Work and Home Schooling – Can It Be Done?
By Mimi Rothschild
As parents, deciding to home school is an honorable decision, but full of risk and sacrifice. Sadly, in today’s world it is not often possible for one or both parents to stay home and dedicate the days to home schooling their children. Does this mean that parents who work cannot home school? Absolutely not. With some careful planning and complete dedication, it is possible to work and home school your children.
The first thing that you’ll want to do is examine your work schedule. Are there certain times during the year that your work is slower than other times? Could you possibly have more flexible hours, or do you have to stick to a set work schedule? It is possible to schedule home schooling around your work, as long as you can make it work for everyone. One of the benefits of home schooling is that it can be flexible. There do not have to be any set school hours, so you and your home school children can design a schedule that fits into your life as well as theirs.
If there are slow times during your work year, then these would be the times that you could concentrate more on home schooling. That doesn’t mean that you would stop home schooling altogether when work is busier, it just means that there would be a certain “ebb and flow” to your home schooling schedule. Perhaps the winter is slower for you at work, and you and your home school children could add more subjects to study during that time. In the busy months, you could cut down on classes accordingly. In the long run, your children will still be learning everything that they need to learn.
You could dedicate one of your days off per week to field trip learning activities, making it a family affair. This takes some planning, but is beneficial for everyone. You could also dedicate a certain amount of after-work hours each day to one or two subjects, making sure to get all necessary subjects in during the week. Home schooling parents could also try to coordinate their schedules so that there is almost always at least one parent home. This takes teamwork and the willingness to work together.
Your children are your priority, and it is this attitude that will help you find what works best for your family when it comes to home schooling and working. With God’s provision, any obstacle can be overcome. Look to Him during the balancing act.
 E-Mail to a Friend
|