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creative ideas to simply teach writing, design your own writing curriculum, understand copywork, and find free printables. Everyone's situation is different and I don't know all your reasons for working outside the home or teaching when you can. You and your husband need to make those decisions according to your convictions, your children's needs and your situation. I feel like I am already pretty aware of my faults. Ha ha ha, so it should go well then right? I think it should be okay, because I really like the more lifestyle/less like a classroom type learning.
There are homeschooling moms who work outside the home. I think back to when my youngest was born. My labor and delivery nurse was actually a homeschooling mom. She worked at the hospital and then she also homeschooled her kids at home. I work with 2 life coaches as a collaborative team.
How to Homeschool when you Work Outside the Home
I mentor in career focus, education focuses for adults changing careers or going back into the workforce, homeschooling and working, college, writing books. I have never been great at passing out chores, my husband is so much better than me, but I have had to let go of the idea that I need to carry the entire load. My children have a huge blessing in homeschooling, and it gives them enough time to do lessons, and help with chores, with plenty of time to spare for the things they love. Planning my weeks is a priority with our lifestyle.
If you work outside the home and want to homeschool, consider afternoon lessons, evening lessons, or even on weekends. You can also look at a year round approach, spreading out your plans over twelve months instead of nine. If you have extended family or friends who are supportive of homeschooling, pick their brains for ideas.
Homeschool Guide
This post gave me SO many great ideas about ways I can try out homeschooling my son over the summer. Setting boundaries – and sticking to them – is huge. Just because you work outside of the home, don’t be discouraged.
It might not seem like much but it is nice to connect. My time to think, reflect, find the good moments and get rid of stress. A whole 30 minutes to hang out in my head. Sometimes this is a good thing, others, not so much. I have dragged myself out of bed, filled a cup of coffee. I love that I can set it the day before and it is hot and waiting in the morning.
Set your Home School Goals
Your kids are always going to want breakfast, there’s always going to be laundry, etc. Getting the normal, everyday things ready and prepared eliminates stress and helps you stay on track, both with your job and your homeschooling. Although it requires some creative scheduling and a supportive family, homeschooling parents who want to start or continue to work outside the home can definitely make it happen. Hi Annette, I updated the post to include a link The club is my facebook group for working homeschool moms. It is where we share stories and questions etc. 🙂 The sprouted bread is made from sprouted grains. I find it doesn’t drive my allergies nuts.
Homeschooling when both my husband and I work outside the home has not been easy. However, with commitment, flexibility, and determination, we have made it work for us. This is very good, practical, encouraging, and realistic — wisdom from the trenches. Good advice for life in general, as well, as far as not overcommitting oneself in a society that wants us to do paid work, for free. Some wise words here – I think if you really want to homeschool then you can make it work, but I like your ideas about getting in some help to cover the cleaning and other tasks. I wanted folks to not rule out homeschooling because they work.
While you have a housekeeper cleaning your bathroom, you could plan ahead a few weeks in your school. If you have a neighborhood teenager helping out with some of your little ones, you could get caught up on laundry or plan some meals for the week. If you’re considering homeschooling and you work outside the home, take a deep breath. I’ve learned to look at my career as a blessing. I’m fortunate to have a career that pays well, provides health care benefits for my family, and allows me flexibility with scheduling. Use historical fiction, literature, and engaging biographies as your family’s bedtime stories.
There are always great posts shared there. So much useful advice here – I think the key thing is that homeschooling gives you the freedom to not have to learn from 9am until 3pm. It’s so good to hear that you work outside teh home and still homeschool. I love to share my experiences – both good and bad, to help others who are discerning a homeschooling path.
Since you work full time and your husband has more days off during the week, it looks like your first hurdle will be figuring out who will do most of the teaching. In our house, I’m the teacher, and my husband helps to pick up the slack if there are things left over on the weekend. Your advice is very good, and practical. Whatever you decide to do as far as curriculum and classes go, take advantage of the flexibility that homeschooling offers. For example, homeschooling doesn't have to take place from 8 a.m. You can do school in the mornings before going to work, in the evenings after work, and on the weekends.
If you take charge and be willing to change course often , you will be so grateful for putting them first! Thanks for a great post – glad to have found you. Tina, it ABSOLUTELY can be done – and much more easily now than ever before. There are hundreds of online classes, books, etc. – and I will tell you right now that 90% of what Sarah learns is NOT stuff I already know.
🙂 We already do year round here, but it is more to keep them from forgetting than to spread it out to make it easier. In addition to regular co-ops, many areas offer group classes for homeschoolers. Most classes meet two or three days per week. Students enroll in and pay for the classes that meet their needs.
I am also working on my doctorate and have a lot of health issues. My husband doesn’t have a schedule and is always on call. I just had my son evaluated for gifted and he was 5 points shy of the cutoff in math. I know he needs challenged but I don’t see home schooling as an option.
Your homeschool will still be standing, and your kids have not suffered permanent educational damage. Be willing to be flexible – and you’ll make it happen. I can currently homeschool both children in two to three hours a day. Factor in the other parts of our day, and there’s not much time left before I leave. As they get older and their workload increases, managing our time will become more important.
