Having to work shouldn’t be a barrier for parents to homeschool their children, sometimes it just takes creative problem solving. There are some situations where it just isn’t possible - but let’s find out how we can. It’s all about…

Flexibility, support, and customization.

Working Moms Need Flexibility

Find a job that allows you to set your own work schedule, then you can decide how it is best for you to divide your time between homeschooling and working. Even better, find a job where you can work from home. The work from home model can vary in its success depending on the behavior and temperament of your children and your ability to be interrupted. Here some helpful ideas:

• Have times you are available for your kids

• Set schedules for work, academics, independent time, meals, etc.

Another way to be flexible is with your homeschooling. Make a homeschooling schedule fit around your work schedule. There are no rules about what time of day you must homeschool. Consider homeschooling in the evening or on weekends.

Perhaps you can find educational opportunities to drop-off your children occasionally while you work. Enrichment classes are growing in popularity and are often drop-offs. Some that we’ve seen in our area include:

• Farm school/nature schools

• Drop off co-ops

• Elective classes

Working Moms Need Support

Ideally, you have a spouse or partner who is supportive of homeschooling and helpful in finding a way to make it all work. If homeschooling is a priority, is there a way you and your spouse can work your schedules to always have someone with the children? Both parents can share the load of working and homeschooling.

If you have reliable family nearby, try asking for support. Homeschooling is an amazing way to incorporate extended family if possible! You can ask Grandma and Grandpa just to spend quality time with your children while you work, or ask if they can oversee some academics.

Friends can be another amazing resource. I like to think that I’d be willing to help a working friend homeschool her kids if that’s what it took for her to do both. Maybe not every day, but maybe find a schedule that could be helpful.

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of a little alone time. Moms need to reset and recharge, which is often easiest when given some time to herself. If you need some ideas for what to do during alone time, check out our post on Self-Care for the Homeschooling Mom.

Customize Your Homeschool

Find curriculum that will HELP you! Open and go curriculum often provide a schedule, lesson plan, and all materials for you. This can be very helpful if you don’t have time to plan, prep, or review lessons before teaching. Some open and go options are: Abeka, Sonlight, and BookShark.

There are also many comprehensive online curriculum options. This can be helpful, particularly for older children who need less help with technology and devices. For more information, check out: Time4Learning or Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool.

Consider some different homeschooling philosophies or styles:

• Unschool - look into unschooling and evaluate if you are comfortable with this learning philosophy for supporting your child’s interest-based learning. It can really take the pressure off sticking with standards or “keeping up” with grade levels.

• Block or loop scheduling - if you have small windows to sit down with your children, maybe cycle through a subject per day, a subject per week or even per month rather than trying to touch all the subjects in a single day. 

• Independent Time - have educational materials that you know your children can explore on their own.

I’ve been a part-time working homeschool mom for the last 6 years. During that time, my work hours have varied from 12-20 hours per week. I am a dance educator, so I work outside the home and am pretty unavailable to my children while teaching. My kids come with me when I teach on weekdays and stay home with my husband on Saturdays. Sometimes they bring entertainment and snacks with them and hangout quietly in my studio for a couple hours while I work. But, one of our favorite things is what we call, “Cousin Friday.” I drop my kids off with my sister and her four homeschooling kids, and they get to all hang out while I teach. These have been some of my children’s most precious bonding times. While we could certainly keep this tradition if I didn’t work, I doubt this time together would be as regular and consistent.

Way back in our early blogging days, we asked a friend of ours who homeschools and works full-time as a lawyer for advice. She said this:

1. Know your child’s needs

2. Organize, Organize, Organize

3. Use screen time

4. Understand that you will have good days and bad days

5. Take time for yourself to refresh for the next day

You can read the original article, here.

If you don’t have job flexibility or a strong childcare support system, we understand that homeschooling could be nearly impossible while your children are young - especially for single working parents. However, we constantly hear of the unique ways many families juggle work and homeschooling!