Over the past few weeks, I have had a few friends ask me how I homeschool my children all the while earning an income from home. I thought I would share my tips here with you in case you are considering this option to be home with your kids.
I started homeschooling my girls when my oldest was in third grade. She will be in 7th grade this fall. It’s hard to believe we are going on our 5th year. It literally seems like I just started. Time does fly by quickly.
During that time frame, I have been blogging and doing social media work for a variety of companies. On top of that, I started monetizing my personal blog and it brought forth a variety of opportunities.
To this day I still blog, run social networks, and do office work right here from home. I created business cards, etc., to help spread the word of what I do. As a wife and mom with a degree in child development and teaching outside the home all these years, this was a huge change of pace for me, but I absolutely love it. I guess you can say I am hooked.
From time to time I still use my education with blogging so it all goes hand-in-hand for me which is great.
How do I manage it all? With set times to keep it all organized, but being open-minded and flexible at the same time. For someone who was a stickler for staying on schedule, this is huge for me. It takes time.
Our homeschool schedule hours run from 8:00 am-12:00 pm. During this time, lessons are introduced and independent learning is completed. If the work isn’t completed, I created a work bin for each student and they finish it on their own time throughout the week. Of course with homeschooling comes flexibility so these times can easily be changed, especially if we have homeschool classes elsewhere during the week.
At 12:00 pm is lunch.
From 12:30 pm-3:00 pm the kids do their chores. During this time frame I get my work done whether it’s publishing blog posts, scheduling social media platforms, etc. On Sunday night, I put together a calendar of tasks that have to be done that week from high priority to low priority. That way by 3:00 pm if the low priority tasks are completed, they will be put on high priority the next day and so forth and so forth. I make it a point to be done with all work at 3:00 pm. It has worked wonderfully this last year and I am determined to stay organized so that I may continue working from home and homeschooling my kids. After 3:00 pm is open for extra-curricular activities, etc.
What about major chores? I follow a nice chart that covers just one major chore a week like Mondays: clean the bathroom, etc. And of course there is the daily upkeep like tidying a room, making beds, menu planning, etc.
If you have a passion, you can take it and turn it into a work from home job as well. Whether it’s crafting, sewing, etc., it can be done. Consistency and patience is key. While I was still teaching outside the home I started the “blogging and making money from home adventure”, but not a whole lot of money just yet. It pays to build credibility and spread the word about what you can do. Never give up on your dreams. It’s a great life lesson for the kiddies too to watch their mom and/or dad work hard towards their goals in life.
This schedule is of course how I run my homeschool and work from home tasks. Every family is different and that is encouraged. You basically have to do what works best for you and your family.
If you also work from home and homeschool your children, feel free to share your experience with us to help parents who are looking to do the same.
Thanks for sharing how you manage to juggle working from home with being a home schooling parent. My daughter is three, so we’re closing in. Her grandma teaches a non-profit Christian preschool 2 mornings a week, nearby, so she will be starting that this week, and attending for the next 3 years, then home schooling with me, after that (with lots of fun educational stuff, informally – unschooling? – during these first three years).
I’ve spent the last 6 years writing what was supposed to be a family lifestyle blog, but was basically a review blog with random personal stories thrown in here and there. Due to a health crisis going on with me right now, I’ve retired it; long overdue, but I’m stubborn, and it felt like failure. Anyway, I do still write a book and entertainment blog (linked) called Into The Library, and I’m hoping my health will calm down enough that I’ll be able to begin writing a new personal blog, by the end of the year. I was approached by a literary agent a year ago, wanting me to write a book in the Christian non-fiction / encouragement genre, and I’d like to pursue that now that I’m no longer chasing my tail. I just need to settle on a topic!! She’s been very patient, and I think at this point I’m just panicking about it.
Right now, i’m writing in the evenings, after my daughter goes to sleep. I would do things more like you described, though! Maybe that will be my goal, this year.
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