This post was contributed by Angela Quint.
How to Juggle Homeschooling and Working from Home
By the time I became pregnant with my first child, I had already built a successful freelance business working from home. Even before our daughter was school age, I spent quite a bit of time working with her to learn her ABCs, her colors, etc. By the time her little brother came along a few years later, my husband and I agreed that I should homeschool our daughter, at least throughout her elementary years, so that we could have a say in her curriculum.
I knew homeschooling and working from home as a freelancer would be hard, but it also gave me the chance to be home with my second child as well. Ultimately, it seemed like a win-win situation. My daughter would get personally tailored lessons at home, I would be able to stay home with my son, and we’d save a fortune in day care costs. The only thing I didn’t consider at first was how hard it was going to be to be a full-time teacher, mom and freelancer all at once. Let me share a little bit about the challenges I encountered while juggling homeschooling and working from home and how I manage them.
Homeschooling and Working Stumbling Block #1: Planning Ahead
Believe it or not, getting started was the hardest part. In the state of Massachusetts, parents have to submit a home school proposal to the local school district. This totally blew me out of the water. I knew that since I wasn’t an officially trained teacher that I would have to reach out for some homeschool advice, but I didn’t realize that I would have to come up with a curriculum for my daughter that matched public school standards and have it scrutinized by the school board.
The biggest problem creating the plan was that the hours that I spent talking with teachers, other homeschool parents and doing research cut into my productivity. My clients were getting antsy and my income was becoming really inconsistent. We started using credit cards more and after reading on debtconsolidation.com that credit card purchases cost 112% more than cash, I realized that I had to make sure I managed my time better so my freelance income didn’t slide downhill in the future.
Homeschooling and Working Stumbling Block #2: Scheduling
We learned pretty quickly that a regular 8 to 3 school day wasn’t going to work for our family. For one thing, those are the hours when my clients are the most active and I’m often fielding emails. It wasn’t doing my daughter very much good when Mommy had to stop in the middle of a lesson to answer an urgent email from a client. For another thing, trying to coordinate the schedule of two kids three years apart in age wasn’t any picnic either. A large seven hour block of schooling didn’t work for any of us.
I decided we needed more flexibility. After breakfast, my daughter and I work on school work until lunch time while my son plays, or sometimes actually sits with us to see what his big sister is doing. After lunch is quiet time when my four-year-old son takes a nap and my seven-year-old daughter has her choice of reading, working on some online lessons to get ahead, or taking a break. That’s when I cram some work in. We squeeze in a couple more school hours in the afternoon, and then a little time after dinner.
Homeschooling and Working Stumbling Block #3: When to Work
With our split schedule, I was able to manage my time better. I wake up early and put out any client “fires” that might have popped up overnight. From eight to noon when school is “in session,” I concentrate on supervising my daughter’s lessons and taking care of my other two children. If I can field an email or three while my daughter is testing or studying and my sons are occupied, then I do, but otherwise it has to wait until after lunch. After lunch, during quiet time, is when I really can sit down to work during the day.
Even though it seems like a small window to work, with the kids occupied, I can get a lot done in a few hours. After dinner and bit of evening lesson time, my husband takes over with the kids so that I can get some more work done. It isn’t easy to do, but somehow or another I still manage to home school my daughter, take care of my kids and figure in at least six to eight hours a day of work. The trick to it is that I keep my laptop nearby and I maximize my “free” moments. For example, if my daughter is taking a test, I start an article or send out some queries.
Advice for Other Home Schooling WAHMs
I can’t say they my method will work for every work at home mom who is homeschooling her children. It is very much as catch-as-catch can with me squeezing it work whenever it works into my schedule. However, on the other side of the equation, I get to be home with my children, supervise my daughter’s, and eventually my sons’, formative education while still contributing to the family’s coffers. I won’t say it’s a perfect arrangement, but it works well for my family and I. Somehow, we manage to make it work.
If you’re a work at home mom and you’re considering homeschooling your kids, don’t automatically be terrified that your work will suffer. Not every email is an emergency and one of the greatest advantages of being a freelancer is that you can work hours that best fit your schedule. It takes some trial and error, but it is possible to schedule lessons, childcare and work by being flexible. Sure, sometimes it means that you put in long days and you have to be able to change directions pretty quickly, but freelancers already do that every day.
About the Author: Angela Quint is a freelancer, mother of 3, and all-around superwoman. She works hard to juggle work and family and hopes to help others do the same.
I was {THIS} close to homeschooling the kids this year. I’ve been feeling drawn to homeschooling for years and felt that this was the right time. But for a number of reasons, this just isn’t the year. And honestly, the thought of managing homeschooling and working on B-Inspired Mama did weigh in on that decision. It’s looking more and more like next year is going to be the year that we take the plunge. So I am beyond grateful to Angela for sharing her personal experience with juggling homeschooling and working from home.
Are you and your kids homeschoolers? Do you homeschool and work from home? I’d love to hear how you manage it all in the comments below!
If you like this, get lots more by signing up to get B-Inspired Weekly right in your inbox. And follow B-Inspired Mama on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest!
I love to share at and find inspiration from these link ups!
Lettie Thomas says
Thank you for this article! I also work from home as a freelancer and have always homeschooled my children. While my journey was quite a bit different than yours, I still experienced my share of roadblocks. When my children were young, the split schedule worked great for us. Now that they are older, I can depend on them to get school work done on their own while I’m working. I take breaks from work to check on their progress or help them with assignments. It can be done! Each family just has to figure out what works for them. Thanks for reminding me that I am not the only WAHM who homeschools!