Homeschooling: Working and Home Schooling

The one thing I have been asked numerous times since making the decision to home school my daughter has been “how do you work and home school, too?” so I thought it would be a great subject to post about.

(Disclaimer: What works for my family may not work for your family.  We all have different schedules and factors that contribute to what works best. )

I admit it.  One of the big questions in my head when trying to decide if home schooling was right for us was whether or not we could actually accomplish it.  Being a single parent brings its own set of challenges that add a level of complexity that a two parent home may not have.  BUT!  I have NEVER let the fact that I am a single parent ever be used as an excuse to not do something and this was no different.  Where there is a will, there is a way!

We have now been doing home schooling for about a month.  It is going wonderfully!  So let me share with you what is working for us.  How about a look at what a “typical” day looks like for us?

The nice things about home schooling though is that there is no schedule.  If we decide that we want to have a light day, we do!  Then, we spend the few extra hours on a Saturday working through things together.  If she finishes her school work quickly, she gains more free time in the day.  If there were no activities that we needed to do together, then that gives us more free time to do other things together.

This is what works for us, but there are a few things to keep in mind when considering your options based on what works for us.

1. My daughter is 13 years old.  She works very well independently.  This will not be the case for every child (obviously).  If she weren’t able to work well independently, this approach definitely would not work.  That doesn’t mean home schooling wouldn’t work.  It just means that it will require more time from an adult interacting with the child.
2. The parent doesn’t have to be the teacher.  In my case, I choose to take this approach.  I like being involved in what she is doing and it gives us some great time together.  However, the teacher can be any adult you know that works for your family.  When my oldest son was younger, my ex-husband’s girlfriend actually home schooled him for a year.  It could be a grandparent.  It could be a family friend.  It could be tag-teaming if you are a couple.  It is all about what works for your family.
3. I am fortunately enough to live close to where I work.  I can leave for lunch and I can also interact with my daughter via texting throughout the whole work day.  This has been a very important piece of our puzzle.  It keeps us connected and helps her to feel like she isn’t doing this alone.  Engaging throughout the school day is important to keep them encouraged and focused.
4. We rely on technology – A LOT!  In our situation, a computer with internet access and a cell phone are two things that we use throughout the day to get everything accomplished.  If something happened to either, we would really have to make adjustments to make things work.

The older I get, the more I have learned that putting a routine together really makes life a little easier as long as that routine includes periods of time that can be used for spontaneous activities.  In our case, we have the best of both worlds and we are getting to spend more time together than we ever did before! YAY for us!