She Knows

Monday, July 17, 2017

Homeschooling while working full time?!

So often when people hear we homeschool they follow it up with "So, you're a stay at home mom?" and they are shocked when I respond with a "no". Until I started homeschooling I never realized most people think you can only be a stay at home parent and do it. Little do they know over half of the homeschoolers I've ran into work full time while homeschooling their children. I will admit, it would be much easier if I just stayed home and did all of this, but we simply could not afford to do that so here's what works for us. I do have some kids that mainstream so those kids get up around 6:30-6:45, I obviously get up with them and get breakfast ready while they do their morning chores/dress. My homeschoolers typically wake up around 6:45-7, breakfast is normally ready so they knock out their chores quickly and start on school work. I don't have an exact schedule of the order they do their school work in, but they start at 7:30. I also have two toddlers at home with me most days so on the days they don't have preschool I put on Paw Patrol or set them up with a toy in the living room so I can hear/see them and help my school aged kids when needed. Brooke normally takes about 3-4 hours to do her work because she works without breaks, this isn't something I force them to do, she's just always been this way and it's one of the reasons we homeschool her. Zayden however, takes about 6-7 hours because of breaks and the fact he's a perfectionist and will keep doing work until he gets it perfect. Because Brooke normally finishes her work earlier than I would like I have a stack of worksheets relating to the work she did, if she finishes those quickly-which she will-I just let her read or play an educational game on her tablet. Regardless of how long they take their almost always done by the time I head out to work and if they aren't then the babysitter taking over helps them out with whatever is left. By homeschooling my kids I am able to spend time with them that normally I wouldn't have, I work in evenings so it is a little easier to do this for my kids than if I worked during the day. I'm sure over the years our schedule will change, but right now this is what works for us and hopefully is of some help for people out there who are wanting to homeschool, but work full time. It's not easiest thing in the world, but just like parenting in general it is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

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