Saturday, February 4, 2012

Work From Home and Homeschool Successfully


Last time I discussed working from home as an option while homeschooling. I stated a few of the “whys” for working from home and now I will share a few of the “hows” that have helped myself and others work from home and homeschool successfully.

Seek Support
Just as homeschooling is a journey you don’t want to be on alone, working from home isn’t either. You’ll want to gain the support of your spouse and of others who are working from home; particularly those who are doing so while homeschooling. Not only is it nice to have the support, but you’ll need the encouragement some days.  Trust me on that one.

Handling Homeschooling and Work
Scheduling your time wisely is vital to successfully homeschooling and working from home. One of the great things about homeschooling is that it is flexible. Most work from home jobs are too, but not all.

Depending on your children’s ages and what you are comfortable with, you may consider:
  • Starting off slow, working part time
  • Working during the day and homeschooling in the evening 
  • Only taking jobs that do not require you to work at specific times 
  • Working during naptimes or quiet time
  • Providing educational DVDs or streaming shows 
  • Giving instruction for school work and then working while your child completes their lessons 
  • Involving the children in your work, if it is reasonable (for example, teaching them to sew as you sew an item for a customer) 
  • Having your spouse help children with some of their subjects or school work     
  • Hiring a helper to watch children for a specific amount of time and/or on specific days while you work (you may even swap child care with another mom who also works from home and/or homeschools)
Put Family First
This should go without saying, that our family time and our children’s education should always come first. However, it’s easy to forget – or act as though we’ve forgotten – when we get caught up in work, especially when we have the seemingly valid excuse that work is important.
Yes, work is important and necessary for some of us, for others it is optional. If it is only an option, however much you enjoy working and having some extra cash in your purse choose your family and educating your child by either giving up your work at home job or finding one that is a better fit for you and those who matter most.

Working from home can be a wonderful help to your family and teach your child the importance of work and managing finances, but it can also be an interference to your homeschooling adventure if you don’t balance the two well. You may have to change jobs, change routines and if it comes to it you may have to change your choice to work from home while homeschooling.

I hope this post helps you in your home working and homeschooling journey!

Do you work from home? How do you balance educating your child and your work load?  

Del Kroemer 
Del Kroemer is the blessed mama of 3 beautiful and busy little girls, the wife of one big hearted husband and happily homeschooling while working from home as a writer. She is currently working on a new blog focused on being devoted to seeking God’s truth and wisdom in homeschooling, homemaking and thriving in this temporary home!


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I give you much credit - I have worked from home for the past 14 years doing medical transcription, but I have sent my kids off to school - I believe it would be hard to home school - Kudos to you! :)

Deltra said...

Thank you, it truly is a challenge and as I said in these posts, it is not for everyone or every family but it is worth it to me and works for mine. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!