All too often I hear working mothers tell me they wish there was a way to homeschool their child. Is it really possible to work and educate a child at home? This is a genuine question and I aim to respond with a genuine answer.
YES.
It isn’t necessarily that easy, of course. Let’s walk through what it might look like to homeschool while working full time, part time, or from home. Today, more than ever, mothers are working to bring in a portion of the family income. This does not mean the children must be sent away to school. With careful planning, a child can get an in-depth education in a home-based setting.
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What to consider if you work full-time:
If both parents are working full time or you are a single parent, this will be the most challenging situation in which to homeschool. Not impossible, but you will need to be ready to roll up your sleeves even after a long day at work. There will be less time for either parent to focus on making sure a child is learning necessary information. Yet, both parents should be willing to take part in educating the child when home from work. The age of the child will also be a factor in this scenario. If the child is reading well, then there are many options for you to choose an independent homeschool curriculum where the parent has little “teaching” to do. Instead, you will plan, oversee the work, and check for comprehension.
Of course, if both parents work outside the home, it will be important to find a homeschooling-supportive caregiver. This could be a grandparent or other relative. It may even be another homeschool family near you. In either case, it will be important to give specific instructions on what needs to be done and make your standards clear. As the child is old enough, it should be his responsibility to know what work needs to be accomplished and the quality that is expected. Please do not expect anyone to take on this teaching responsibility for you. This is YOUR undertaking.
If you are at work all day, one solution would be to do school in the evening or on the weekend. If you normally had homework from public school, then this would be similar to what you are used to. It will take less time to homeschool each day than it did to attend public school. There are many reasons for this including a child working at her own pace and no time wasted transitioning between rooms or going to recess. Depending on your childcare situation, it may be possible to knock out some school work in the car on the way to and from the babysitter’s house. It is amazing how all these little moments can add up to big learning opportunities. The balance between homeschooling and work may seem difficult, but you can find a routine.
What to consider if you work part-time:
If you only work part-time, you will have more freedom to get school work done on your days off. Many homeschool families choose to follow a 4 day school week anyway. Again, it will be important to secure child care that will be able to oversee some of the schoolwork unless you want to spend all of your days off doing all the school. Think about how you spend your days off now. Can those things be moved around to fit in educating your child? There are also benefits of choosing to do school year-round. Even though it may seem like a horrible idea right now, it means you have three extra months in which to spread out a given grade. It can also eliminate the forgetfulness that inevitably happens for a child during summer vacation!
If your work days vary each week, it may be difficult to set up a routine for school days, but if you find a good planner, it can be a lifesaver. When you are splitting the role of teacher with the other parent or a care-giver, you should both be on the same page as to what is required from the student, how to deal with various attitudes toward schoolwork, and anything else that may come up in your individual situation. It will be less confusing for the child if there is consistency among all “teachers”.
What to consider if you work from home:
Working from home can be a good alternative if you need two incomes in your household. You may even view this as a possible solution if lack of child care is what is keeping you from being able to home-educate. Be forewarned…it isn’t at easy as it sounds. I suggest you dedicate separate times for school and work. If you are distracted by work, the kids are also more easily distracted from their studies. This will lead to school taking much longer than needed and stress over feeling behind in your work day. Take it from someone who knows!
Depending on the type of work you do at home, you may find it possible to respond to emails while a child is working independently in workbooks. If you need to do some work without interruptions while your kids are learning, try using audio books or materials on DVD. This allows the child to be engaged in his learning while you are focused on your assignments. Look into online options (such as Easy Peasy) which may be a good fit for your family. Perhaps there is a way that your child can help you with your work at home. This can be a good way to teach them many different skills or even practice what you are teaching them during school hours.
Should you stop working if you can?
I know many families are feeling stuck. Things are changing rapidly in the school system. It is becoming evident that if there is any possible way to teach your kids at home, then you should do it. Your unique situation will play a factor in whether or not you can make changes that will allow this desire to become a reality. Can you cut out some of your expenses and live on one income? What about the added cost of homeschooling? Do you have options for reliable child-care?
At the same time, there are others who enjoy working and want to be able to do what is best for their children while continuing to work outside the home. You are the only one who can decide if you are organized, disciplined, and determined enough to complete the tasks of both work and school-teacher. It helps to imagine what you want homeschool to look like in your home. This will give you a purpose and may give you the drive you need to do whatever it takes to make this happen!
You could begin this homeschool expedition feeling as though you will do your best to split your time between work and teaching your child. You may believe that continuing to work will bring financial benefits which will allow so many more opportunities for yourself and the child. Or perhaps you cannot imagine being at home with your kids all day long! I won’t say these are wrong, but we must factor in our child’s most important needs during his school age years. Beyond the obvious needs such as food, water, and shelter, a child needs education, consistency, structure, and guidance. As a parent, the Bible teaches that we are to be the ones to guide or train our children. We also provide the consistency and structure (which is easier if we are not working). When you add in home-education (both academic and life-skills), you are providing your child with in an environment where she can grow, learn, and thrive!
Our Story:
When our firstborn was old enough for school, I was working part time. It was an on-call position that made it difficult to plan out a school week since I never knew when I would be working. There was very little consistency or structure. I had an extremely supportive family of caregivers, but I longed to be at home and pour into our children academically and spiritually plus be fully focused on their needs. Being on-call was mentally taxing and quite stressful. Even the kids were anxious every time my phone rang.
It became apparent when our second child reached school age, that it was time for me to quit my job. Could we live on only one income? It was a test of my faith, but God proved Himself faithful as always! There were changes with my husbands job that benefited us financially. That was ALL God and nothing we could have foreseen. Don’t think it impossible that you will one day stay at home in order to give your children an all-encompassing home-education. Seek the Lord’s guidance in this area. He will show you His will and make a way for it to be accomplished.
Now that I am rarely working, our whole day can be focused on learning anything from fractions in the kitchen to the anatomy of spiders in the woods. I am able to devote my day to answering questions, speaking truth, offering solutions, and encouraging their love for learning! I started out working while I taught my child at home, but God made it clear He had other plans for our family. You, too, may start out working while you homeschool and later find that you long for a different schooling method that is less textbooks and more engaged learning. Perhaps God will call you to make some major lifestyle changes or reorganize your priorities. You may even find that your “job” as the teacher to your children becomes more desirable than your current nine to five position.
Seeking Wisdom,
