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Homeschooling at Night

Homeschooling at Night | Hip Homeschool Moms

For quite some time our homeschooling days have felt “off” as we’ve struggled daily to find a natural rhythm. I’ve suspected it was the schedule we were keeping, but wasn’t sure what to do about it.

And then it happened…we woke up one weekend morning only to realize that a pipe between our kitchen and bathroom walls had burst causing extensive water damage to our home. And just like that, we had to pack up our four young sons and move out while repairs were made.

Without any planning, our schedule changed in an instant.

We had no idea how challenging the next six weeks would prove to be for our family or that the answers to our homeschooling struggles would be wrapped up in the circumstances ahead . Living in a one bedroom (with partial kitchen) apartment during that time was hard enough, but trying to homeschool on top of that was disastrous. I didn’t have all of our “things”…our books and papers, my beloved printer, our large kitchen table to spread out on or the back yard to take breaks in. Add to that a crew of boys who are used to playing hard and being loud and I felt like I was the constant nagging shush-er, for fear of getting complaints and kicked out of our apartment. After all, there were respectful volume levels and quiet hours to adhere to in the strict rules listed on our temporary housing lease agreement. I felt very defeated.

Homeschooling at Night | Hip Homeschool Moms | by Megan Spires

So, I prayed and trusted God for wisdom as I abandoned our school schedule and threw caution to the wind. Instead of struggling with my boys to get our lessons done, I decided we’d just live each day however that day needed to be lived…however God led us. And lead us, He did. In the natural process of needing to get out of our apartment each day to let my boys get exercise , I realized something HUGE!

My boys still craved their “school time”. In fact, they love to learn, but I had always confined their school lessons to a typical school day schedule when what they really needed was to be active and physical during the day so they could actually focus and do their school work when it best worked for them…in the late afternoons and evenings.


So, we’ve fully embraced the concept of “Night School” for our children and here is why:

1. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to do what works best for your family. I was stressing every day over a routine that just wasn’t working for us. We’ve been trying for years now to rise early, eat breakfast, do our school work and then have the afternoons to do other things. Truth is…we like to take our time in the morning, so taking the morning as it comes has made for a much more peaceful start to our days.

2. Once that morning fog lifts, my guys are ready to…NOT SIT DOWN AND DO SCHOOL WORK. There’s a world out there waiting to be conquered, so they want to get out in it and be active. The constant struggle to try and get them to sit and focus certainly doesn’t honor their natural bent. When we get outside and play, they burn their energy FIRST which enables them to focus better LATER.

3. As a homeschooling mom, I’ve always fought for the time to have my quiet time with God in the mornings. With a more casual start to our day, I am better able to make the time for this, even when my children are already awake.

4. As a part time work-from-home mom, night schooling allows me to also work on my writing projects a little more easily throughout the day as time permits.

Homeschooling at Night | Hip Homeschool Moms

5. Because I’m not pushing them to fit into a mold that doesn’t work for them, there is less bickering between our boys.

6. Another benefit of homeschooling later in the day is the ability to run errands, make doctor’s appointments, and plan more outings without the feeling that it is cutting into our school time.

7. Homeschooling in the evenings lets us take FULL advantage of being outside more. We tend to be of the opinion that school can occur wherever we choose. So, organizing our time in a way that allows us to do more of our seat-work later in the day means we can include many of our hands-on activities and science experiments outside or wherever we happen to be.

8. A regular work-out routine has always been a struggle for this busy homeschooling mom. But now that our days are spent being more active, it allows me to be more intentional about my own health as well.

9. When I honor my children’s personalities and allow them to burn that energy during the day, our family time at night, when my husband comes home, is so much more fruitful. Before, he’d come home to the chaos of kids bouncing off the walls and fighting from all that pent up energy that wasn’t burned during the day AND a stressed out wife who had fought all day to get lessons taught. Family time was less than ideal. Now, he doesn’t feel like he’s always receiving our “left-overs.” Now he gets to participate in their learning. I try to plan the school work that I know he would enjoy doing with them for after dinner time. And sometimes, the bulk of our lessons are already completed by the time Dad arrives home, so family time is sweet either way.

10. I don’t worry about whether my boys will be able to function in the “real world” one day where college courses and most work scenarios take place between the hours of 9 and 5pm. Why? Because honestly, learning happens at all hours of the day, so I know they will be able to function and focus well during more traditional schedules down the road. They will adapt. But while they’re still young and still learning how to have self-control, night schooling gives them (and me) more balance than fighting a routine that doesn’t work for any of us.

Homeschooling at Night | Hip Homeschool Moms

Had it not been for the water disaster in our home, I don’t know if I ever would have thought of flipping our school schedule to a time that better fit the personalities and needs of our children. I also would not have thought that this kind of schedule would work for me either, but I know I operate best when there is peace in our home. And for this homeschooling family, night schooling does help promote more peace.

So, how are things going in your homeschooling world right now? Are you in need of a homeschooling schedule change? Part of the incredible beauty and privilege of homeschooling is the ability to do what works best for YOUR family.

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53 Comments

  1. I’ve been thinking about this and sometimes it works for us. We do know that the girls need to be in bed by a certain time frame or they start acting out because they are in fact overtired. Maybe I’m just thinking there is too much we need to get “done”. :/ We do tend to do school later in the day but I think we have varying natural schedules one is a morning girl, I’m a night owl. The other one I haven’t figured out yet. But perhaps this is something for us to look at as the days progress… Thanks for the thoughts and hope the kitchen is fixed. 🙂

    1. We do this a lot. I have seven children (ages 16-1) and like you, I find that sitting down to do school work at night fits into our schedule better. My kids want to play outside during the day and then we have errands and such…so night just makes sense. Thanks for this article!

  2. I so agree!! This sounds like my story, we are in a similar situation in a small space and have considered night schooling but had not herd of anyone doing it. So thanks for the encouragement! This will make our move smoother.

  3. I’m just curious about a few more details, as this sounds like a great option for us. About what time do you usually start and end (roughly)? Are your boys ever too tired to concentrate late in the day? Do you work around any activities (church, sports, or just playing with public school kids) ) that might make this schedule harder?

  4. I’m wondering what hours you do keep. I have a 7 year old in school (1at) and a step-son in 9 th. I also have a five year old and 13 year old that homeschools. With dropping off and picking up at 2:50 and 3:00 sometimes 4:00 I don’t believe that would work for me. But, I’d still like to know your scedule if that’s okay. Thanks.

  5. I cannot wait to try this!!! I think it may be the answer to our homeschooling issues!! I felt like I was reading our lives!! Thank you for sharing!

  6. I’m trying to figure out scheduling our homeschool too. I used to do afternoon school when I only had to teach my oldest son. Now that my second child is doing school too, it’s been a scheduling nightmare. And I’m not a morning person, so getting going early is really tough for us all since I’m the motivator around here. You’ve given me some new ideas to consider. Thank you.

  7. Thank you. I think this will be great for us. We plan to continue school through the summer and we can not be outside during those awful mosquito hours. Thanks again.

  8. Happy dance for you! Excellent advice on scheduling and being flexible. Our youngest is 16 now and what works for him is giving him his expected work list for the week and letting him schedule it so he’s free for the weekend.

    I wish I’d thought about doing school at night when my children were little. It probably would have been better for the boys.

  9. What a great post and it resonates a lot with me bc I have super active kiddos too. We aren’t homeschoolers yet but one reason I am considering it is that we don’t have to start sit down school work first thing in the morning. My kids need to move and move A LOT. I would be able to let them play for a couple hours outdoors before we began a school routine.

    Oh, and your one bedroom apartment living reminds me of our struggles every time we stay in a hotel. Our kids are loud and it is such a challenge to keep them quiet enough not to disturb those sharing walls with us.

  10. Thanks for sharing this. I’m so happy to see there’s other families out there struggling with the same day-time schedule issue. Our youngest is all over the place during the day & our eldest prefers to chill and starts school around 6 pm and finishes any time from 10 to midnight. He’s just finished his Freshman Year in just 8 months with 93% average with night time learning.

  11. That is so great that you were able to adjust to a schedule that work for your family! I love the flexibility we have as homeschoolers. Good for you for following what God lay on your heart

  12. My husband has gone from a day job to nights… so when he gets home at 8:30 in the morning, he now takes the time between then and 1:00 PM to do chores, etc, going to bed at 1:00 PM. Since we’ve started taking that time to hang out with Dad, I’ve noticed that when we begin to do school at 1:00, my son is doing better… we do school from 1 to 4, then he gets cartoons, or can play his video games while I fix supper. He seems to be much more able to concentrate at this time of the day, and it makes our day more enjoyable!!!

  13. SUCH a delight to see other night owls in the hs community! Another example of how important it is to embrace your own family culture and not compare to everyone else. We had some ps neighbor kids who argued with my kids about homeschooling and night schooling, they said it was “not allowed” 🙂 Sad that they have no flexibility even in their thinking! For us it makes more sense… we stay up late, sleep late, play during daylight, stay in and school sometime in the evening. Not much of it is seatwork anyway, so we don’t need hours and hours. It’s very laid back life!

  14. You have totally made me smile tonight as I read on my computer at 12:51am! I am a homeschooling mom who works full time outside of the home on 2nd shift. I have a kindergartener and I have him on my sleeping schedule since I am the one that does the schooling 😉 Often when i come home from work at Midnight, my 6 year old will be up, waiting for mommy. many times he has ASKED to do school work when I get home! (whether it is to delay me making him go to bed or not, I don’t know, but i think it is cute anyways.) I let him and I have found he retains the information better when he does it at night ! I went to college at night and I also did online classes which I found I personally learned better when doing them at night before bed instead of in the mornings. I also have decided that doing school from 1-3 each day is a lot easier for us. We can do most of our book work in those hours, and we often take a trip to the lake near our house for picnics and sitting under shade trees to do our reading or math workbooks. we see bugs and birds and fish and all kinds of things. We also have seen dead fish by the lake and have talked about what could have caused the fish to die, what happens when we die and things like that, which probably wouldn’t have been topics if we were sitting at home just doing “book work.” I know some people think i’m crazy for letting my 6 year old stay up until 1 or 2 am, but guess what? he is healthy, happy, and learning at his own pace. He is perfectly fine with it, and this 2nd shift working mommy actually gets sleep when we do this, and we go to the gym from 11-noon, I work out, we get home eat lunch and then start our book work at 1pm. It works for us and thats really all that matters. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!

    1. I don’t think it’s crazy at all! Twenty plus years ago, I was a single mom that worked third shift Friday thru Sunday. My mom, who was helping me, worked third shift Monday – Thursday. We had my daughter on OUR schedule. She slept when we slept, ate when we ate, etc. Boy, the grief we caught from others who would see her up and about at midnight. “That child needs to be in bed.” Why when she had only just awakened? Society’s mindset is set around the institution of daycare and public schooling. Once my daughter started public school, she’d have to get up at 5:30 am to catch the bus at 6:30 and not arrive at the school until 7:30!!!
      Now, I have a five year old and three year old. God willing, they will not see the inside of a public school as a student. We work on their schedule. They happen to be night owls. Fortunately, so am I. They do the bulk of their seat/computer work between 9-11/sometimes midnight. They retain the information so much better because they are able to focus and they want to work. I’m not having to force them (unlike handwriting. Not the five year old’s favorite subject to date).
      Also, having this schedule means that we can get to therapies in the morning and our routine stays in intact. My 5 year old is in speech therpay and my 3 year old is in occupational therapy for sensitivity/severe food aversion issues.
      I like working in the evening with the kids. I’m at my best, and they are at their best. I am so glad to find others that do too. 🙂

  15. It was excited just to see your topic heading. Reading the article (and later the comments) just confirmed that we are not alone. Our family has only been homeschooling 1 1/2 years, and I find myself still adjusting our curriculum and finding the best options for each child. The one consistent I have seen is that my children tend to concentrate better in the afternoon. The only early riser in our home is my dh, which gives him time to get ready and his job. Working in the later afternoon/evening just suits us for now. I find the biggest hurdles have been outside activities with other homeschooling groups and the naysayers. Since most people have children that wake up at 6 am, they really want to get together from 8-10. Since our schedule can run 4 hours later than theirs, we miss out sometimes. Of course the naysayers who find anything to pick at with our homeschooling. The same church member who told me I had to teach a curriculum with evolution, called one afternoon when one of the children interrupted to ask a question about the work they were doing. After overhearing the conversation, she questioned why they were doing work so late in the day (it was 4 or 5 pm). Thanks for this little reminder that everyone doesn’t fit in the same box and that this is a good thing.

  16. Wow! I love it. I cannot tell you the number of times we have tried a schedule, waking up earlier, doing what we thought was best and it just created contention ALL day long. I am totally going to try this! Sometimes I have trouble trying to drag them back in once they are off and playing outside etc but maybe if they got it “out of their system” we could focus. Thanks for sharing!

  17. wonderful that you can embrace this and let your kids play and learn in their natural rhythm! I try to do one sit down activity during or right after breakfast, even if it’s just to read something to the kids (2 &6yrs old). They are already sitting and most days, I can never get them to sit down again! We do most learning through games and active play for now.

  18. What a wonderful post. Reading your point of view on this has made me think about my own little ones and the things they struggle with in our current schedule. We (by a fluke chance) did some reading practice in the evening time the other day and I felt DS was really paying attention. This may be something I will have to really give a fair try.

  19. I agree with everyone here – Thank the Good Lord for the many blessings of homeschooling – one of which is the flexibility to meet our needs and those of our children regarding scheduling! I am a single mom and I only have one child still at home – my 12yo daughter who is in 6th grade. We have been homeschooling since she was in 4th grade, and we hardly ever do any lessons before lunchtime. In fact, most are done late afternoons/evenings… and of course, this time of year with the time change, we can easily be schooling up until anywhere from 10pm – 11pm. Most days, our “normal” routine is to get a few things done during the early afternoon [1pm-3pm]… before the public school kids get home. Then, she goes outside to play with them, and depending on what time we have dinner [which varies too since it is just the two of us], we may do a couple of things before dinner, or we may finish the remainder of our daily lessons after dinner. I can pinpoint several things that caused me to realize early on that this kind of schedule would best suit us… 1) I was a nurse and most of my nursing career consisted of working 3rd shift since, for most of that time in my life, I was married and raising my two children who are now grown and on their own. During the day, my husband worked, the kids were in [public] school, and I slept. During the night, I worked and my husband and children slept. And in the evenings, we were all home and awake, and shared dinner and family time together. 2) I am now disabled by Multiple Sclerosis, so mornings are especially tough on me – it takes me quite a while to get up and going most days. 3) When my oldest, now age 28, was a teenager, I used to get upset with him because he consistently stayed up late at night and was difficult to wake in the mornings [which my former husband had to contend with since I usually didn’t get home from work until everyone had left for the day]. However, on the weekends that I didn’t have to work, it was like pulling teeth to try to get him up to do his chores [which were mostly outdoors, cutting grass, etc…things that had to be done during the day]. BUT… thankfully before he got fussed at too much for too long, I ran across a magazine article about the brain of teenagers. I don’t remember the fine details of the article, but essentially, it said that during the pre-teen and teen years, a child’s brain chemicals change, somehow causing them to acquire those late-night schedules… hence, needing to sleep in the following mornings. So, that led to us understanding him better, therefore, it saved him from having to hear a lot of nagging throughout his teen years. When my middle child, a daughter, reached that age, sure enough, she followed suit with the staying up late and sleeping in late. And now, my “baby” will soon be a teenager. So, besides being used to our school schedule, I seriously doubt she would have a problem with it. In fact, she has never really been a “morning person.” As an aside, because of my illness, we also school year-round [if all of our “make-up work” isn’t completed during the weekends]. We both just know there are [and will continue to be] days that I simply cannot do as much as other days – it’s just a given that we both accept – and that helps me a lot with feeling at peace… knowing that what we do have to postpone will indeed still get done.

    Since many of the comments before mine are by moms who have children much younger than mine, I just want to add that, in no way, do I mean to imply that children younger than teens cannot adjust to [and even prefer] doing their homeschool lessons during evening and nighttime hours as well.

    Again, flexibility is one of the many great things that we homeschooling parents are privileged to enjoy!

  20. LOVED this article! My kids and I are mulit-generational night owls! My DH, on the other hand is such a morning person and believes everyone else around here should be. Guess who is getting this article special delivered?! I KNEW we weren’t the only ones. My DH is working out of the country right now, and we are on a completely new and different schedule and it is working so well. It feels so natural and just flows doing our work at night. I don’t know how we are going to do when DH gets home, but for right now, this is the perfect way to go!! Public school is in their last week here, so that may be an issue as well. I LOVE this homeschooling freedom. We have been at this for almost eleven years now, and schooling at night has refreshed us and it seems like a new adventure.

  21. This post makes a lot of (intuitive) sense, but how does the transition to a 9-to-5 workday work out after 18-ish years of conditioning to the contrary? Paradoxically, sometimes the flexibility of homeschooling feels like it might be its own kind of prison . . .
    –Thinking-About-Homeschooling-Dad

  22. Hello everyone! I am just going to be starting the homeschooling experience this fall and let me say I am scred to death!! A little background… I have a 13 year old who is starting 8th grade who will not be homeschooling. She is very set against it and I feel if I force her it will only bring trouble. (I hope she sees how great it is and willfully participates). Then I have a 9 year old and 6 year old who have both been in PS until this fall who will both be homeschooling. They are both very excited. I am a working mother/nurse who works 3rd shift. I not only have to work, I choose to as well. This is where the scared to death part comes in! How in the world am I going to manage this. I am going to be working 4 days a week mostly weekends but my girls are very used to a 1st shift life for themselves. I want them to be independent but I also do not want them teaching themselves. Is it ok to split up our days sometimes? Like say We do a couple hours of work when I get home then I give them some independent things to do mid day while I sleep then pick up in the afternoon together? Is it ok to do more on days I have off than on the days I worked the night before? Please give me any advice or schedule you have as working third shift Moms. I see all these caring encouraging comments and its so nice to find a place to express concerns without judgement. Heather

  23. This makes me so happy that I found this article, just like everyone else my son (3.5 yrs) & I have are night owls/late risers. After almost 4 years of feeling guilty about our schedule due to other people, I finally feel proud of who we are! We home school & I will send this article to everyone who has a problem with my schedule to prove that there are several other families around the world who do the same & proof it works! Very excited to continue our late night learning- I really am happy to have found you ALL!!

  24. I am smiling reading this, because there are so many of us night owls, and we have kids that are, too! I know that some people may “freak out” over “night school”, but one Mom mentioned that she works a night shift. I took evening classes in college, too. Night school & night jobs are not uncommon in this day and age. One of the joys of homeschool is being able to do what is best for your family. Great post!

  25. I so needed to read this today. After a day of running to dr appointments and trying to get school work done…. its been a rough day. I think I will have to adapt my own afternoon/night homeschool schedule, cause I too have always liked my mornings to spend quietly, drinking my coffee while chatting with my mom. Thanks so much for sharing!!

  26. Yes! We’ve always done much of our schooling/reading in the evenings. I always tell people that I’m not very coherent before 10 am, but I can move mountains between 10pm and 1 in the morning. 🙂

  27. I’ve been thinking about the homeschooling option for my 6 year old. He is in the publuc school system where nowdays they are sent to the office for playing tag. I mean, really? He has been told by teachers things that are damaging his self esteem and to he quite honest, the government run, publuc school systems terrify me and I fear for our next generation. I work 8-4, m-f, and wonder if honeschooling my son could be an option, if I plan his schooling in the evenings and some weekend hours, and assign his homework during the day. Is this even possible or am I dreaming? I find myself a very organized person and great at handling a back to back schedule. Thanks.

    1. You could totally do this. For a 6 year old, think about an hour and half or so in the evenings for ‘academic work’, then maybe a couple hours on Saturday too.

  28. I was pinteresting tonight our first night of my husband at work at night now. Nights are my prime time since the kids don’t sleep well it takes me quite some time to wake up in the morning. Thank God this showed up I was trying to figure out how it was going work! It’s just my 3 & 4 year old, but they don’t offer preschool in schools here in Washington and I just want my kids to learn at there prime age!

  29. THANK YOU!
    As a mom of boys and NOT a morning person, we’ve always schooled after lunch and it works for us! But, I’ve had others question me on it and I appreciate your words. 🙂

  30. Thank you for this post! Most of the other homeschool families that we know (and families that I read about online) all have this super structured day scheduled. This just doesn’t work for us. we’re always running to doctors apps, various therapies, activities, etc and I have been getting so frustrated trying to figure out when to do school. Often the choice is between school and play. So if we do school, my children don’t get to have free play time and then don’t do school very well anyway. The solution is so simple. Night/evening school. They are always more focused during that time anyway. And isn’t that the point of homeschooling? Being able to fully meet our families needs, learning styles, etc? I was afraid of being too “unconventional”, when, in reality, I should have been more concerned with doing what’s best for us! Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to write this!

  31. Thanks for sharing this. I have a 12 yr old son who has never been a good night time sleeper. I have been considering letting him do schooling at night. However, I myself am just the opposite. I’m up at 5am and in bed by 9pm. I am thinking of doing some of our day in the afternoon such as the things he needs me to teach as well as anything we need to review from night before. Then, after I go to bed he can finish up his work. He is very independent.

  32. You are a wise mother to incorporate home schooling in a way that works for your family. I am getting ready to be a single mom to several children and reentering the work force by choice after being out for 20 years. Since we are still home schooling then I have been thinking about a solution to our new schedule and I think I just found it here in your post. Thanks immensely for sharing!

    1. It’s so nice to hear from moms who have found help on our site! Thanks so much for your comment! You may also enjoy some of the posts by Heather which were written for homeschooling moms who work outside of the home.

  33. I am a 21 yr veteran of homeschooling, and I learned this early on, Best decision I ever made homeschooling work with my kids own rhythm. Now my Masters Grad Son and Daughter on the Presidents list. (in college) are proof I didn’t mess them up to much!! Good for you!! It is important to always listen to our mommy instincts, (better know as God) 🙂

  34. Your article sounded just like my life’s struggles! I’ve been home schooling for 1.5 years. I have 9 children 16 years-7 months old. When we wake up, it should be active/play time. I NEED time for scriptures, prayers, shower, getting dressed, and ME time, that I do in the morning, letting my kids sleep, play, or wreak havoc. I have learned that if I neglect myself, I get angry and stressed, and tend to not be a good mommy. So, I don’t even get started with my day until 9 a.m.! Then I like to make waffles or pan cakes, etc. so then we are at 10 a.m. before I even sit down with the kids, but they aren’t ready to sit! We need to go to the park before nap time, and before they get hungry again, etc. Then I feel like my entire day is blown, and once again I didn’t get any homeschooling done! The kids are ready to be quiet and listen only at bed time. I have found that I can’t get them to settle down for me to read to them until then. So, we have read “The Secret Garden” and all four volumes of “The Story of The World” at bed time. Sometimes my kids aren’t in bed until 10 p.m. or later, and I feel like a “bad mom” because my kids aren’t asleep by 8 p.m., and they aren’t getting their school work done in the morning. I can do individual school time with the older kids while the younger ones are sleeping during nap time. Your article helps me to embrace what works for us, and not to feel guilty because it doesn’t fit a a certain “mold.”

  35. Thank you for sharing. We just moved to Washington and want to connect with other homeschooling families. Where are you in the state?

  36. Very awesome article!! Love it! It can be hard to change our routine and what is ‘normal’ but it’s good to go with what works! I was a single mom for 7 years and homeschooled my daughter while I was a nanny. I did a little school with her at other people’s houses, but sometimes it was too hard with the other kids. So we did a lot of school in the evening and weekends at home. I also did year round school and had tons of time all summer for school! It worked for us and we had a blast!

    I’m married now and still do year round school because I feel like I’m more relaxed all year not feeling like everything has to be done in June! We can take breaks throughout the year whenever we need to!

  37. I know this article is an older one but boy am I glad I found it…Just today I am ready to throw in the towel.. I am a homeschooling stay at home mother of 5 boys.. ranging in ages from 22 down to 2. My older two children went to public school and graduated.. My oldest just moved back home.. and my 20 year old is getting ready to leave home. My house is complete chaos.. my littles are 8,4, and 2, so by the time we are ready to start schooling, the kids are tired of being inside, having been waiting on me to clean up, put a load of laundry in, make myself somewhat presentable, heat my coffee up for the 4th or 5th time and I end up very irritated, and defeated.. and so I let them go outside. Then after all that, its lunch.. and again.. the same routine. BUT at night.. its completely different.. after the craziness of the day, we often sit together on the couch, and read or watch a show, or just catch up. This night time homeschool may be the answer!!

    1. That’s great! We’re so glad you came across this article too! That’s another wonderful thing about homeschooling–being able to do it at whatever time works best for your family.

  38. I’m a single mom and a full time grad student (online). My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD but thankfully is on the lighter side of the spectrum. When I first started homeschooling her it was absolute misery, however I knew I had to do it as I felt that God had been whispering to my heart that He wanted her homeschooled. I am not a morning person and so it was hard to get up, fix breakfast and get her started on work. After about six months I realized hey I homeschool!! We started doing assignments after we naturally woke up to no alarms! We just woke up, ate and then would do something here or there. Now that she’s almost 8 she prefers to do everything after lunch. We still have a few days during the month that we do homeschool at 8 or 9 at night because ADHD is in full swing that day. (I do not medicate, I use essential oils and other things to help her since her case is mild and I’m getting my masters in psychology). But what I have loved most is seeing her blossom at night, finally getting that math concept or that reading question because she is able to focus and be still. 🙂

    1. I was a single mom too (just married 3 months ago). I’m curious to know how you provide for your daughter while also being in school. Are you at home with her 24 hours a day? Do you also have a job that you go to? What does your homeschool schedule look like?

  39. Yay!! We recently began doing afternoon school. I started because they would play nice / do quiet time nice during the morning and were so hard to convince to go to the schoolroom. Then later I couldn’t get them to do quiet time or play without fighting. So we tried swapping the two and it goes smoother!!

    I’m so glad to hear someone else does school at a different time also 🙂 thanks for sharing!

  40. After being home for 5 years, caring for my ill mom who recently passed, completing my degree, and running the house; I am returning to work. My problem is that I have a 10 year old son that public and private school has not worked for. I and my husband are all in for homeschooling and have done much research. I will be working FT days as well as my husband. I think evening homeschooling would work great for us. I don’t know anyone who can keep my son. He is still too young to stay home alone. Does anyone have any suggestions. I start work 10/1/17 and need to get moving. I live in Illinois in the south suburbs of Chicago. TIA!!!

  41. Thank you so very much for posting this! I worked as a public school teacher for 8 years, so when I had my own daughter, I could not imagine sending her to a public school to be taught by someone else. I wanted to teach her myself, but as a single mom, I could not imagine how on earth I would be able to work a full time job AND homeschool my daughter. My daughter is 3 now, so I was definitely starting to feel the pressure of friends and family (“What preschool will she go to?” “Make sure you buy a house in a place with good schools.” “How do you think she will do in Kindergarten?” etc)

    I feel so free now! I’m not sure who will take care of her during the day, but I’m excited to start thinking outside of the box and find a solution that will work for us!

  42. Thank you for this post. Your prayers and advice are requested. I am a newly single mom of three. I know God has called me to home school my children so I am looking for employment that will allow me to continue to do so. My family lives in another state, so I don’t have help with childcare while I work outside the home. This make it difficult to find employment (that will pay all the bills) which will allow me to work from home and educate my children in the evenings or nights or however the Lord will lead us. It is a huge challenge, but I know that all things are possible with God. Bless you!

  43. My son has many learning disabilities including memory problems, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder. However, when taught at night, he retains SO much more than during the day. It truly is amazing what happens when we disregard the “normal” and work with our kids the way they learn best.

    That being said, does anyone have any tips for those of us who have kids that do well at night but we don’t? Around 6 pm my energy and patience are rapidly declining. That’s when my son is just getting started with his learning window. My daughter as well needs to do her work in the morning. The split schedule is hard on our family.

  44. Will be a first time homeschool mom, because the nature of my career I am not able to stay at home, so I will be teaching in the evening. Thanks for sharing your story, it gave me hope that it can be done.
    Liduvina

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