Have you been thrust into the world of homeschooling this year? Are you trying to find that balance of home life and work life? Make no mistake, there is an art form to balancing homeschooling and work.
While it will take a few trial and errors – it is achievable!
If your family has recently started homeschooling then you may already know that working and trying to stay on top of schooling can be a challenge. The key to overcoming that challenge is to find a perfect balance that works for your family. For my family, it’s making sure that we have plenty of resources to help us along the way like these Free Resources for Homeschoolers.
Tips for Balancing Homeschool and Work
Schedules
For starters, having a schedule that allows for tweaks here and there is essential. I know a schedule may be easier said than done, but having a daily schedule of things to do rather than when to do them will help keep things from running haywire or feeling overwhelmed. Try creating a few schedule variations and see what works best for your family.
One example of a schedule that would allow room to move things around is alternating subjects during the week. In the beginning, we would try to do everything in one day, similar to most public schools, and it was stressful for everyone.
Teamwork
We all know teamwork makes the dream work, right? Well, it does for sure! I would be at a total loss if it wasn’t for my husband. We both work so working together was a must in order to successfully homeschool our children.
When you have a teammate, you can both work together utilizing your own strengths. I am horrible at math, so I make sure my husband is the one that assists when needed. I on the other hand am more into projects and creative learning, so I spearhead those lessons.
Working together creates more ease when trying to balance working and successfully homeschooling.
Breaks
If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to work from home (pre/during/post pandemic) then taking those breaks from work to check your child’s work or check in with your kids to see if they are struggling is always a big help.
When I started working, I was completely overwhelmed with work and schooling that my breaks had become me time. Unfortunately, that me time caused the lessons to halt and carry over until the evening. Once, I started using my work breaks to check in with the kids, I was able to free up more time in the evening so I could really start to relax.
The beautiful thing about homeschooling is that there is no one way to do it. Our schedules change from time to time depending on the needs of the kids and our work schedules. My husband and I work diligently together to ensure our children are thriving with their school work.
Don’t worry, balancing homeschooling and work can be done!
