How Do You Manage Homeschooling Your Child and Working?

Most people think that only stay-at-home moms can homeschool their kids. But I think that even working moms can choose to homeschool their kids. It's not gonna be easy but it is still doable.

This is a big question nowadays because the pandemic has forced many schools to adopt the #NewNormal learning from home scheme. Who is supposed to guide the children in their education if the teachers have limited contact? If a child has the capability for independent learning, then this setup will work. But not all children can do this. 

I have five children and their capability for independent learning varies. My youngest is already in sixth grade, so I thought I don't have to be around that much to help them in their studies. But they still ask me about their lessons from time to time especially the one who needs more help with Math.

A parent or guardian has to give time to help their children with a learn from home setup. So, how can it be possible if both parents need to go to work?

Here are a few suggestions on how to juggle work and homeschooling: 

1) Work From Home

When I homeschooled my kindergarteners, I was a full-time mom. But I am currently working from home and have flexible work time. I am able to attend to my children when needed. However, I still have to make adjustments. The same is true for working parents, but the adjustments would be more sizeable.

The key is time management and organization. A working mom's homeschool routine would require:

• Sufficient time to prepare lesson plans, activities, and testing times. You can choose to do this at night or any time you're free. 
• Set time for teaching lessons and going through your child's completed assignments. This can be set with consideration of your child's age and ability to work on their own.

If you need to work on your home business or online job, after the discussion of lessons, you can do some work while your child does some seatwork or homework items. 

2) Teach Your Child The Night Before

I guess, the child also needs to make time adjustments. If you know you will be working in the morning hours due to the needs of your clients or place of employment, you could review the next day’s lesson with your child in the evening. 

The next day, your child can do assignments and tests while you are at work.

This option is only workable with older children who do not need direct supervision and will be responsible in ensuring the academic work is completed and television watching is not happening. Reviewing the expectations of your child and supporting them in their independence of learning is a great benefit to their learning as critical thinkers.

3) Find Other Homeschooling Families

If there are other homeschooling families in the area where you live, you could possibly pick up a part-time job and do trade-offs with other parents with children of the same age. You can work together on the curriculum, and while you are working, your child can be supervised by another homeschooling parent.

There must be a give and take in this. So maybe if you have the weekends off, you can plan outings with the kids in relation to the area of academics they are studying. This way you still can support the family, while still having time with your child and being active in his or her education.

It takes commitment from the entire family to make homeschooling work for everyone involved, including the child being homeschooled. There would be many days of sacrifices, but if homeschooling your child is the only choice, you can still make it work. 

How are you and your children doing in your current schooling setup?