#homeschooling

Are you planning on homeschooling your little one, but feeling uneasy about juggling a full-time job? Take a deep breath, because you can make it happen. It will come with its own set of hurdles. This post is here to get you on the right path so you can confidently balance both! Grab a pen and paper and let’s discuss if homeschooling while working full-time is right for you!

Is Homeschooling While Working Possible?

The short answer is yes, homeschooling your child while working is possible. However, there would be certain hurdles to overcome and a few things to consider. Many families cannot afford to keep one parent home along with the child. This is understandable. It’s important to understand that homeschooling is not for everyone. Here are some things to consider.

Positive Things to Consider When Making a Decision

What is your main reason for wanting to bring your child home? Is it social? Perhaps your child is suffering in the negative social environment that school often provides. This can vary from family to family, however, bullying can be a major reason to pull your child from the situation. What if your child has medical challenges? Or is it the academics of the public school system that you don’t agree with? Some parents find that their child thrives at home when given the attention and time that is needed to develop.

You may find that you have a calmer, more relaxed child who has decreased feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.

Consider the Possible Negative Effects of Homeschooling While Working Full-Time

Socialization is a very hot-button topic amongst homeschool critics. Generally, I do not feel that socialization among homeschoolers is a problem to worry about, however, it certainly depends on the family. Will working full-time allow you to get your child out and about often enough? Will you be willing and able to get your child out of the house at times so they are not isolated?

What kind of work are you involved in? Does your job keep you away from the house for long hours at a time? Justifying that your child should be able to do the work while you’re away from home, even if technically they are old enough to be home alone, could have negative outcomes. Homeschooling while working full-time may not be for you if you are away from home for long hours and many days a week.

Realize That Homeschooling May Be Different Than What You Imagine

Everyone is different, and every child is unique. However, if you are thinking that you need to be sitting down, at a desk or in a “classroom” for several hours a day with your child this just isn’t the case.

Depending on the age of the child, education can take many forms. Thirty minutes a day can be more than enough for a small child. From kindergarten on much of the learning happens through play, and being active.

Read more Preschool What You Need to Know and How to Get Started

Read more Preschool Activities: How to Engage Your Preschooler

Consider Your Schedule Before Deciding to Homeschool While Working Full-Time

If you work from home this may be ideal for homeschooling, whereas someone who works away from the home may find it more of a challenge to homeschool. You as the parent are responsible for your child and their education, so leaving it up to a family member or close friend is not ideal. After all, they likely will not have the same desire that you do to teach your children, and in the same way that you would.

Is there a day that you have off of work each week that could be used for the bulk of your work? If you are following a curriculum, how strict is it? Online programs often tend to be more strict as they sometimes have teachers depending on the child and parent to work together to get assignments turned in on time.

Or perhaps you only work in the morning hours and have the afternoons and evenings free? Use this time to schedule your homeschool time.

Here Is a Typical Homeschool Day for Us This Year

Note, that I have had many schedules throughout the years, and this is perfectly normal. If you are not willing to switch things up, try a different approach, or widen your horizons on how to schedule and plan your time, homeschooling may not be for you. There is the saying “The only thing that is constant is change…” Well, that applies to homeschooling too. (Honestly, I am not sure if that is the exact saying, but you get the point.)

I have a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old, our schedule is undergoing some change, but as of now, this is what it looks like. (I am not working a secular job, but I do have other obligations that keep me quite busy.)

Monday-No formal bookwork, instead we do volunteer work. My state allows me to count this as a school day, and you better believe I take them up on it.

Read more What Are My State’s Homeschool Laws?

Tuesday-10 am-12:30 pm we do our curriculum. This could be science, language arts, math, or reading. Not all the above mind you, but we get what we can done.

Read more Curriculum Reviews

Wednesday-Most of the entire day is available for school work.

Thrusday-Most of the entire day is available for school work, but sometimes we go to the library to do our work, this keeps things interesting and we are able to have the library to ourselves during public school hours.

Friday-10 am-12:30 pm we do our curriculum, and in the afternoon we leave for errands or volunteer work.

Obviously, this is not the same as being away from home to work a secular job, but as you can see the time allotted for school work or bookwork is flexible.

Read more Homeschool Schedules

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that yes, it is possible to work and homeschool. However, it will take a good measure of planning, flexibility, time, energy, effort, and devotion to a good education for your child. Homeschooling while working full-time may be for you if you are willing to dedicate yourself to making it work. If not, remember, that homeschooling while working full-time is not for everyone. Your commitment to your child’s education can just as easily be applied to the public school system, if that is what works out best for you. If it is not the right choice for you right now, do not despair. Your situation may change eventually and you will find yourself homeschooling with the best of ’em!

Finding yourself in a new homeschool year, whether it’s your first, fourth, or beyond, can be daunting. I am in my fourth year of homeschooling. I am here to tell you it can be amazing, but I have also made many mistakes. That is part of the learning process. However, if I can help you with a little “how to start homeschooling 101” or better yet, “how not to homeschool 101, ” I am here to help.

Honestly, that last statement is not accurate. There is no one way to homeschool, no right or wrong, black and white. There are some mindsets to get into, though. I will help you start wrapping your mind around some of those. These are things that I learned the hard way. I want you to avoid them as you start your new year.

Start Homeschooling and Avoid These Pitfalls

Textbooks are not required:

Textbooks are usually described as a dry and uninteresting depiction of facts or information. Find out your state’s homeschool requirements before you start. Each state can be different. You can curate your curriculum to your family’s needs.

Consider an open-and-go curriculum. Open and go is just as it sounds. You open the book and it is all provided there for you. Here is what we use that is considered an open-and-go curriculum.

Give living books a try. This subject could be a whole new post in itself. However, a living book can be described as a story told by someone who lived through the event. (There are many definitions for a living book, but I will keep it simple here.) Use living books in place of textbooks to get more of an insider viewpoint of things.

Take time to learn your child’s learning style. I know the temptation of all those fun curriculums can be tempting. Trust me. But consider taking the time to learn your child’s interests and unique learning styles. You can adjust as time goes on to their learning style.

Don’t Compare Yourself With Public School

You’re not a public school, so don’t hold yourself to their standards. Again, find out what your state requires, and keep it simple.

Their schedule is not your schedule. This goes for the time you spend during the day and throughout the year. When I started homeschooling I kept the same schedule as the local schools…it was too grueling for us. There were times I went 6-9 weeks without a break. NO THANK YOU. I got burnt out, likely you would too. Take my advice and make your own schedule. This leads me to my next point.

Be flexible. Take breaks as needed. For instance, there is no need to expect your child to sit and have a book open in front of them for 8 hours a day. Homeschooling can take as little as 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on your child, and their age.

I used to be a die-hard on our schedule. I have learned through the years to allow for flexibility. If someone is just not feeling it that day, or if we are sick for instance (like we have been this week) we take a break.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Other Homeschoolers

Your homeschooling experience is your own, don’t compare yourself to others. It can be easy to see others on Instagram or Pinterest and get it into our heads that their homeschool life must be perfect.

I love looking into what others are doing with their homeschool, but also struggle in thinking I need all the do-dads, and thingy-mick-bobbers to help me out. It’s just not true. You just need yourself and a kid or two (preferably your own) and see where it takes you.

I will tell you a little secret. Most days at the beginning of the year are rough. At the start of last year, we had some tables and chairs overturned by a certain 3rd grader. It was not pretty. But you know what? That ended up being the best year we have had so far. Though this year is going well, we are still in our first month and it has not been all rainbows and butterflies. Give it time, it will get better, but it won’t be immediate.

If Possible, Don’t Grade Your Child’s Work

Again, some states may be more strict about records, but I advise if possible not to keep grades. (I live in a very low/no regulation state, so I am not really familiar with the higher requirements. I just know there are more records to be kept.)

Generally, there would be no reason to keep records of a child’s grades if it’s just for personal use. I started out doing this, but it just put unneeded pressure on us both. It was a way for me to stress myself and my son out more, and it was just not making our homeschool a happy place. There is so much more to homeschooling than grades.

Make it a judge-free zone. I used to worry about every misprint or misspoken word when writing or reading. Again, this just made it more stressful and less enjoyable. I felt the pressure to teach the lesson and felt that if they didn’t learn it right away it would never be done right. Again, this just isn’t true. As you continue on your homeschooling journey you will find that things spiral back and lessons are learned over and over again, most of the time it’s just time that is needed.

Some Days Will Be Better Than Others

When you start homeschooling it may seem that things are going great, or maybe you will also have overturned tables and chairs. (Welcome to the club) It is really easy to remember the bad days over the good days.

If you keep track of your days by a color-coded system of some sort, try to color good days one color and bad days another color. By the end of the week or year, you will likely see you had more good days than bad. Or you can see a pattern, perhaps the first few weeks are more rough than the rest. (Then you can reflect on that the next year when it seems you are having a rough start.) Hey, that is a great idea, I should take my own advice!

Remember Your Why

Keep in mind why you wanted to start homeschooling in the first place.

I had no plans to start homeschooling prior to the pandemic. However, my “why” has become to keep my kids safe at home with me. That is really all I need to motivate me to keep going.

What is your “why”? The flame that inspired you to homeschool in the first place? What were the reasons you had to give to your spouse to convince them this was the right choice for your family? Think about these things on the hard days. The spark can go out quickly on those difficult days. It can be reignited with just a simple change, such as a good day when your child is eager and ready to learn alongside you. Keep going, you never know when overturned tables can overturn your school year for the better.

I smell snow...We can be friends if you know where this line is from. And if you do not, we can still be friends as long as you enjoy the thought of snuggling up with a book next to a cozy fire. Even so, this post is about some great indoor winter studies to keep your kiddos entertained and happy during those cold winter days.

I used to love spending time outside in the snow when I was a child. I am pretty sure I specifically remember getting all bundled up, and about to head out when I realized I needed to pee…sound familiar?

Nowadays I do not enjoy being out in the snow as much as I used to. I do however enjoy making hot chocolate for my boys when they come in (after a few minutes usually). A little tradition has been to make hot chocolate for them and add a little snowman made from marshmallows. I stick little toothpicks in his sides for arms, and he looks as if he is sitting in a chocolate hot tub. I add eyes, a nose, and buttons (usually just out of gel food coloring) He usually gets eaten pretty quickly…try it out with your kiddos, maybe it can become a fun little tradition for you too.

How to Incorporate Winter Activities and Studies into Your Homeschool?

Usually, as homeschool parents, we ask ourselves how we can incorporate more of the season into our learning. Check out these ideas to help you incorporate the winter season into your homeschool.

Science-Based Activities for Winter: The possibilities are endless! Ask your child what they would like to learn more about. It could be as simple as:

• Studying the formations of snowflakes, and then making your own cutouts to hang up in your learning space.
• Study how winter affects the trees and seeds around you. Learning more about Evergreen trees can be an interesting way to study trees as well.
• Studying the hibernation of certain animals local to you or worldwide can be interesting as well.
• Hang a bird feeder from a window in your main learning space and study the types of birds that visit you in the winter. Make a graph of the most common birds you see and take note of what they eat.

Grab all the nature-based games that have been collecting dust all year and enjoy them during those cold winter days. (Just today we enjoyed a nature-based bingo game!)

Take a winter nature hike. Observe all the changes in the world around you. Do you notice any new birds, discuss where the birds, bees, and butterflies have gone during the winter.

Wintertime Hobbies: Is there a certain hobby you enjoy, such as sewing, knitting, or painting? These hobbies can be passed on to your children on those cold winter days. This is all considered part of the homeschooling experience! Knitting, or crocheting a blanket, hat, scarf, or any other item can be a perfect gift for someone in your family! Plus, how fun to enjoy making something together that can be gifted to another person!

Teaching Lifeskills During Winter: What better time to teach life skills such as budgeting, banking, cooking, cleaning, and baking than in the wintertime?

History-Based Activities for Winter: Study significant historical events that happened in the winter. Or just in general you may want to set the wintertime aside for history studies. We like to get out and enjoy science through nature, so the warmer months are used for science studies.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is to guide your children through learning alongside you. Keep things simple, and enjoy the small things! Learning possibilities are all around us if we just open ourselves up to the opportunities!