish I had more time... If I wasn't out working as a vet, I just know I'd be one of those parents constantly driving from one after school activity to another, all while trying to make sure the kids completed their homework assignments & understood their lessons...

[Tutor]

SAHM, ever-present at my kids' schools, and probably going to school myself. My house probably wouldn't be much cleaner than it is now, though. I'm a terrible housekeeper.

I just can't imagine not homeschooling. It just fits with our personalities so and has provided so many opportunities for our family. I don't think my dh would be in his PhD program right now if the kids had been in school, and I wouldn't be writing. I never even considered writing as a career, and here I am. I'm still pinching myself, and it would never have happened if we didn't homeschool.

[Diann]

I don't think I'd want to work FT because I'd like to be home when the dc got home from school. However, working PT as a chemist, my profession before children, sounds appealing. I miss lab work.

Diann

[WTMindy]

which is what I do now. :-) I love to teach and right now I teach two days a week at our school district's homeschool co-op. I'd teach there or somewhere else a couple days a week and keep up the domestic front the other days...kinda like I do now. :-)

[nestof3]

Well, considering my youngest is 6, it will be a while until I stop homeschooling (barring any horrible thing happening which was mentioned on a previous thread)

I would:

Exercise each day (I try to do that now)

Definitely have more time to scrapbook.

Continue to be my husband's bookkeeper/accountant.

I would love to teach, but there is no way I could handle the kids these days, and I would have a hard time being diplomatic with parents who act like their responsibility ended when the child came out of the birth canal.

I would probably work in a library.

Spend time with any grandchildren I may have in the area.

Be more involved teaching the younger women how to love their husbands and children.

[momofkhm]

I'd be there in some capacity - intrusive mom, teacher, coach, something. Paying 3 tuitions, I certainly wouldn't b at home eating bonbons and watching tv!

[Remudamom]

I plan on doing more of what I'm doing now. My kids are working pretty independently of me now, I don't think I spend more than a couple of hours with them doing daily schoolwork. I mostly just check what they've done.

So hopefully I'll be riding more, cooking more, and being a grandma. I haven't worked since before the kids were born, and I can't see going back, unless our world comes to an end.

[Cricket]

I would still be at home with dds. If they went to school I would love to work in a library. If I hadn't gotten married right out of college, I would have gone to grad school and would have liked to work at a museum. I like sitting in a quiet room by myself surrounded by old things. :001_smile:

[Plaid Dad]

I would probably still be tutoring/teaching part-time and writing, possibly editing. That's what I'm good at. I'm not good at 9-5 employment. As an extreme introvert, I get tapped out very quickly if I have to be in contact with groups of people all day, every day. The results are not pretty. I'd rather work long-term and part-time, than full-time followed by a breakdown.

[nancypants]

Since I still have little ones not in school, I would still be at home caring for them (gosh, that sounds so leisurely!! :lol: ) But if all of my kids were in school I would hopefully be doing more photography and graphic design work (or at least practicing a lot more during the weekdays towards that end.)

[Jenny in Atl]

... As an extreme introvert.

Not here... your not! Funny, how those of us who tend to be shy in public, feel more comfortable being social butterflies here. I wonder what would happen if we were all in a great big room together? Would we most likely hang out along the walls? :willy_nilly:

[percytruffle]

Similar here as well. Making art, selling art, learning new art forms, teaching art.

I have permanent teaching certification and hope to be teaching art again next year when ds, the youngest, is a senior and taking most classes at the local cc.

[Danestress]

But with three kids, even if they were in school, I wouldn't want a busy law firm job. I think I would try to find something that I really enjoyed doing part time, even if the pay were less.

[percytruffle]

Indeed, the internet is a haven for us introverts. Socializing is so much more comfortable and so much less exhausting online! I can take a break whenever I want and I never have to utter a single work aloud, and yet I can participate in such great and often silly conversations as occur here with such interesting people. What could be better for an introvert.

[angela in ohio]

Voounteering at their school, at dh's school, and at the crisis pregnancy center. Oh, and keeping a tidier home than I can now. :)

[RoughCollie]

I would return to being a criminal defense attorney on a part-time basis.

[Mekanamom]

Indeed, the internet is a haven for us introverts. Socializing is so much more comfortable and so much less exhausting online! I can take a break whenever I want and I never have to utter a single work aloud, and yet I can participate in such great and often silly conversations as occur here with such interesting people. What could be better for an introvert.

Yep. :iagree:

Yay for the internet!

[elegantlion]

My dh would sweet talk into coming to work with him as his carpenter's assistant. It would be part time because I can only stand so much hard labor in one day, plus I have brownie points with the boss ;)

Honestly, I'd love to spend more time working on my writing. That way when I get my characters out and we talk through a scene, I wouldn't have to hide in the bedroom. My ds already thinks I'm weird, I don't need him to see me talking to myself.

I'm introverted as well, I "talk" more on my laptop than IRL.

[Perry]

I'd be working as an epidemiologist. Or opening a school. Maybe both.

[EKS]

Working as a medical writer in a pharmaceutical company.