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Schedules for Working Homeschool Moms

You work. You homeschool. You are a mom. You are a wife… or maybe not. You Live. You Sleep. You eat. You worship. And hopefully you have some fun. But what does this balance look like in REAL life? What are some working homeschool moms schedules?

In my first post in the Working Homeschool Mom series, I opened up with scheduling tips for working homeschool moms. But these tips are more general than what some may be looking for. This month I will be providing all of my working gals with REAL life schedule scenarios. Not only will I include mine, but I will be providing quotes from our fellow homeschool chicks in the Facebook Community. Many of these women are working their butts off and pulling the homeschool life off with flying colors!

Schedules for Working Homeschool Moms

First, a little about my schedule…

I have a very WEIRD work schedule. It is not dependable or routine. I do try to be scheduled for real in-person shifts the last part of the week. I tend to take call more towards the beginning of the week. As a nurse, I’ve cross trained in a few areas which allow for some flexibility in my schedule.

I do not need my own medical insurance as my husband already has this with his job. This has been a huge blessing and because of this I don’t have to work the required time in a benefited position. I also have some other income options I am pursuing: Urban Farming (a work in progress – not at all a profit right now), Jamberry Nails Consultant, Young Living Essential Oils, and blogging. If you are interested in these, message me.

Because I am considered an on call or “per diem” nurse, I tell them what I will work and how much. I do not carry a pager but am instead put on the schedule of that month. I am not required to come in any time I am not scheduled. This is huge for homeschool.

But then there is my other job. My “Take call” job is one where I do actually have to carry my phone. I am a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. As you can imagine, I can get called at some unpredictable times. This one does throw a wrench into our schedule often.

And then I am also a Classical Conversations Tutor on Mondays during the normal school year.

My husband is in law enforcement and his schedule is weird too.

Can you see what I mean by my schedule being weird?

Because of this, I do not have a “set in stone” daily schedule for school. Trust me, I’ve tried so many different schedule plans that my kids look at me blankly when I say we have a new schedule. I like to call myself a Classical homeschooler, but I’ve begun to lean Montessori and a tinsy bit Unschooling because of this. But we still focus classically. This allows for more freedom. I have goals, and we do things that are highest priority first. On a good day when I am off, we start in the a.m. after eating breakfast as a family.

Our Priorities typically go…

  • Math
  • English, Grammar, Writing
  • Reading/Spelling
  • Bible (this is not first because you need to read to study the Bible)
  • History, Science, Health
  • And then the lesser difficult subjects to teach like Computer, Art, Online stuff, Music, etc.

I’ve tried actually plotting out our day, and it always gets interrupted so I’ve stopped.

On a day that I work or get called in, my kids have longer lists of chores and do things my husband can help them with. This normally entails computer software. This next go around, I am going to expect more out of my husband and kids though. It never fails that I get called at work because someone can’t remember their log in so I will be creating a running list of websites and log-in info that will be posted in our school area.

We always take Sundays off because this is a day for enjoying each other and relaxing. Very rarely we will do some school though.

As for other things, my husband plays a huge part in making sure that our home does not turn into a disaster. He does most of the laundry, helps with food and prep, and helps keep the house tidy. I hire a friend every couple weeks for a couple hours to deep clean. My husband and I do spend a great deal of time together as well. The kids do a lot to help as well….but they aren’t angels. 😉

Now for my fellow working homeschool moms….these are quotes acquired through Facebook.

Sarah C.

We do our book work in the morning. My two oldest sit with me at the kitchen table and do work while I work (that will last about an hour) then I play catch up the rest of the day! I don’t have a typical job so I can work from the park, the car, the lake, and so forth.. MOST DAYS.. but some days are harder than others. I end up having to work for awhile after everyone goes to bed too to get everything that needs to be done…done.

Jennifer W.

Working homeschool Moms schedules

Stacy P.

I work full time and homeschool two teens. Some days I bring them to the office with me. Other days they go to the library, etc… I do lessons on the weekends, and I’m available in the evenings for extra help. They mainly work independently. On the weekends I assign all the work that needs completed that week, and then they work to finish it. It’s not a perfect system, but it works for us. We don’t have daily schedules and such. We’re more of the “wing it” type of family, but both kids have really intense course loads and both take 12 classes a year.

Kayra J.

I work full time and my husband works part time from home. So he does the language arts/geography/ and math for the little ones while I’m at work. Then I do math for the oldest/science/history when I get home and on weekends. I also do all the planning for all 3 and keep up with grades. They are currently 7th grade and two 3rd graders.

Jennifer S.

I do schooling at night. My son does work (homework??) during the day at the sitter’s. (I have to pay for my child care.) But this woman also homeschools her son, so there’s assistance for my son if he truly needs it. I also teach on the weekends. My husband will teach a subject if he understands the concept.

Sharon G.

We are self employed so I take them with me to work. We have a school area set up for them, and I pop back and forth to check their work and give directions on the next step. Things that require more of my attention, like science, we do in the evenings and weekends.
Brandi P.
I did daycare in my home for several years, but that got to be too difficult with home schooling. So I work 3 nights a week in the home of someone with special needs. I am now a single mom, and we have moved in with my parents so that my mother can co-teach with me as well as provide child care.
Jamie C.H.
Working Homeschool Moms schedules
As you can see, being a working homeschool mom is a very diverse thing. No two homes or schedules are the same. These families have made homeschool a priority and have tweaked their lives to make it work. If you are thinking of homeschooling but doubt if it is possible because you have a job…think again. 🙂

I want to do a roll call of all the moms (or dads) out there who work in some capacity while homeschooling. Shoot a quick comment on what you do. Let us use this article as a place to encourage our fellow working homeschool moms when it comes to scheduling. I know we all find reassurance when we see what each other is doing. So, share your schedule in the comments. This will be much easier to locate than old Facebook threads.

Flood my comments with your schedules!!! I want to see a ton! I know you all are out there. 😉

Heather

 

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11 Comments

  1. Heather, thanks for your encouraging words to those of us who often feel like we’ve made a crazy life choice!
    I’m an audiologist. I work in a hospital setting 3 days, 24 hours a week (M,Tu, F). My husband is a musician and works mostly nights and weekends. We go to CC classes on Thursday and my husband and I share 2 days of teaching each. I teach Saturday and Wednesday. My husband’s teaching days are determined by his work schedule that week. I do all the school planning and we all try to pitch in to keep up the house, but that is my biggest stress. I’m about to start working 3 more hours a day just so that I can afford to have someone in to help with cleaning! Our kids are 9 and 4, so they still require a lot of direct supervision for school.

    1. An audiologist!? I am so glad you are working and homeschooling. Really. I had to drive 3.5 hours one way for my son to see an audiologist for a CAPD dx. Your kind is hard to find!

  2. My husband and I work full time from 7:30-4. I homeschool 4 of my 5 school age kids (gr. 8-gr. 3). My mom comes to my house during the week to supervise the kids. I choose the curriculum, plan their work, and teach science after I get home. My husband does most of the cooking and cleaning and running around. I use Monarch for Language Arts, History, and Bible. We use other things for other subjects. Basically I always choose stuff that they can do on their own. It’s only been about 3 weeks, but it working well. My management at work is very, very supportive, which is a big plus, and I may be able to work from home several days per week soon.

  3. Oh my our schedules! Well I do post on this weekly. However, our overall style is traditional. So scheduling for us is very important. On weeks where I can plan out our day I do a weekly lesson cheat sheet for everyone. Kids start independent (computer-based learning) at 10am-1pm, then subjects that are more parental hands on from 3-6pm (we then go to sports activities), eat dinner around 8:30pm, and finish up work from 9pm-10:30pm depending. Since my kids like having the weekend free, we do a 5 day instruction time during the week. The weekends are only for ‘make-up’ work. There are times when I haven’t made a schedule so I have a lesson check off list for each subject. It’s on the wall above each kid’s desk and they just check off the Lesson # finished for the specified subject-put the date and their initial.

  4. My husband and I both work retail. I’ve homeschooled going into our 3rd year and this is the first year I’ve worked while homeschooling. My husband is an upper manager at a grocery store and I’m in Floral at the same store. He works a lot (50-60hrs is a normal week, it can reach 80hrs around holiday times or if we are missing personel). I normally work both weekend days, but occassionally pick up hours on days he is off during the week. This last week was intense, once upon a time (7 years ago) I was an asst upper manager and I was asked to help overnight this week cycle counting… I worked Saturday, Sunday as usual then Mon night to Tues morning, Tues night to Weds morning, Weds night to Thurs morning and Thurs night to Fri morning. Then will be working my normal Saturday and Sunday.

    We need to keep a schedule for our oldest because he is high functioning autistic and routine is necessary. We go Lang Arts, Spelling, & Reading in the morning. Then Math, Science & Social Studies after noon. We school 9-11:30, break for half an hour for lunch & a show, then 12-2:30 then half an hour free class play (aka self chosen extra-curricular time) and clean up from the day befor getting a snack then going out to play. We also have Tae Kwon Do from 6-7pm on Tues & Thurs and Catechism on Sunday morning. This week was the first time Daddy had to homeschool. It went ok, he was off Tues and Thurs so the plan was I could sleep in those days while Dad did school. The routine change of years was too much for our oldest and I ended up getting up early and finishing school. However, Thursday was much smoother and Dad made it through the whole day with only minor issues that they worked through. It’s been an exhausting week but I’m glad it worked out and to know Dad will be able to teach school if I can pick up a shift on his week days off.

  5. I have four kids and work part-time from home as a freelance graphic designer. My husband also works full-time from home and travels quite a bit. My oldest (16) takes full-time classes at our community college twice a week and is home the other 3 days. My youngest three I homeschool on a pretty regular schedule M-F from roughly 9-3. I do most of my work right after we finish school or after kids go to bed. I do sometimes get interrupted during the day, so the kids know that they might have some work to do after dinner in this case. Also, if I have more work to do (parts of the year are slow for me) I save our read-alouds for night time and we also listen to lots of books on audio in the car. My husband and I pretty evenly divide housework with the kids doing their share of chores, and I have a cleaning lady come about once a month to deep clean.

  6. I work 30-40 hours a week and homeschool my three children (11,10,8). I am a single mom so working is a must for me! I am lucky to work teaching martial arts in the evenings, so I have the morning/early afternoon with the kids for school and then we head to karate. On those days where various other jobs (like house cleaning, etc) take up daytime hours, I make up for it by doing some school on Saturday. We run out of time a lot during the week because my youngest also has speech, so if we miss doing projects or something we do those on weekends as well (that they are not with their dad). My dad lives with me so I have someone here with the kids if I am not so that is a blessing. We have to do a lot of schedule adjusting and stuff, but my kids still learn and it works for us!

  7. I work 30 hours a week as a computer software programmer. I work at home 3 days and at the office 2 days. The 3 days at home, I just teach and help my son when I have a break in my work (when I’m not working on something urgent). The days at the office, I send him with a list of work to accomplish. But I really really want a more regular routine! It’s hard to split my attention between working and teaching when I am home. When I’m not home, when I finally do get home, I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that I hoped he would’ve accomplished while I was gone, that didn’t get accomplished, so I’m squeezing those things in at night.

  8. I’m a nurse practitioner and my husband has a full time job requiring constant call and is occasionally called away for days/weeks at a time, so I’m pretty much on my own. I have 3 kids – K, 1st and 3rd. We school year round to relieve some of the pressure. I have a Spanish and Piano teacher that comes to my home while I’m at work, and I leave the kids with review work while they are with the sitter. I leave them learning games and websites for free time, and we attend as many homeschool play dates as we can. On days/weekends when I’m home, we do experiments and projects together. I have a house cleaner that comes every two weeks to help with the house too. It is working for us, but it is definitely a balancing act!

  9. I have been a personal trainer for the last 15 years. In the last 4 years I homeschool. It works for me because I work a split shift. I train clients 4 am to 8am, come home and do school work. I go back to the gym for afternoon clients from 4 pm to 10 pm. It works because I am home all day for school.

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