Any other work at home homeschoolers here?

[MittensKittens]

Hi!
 

I am a single mom working at home (two to three hours a day) and I homeschool. Are there any others in a similar boat? I'd love to hear experiences and how you organize your day!

I have found that we're all more productive in the early mornings. If we get our school stuff out the way before noon, DD learns better and gets a lot done. But then, that means I still have to work. However, when I work in the morning I get it done quicker and better (I'm a writer), and the kids are always able to entertain themselves in the mornings, have breakfast, play together... Not so much in the afternoon, when they want my attention. Working in the evenings after they go to bed doesn't work so well for me because I am tired and want to chill. So overall, work in the early morning and school in the afternoon works better, which also means we then have time to go out/meet friends later on.

What do you do, and how does it work for you?

[MommaCrystal]

I run a business from my home.  I'm a wedding and portrait photographer.  I work at least 4 or 5 hours per day blogging, editing, album designing, following up on emails, setting appointments, etc etc etc.  I get around 5am and work until about 8am when I start getting the kids and myself ready for the day.  Then the kids take a rest for about an hour every afternoon so I snag some time then (if we aren't off on some field trip or class or something).  And then again after they go to bed. 

Weddings take place Friday-Sunday.  Only a couple a month and none at all sometimes during the slow season.  Sessions are generally weekend only as well though sometimes the newborn mommy's are up for a newborn session during the week.  LOVE that!

Lots of work!  Exhausting!  But well worth it.  I have the best of all world! 

I don't know how I'd do it without the support of my husband though.  I'd like to hear how you manage it all on your own.

[MittensKittens]

Eh... "Just do it!" I don't think I could do what you do and get up at 5am! I love my sleep too much! I have fewer working hours than you, but my kids don't nap any more. Yesterday, we went to the dentist in the early morning and then had a play date. It was 4pm before we got back home and I had three articles to write. That was a struggle! I was tired from the day's activities, and the kids wanted more play. I think the key for a well-functioning day is keeping the mornings free for work, so we can have the rest of the day free for homeschool, play, and everything else we do.

Once a week, I have a babysitter all day so I can go to meetings without kids.

[MommaCrystal]

2 of my 3 no longer nap either.  And the 3rd only naps whenever.  No predictability there.  For the two oldest we have a mandatory rest time for an hour every afternoon.  They are to be on their beds with books, doodle boards, any quiet toy they have.  If we are out and about during that time then they generally get it for a shorter time whenever we get home.  This is non-negotiable in my house.  We ALL need it!

During the slower season I don't have to keep this pace.  But I feel better starting my day with my kids knowing the important work stuff is out of the way.  We are all happier that way because them I'm not distracted.

You've got to find a rhythm that works for you!  But it can be done!

[Mere]

I work 2.5 days a week.  I have a great babysitter who comes two full days a week and takes the kids to homeschool groups, the library, the park, etc.  My mother in law takes the two younger ones for the other half day, while my oldest either has a friend over or plays over at someone's house. 

They get all their formal schoolwork done first thing in the AM; they finish it up with the babysitter on my work days, although of course I'm right upstairs if they have questions!

[TEAK's Mom]

I guess I technically work at home. I teach piano lessons in my home four afternoons a week. Since most of my students attend school, lessons tend to be after 3:00pm and my kids (9 and 6.5) just vanish into their room. We've been doing this for a couple of years now and added students gradually. I keep my rates low, so I do not earn a great deal of money, but it does help. Since I teach more than one member of a couple of families, my kids get some built-in playdates. It works.

Since we unschool, I don't worry too much about specific school time, but I do make sure to be available to the kids earlier in the day.

[sarahtar]

I work at home. I have a 2nd grader (ok, he starts 2nd in the fall) and a 2 year old who doesn't nap any more.

We do school in the morning, with a goal to get started by 9 (breakfast done or not - sometimes they finish eating while we get started) and ended by lunch. After lunch, I work in my office while the kids play, or sometimes the 2nd grader does more school related stuff on his computer - he has one in my office. The 2 year old draws or paints or whatever and I take breaks as needed to keep her happy. DS is really good about playing with her, too, which helps.

I usually work 1-4, with plenty of breaks in there. So it turns out to be about 2 hours. Since 2 hours a day during the week is not nearly enough, I also work one night a week (currently Thursday), from when DH gets home until about 3 or 4 am. And then I also work one weekend day for 4-5 hours. I do NOT work at all on Wednesdays, because our family goes out to work at a farm that day, or on Fridays, which I try to keep for Fun Stuff with the kids.

I do my housework before breakfast, or I fit it in during times when DS is working independently on school stuff (reading, for example). On Fridays, part of our school time is spent talking while we fold laundry together, lol.

[Emerging butterfly]

I work at home. I'm a freelance writer, and my husband is a therapist who works in a mental health center in town. I work about 3-6 hours a day and we homeschool 3 kiddos. Our 15 year old just finished his first year at highschool with honors after a lifetime of homeschooling/unschooling...so, it works!!!

I really love the flexibility of working at home, and because my kiddos are pretty independent, it works quite well. However, we are going to have our first little girl in August...so it will be back to baby-ness for a bit. I have a treadmill desk, so I expect that I'll just wrap her close to me and walk the day away writing. I can't imagine having to work away from my kiddos....I feel really lucky!

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Emerging butterfly 

I have a treadmill desk, so I expect that I'll just wrap her close to me and walk the day away writing. I can't imagine having to work away from my kiddos....I feel really lucky!

A TREADMILL DESK?!?!??! !That sounds amazing... Oh man that would've made my life so much easier... Did you buy it, or create it?? I'd love to see it!!

[MittensKittens]

Originally Posted by Emerging butterfly 

I work at home. I'm a freelance writer, and my husband is a therapist who works in a mental health center in town. I work about 3-6 hours a day and we homeschool 3 kiddos. Our 15 year old just finished his first year at highschool with honors after a lifetime of homeschooling/unschooling...so, it works!!!

I really love the flexibility of working at home, and because my kiddos are pretty independent, it works quite well. However, we are going to have our first little girl in August...so it will be back to baby-ness for a bit. I have a treadmill desk, so I expect that I'll just wrap her close to me and walk the day away writing. I can't imagine having to work away from my kiddos....I feel really lucky!

Wonderful that your 15 year old is doing so great!

I'm also a writer and when I had my son, I worked while in labor (had a deadline to meet) and was back at work a few days after the birth. At first, I brought the laptop to bed with me and wrote in bed with the baby next to me, and then I wore him in a carrier. I feel really lucky too. Working at home may be a challenge sometimes, but I feel I have much more flexibility than most people. The only problem is having to go to meetings to get information for articles I am writing sometimes. You can't honor "protect your source" if you have a smart kid who likes to tell people that mom and she just met X person (insert name) to talk about corruption in big companies.

So I stopped taking my kids to meetings and now have a babysitter once a week, all day long.

[Savoir Faire]

I was a freelance writer before Homeschooling. I wrote nationally and did quite well. But...I knew I would not be able to keep up that work when homeschooling. Now...I have an Etsy shop. Oddly enough, it is going very well...and I find that I'm definitely having to work hard at balancing work/homeschool.

Usually it works out well...until I have one of those weeks where I get 500 rush orders...and then it all gets a bit crazy....

[Emerging butterfly]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

Originally Posted by Emerging butterfly 

I have a treadmill desk, so I expect that I'll just wrap her close to me and walk the day away writing. I can't imagine having to work away from my kiddos....I feel really lucky!

A TREADMILL DESK?!?!??! !That sounds amazing... Oh man that would've made my life so much easier... Did you buy it, or create it?? I'd love to see it!!

I actually did an article for a company that was making them and they gave it to me as compensation. It's amazing...I truly love it! Just google "treadmill desks" and you'll find several places that make them, write about them, or show you how to make your own. I walk about 1.5 miles to 3 miles per hour every day for about 5-10 miles a day. It's amazing.

Originally Posted by MittensKittens 

Wonderful that your 15 year old is doing so great!

I'm also a writer and when I had my son, I worked while in labor (had a deadline to meet) and was back at work a few days after the birth. At first, I brought the laptop to bed with me and wrote in bed with the baby next to me, and then I wore him in a carrier. I feel really lucky too. Working at home may be a challenge sometimes, but I feel I have much more flexibility than most people. The only problem is having to go to meetings to get information for articles I am writing sometimes. You can't honor "protect your source" if you have a smart kid who likes to tell people that mom and she just met X person (insert name) to talk about corruption in big companies.

So I stopped taking my kids to meetings and now have a babysitter once a week, all day long.

I found myself being asked to write after the loss of our twin sons. I had been writing in a blog, then in a grief mag which I now edit for, and then...the writing requests just started to pour in. I love it. My degree is in psychology and pre-medical sciences...I never dreamed about or wanted to be a writer, and yet, it is what works, and it's become what I love.

Originally Posted by Savoir Faire 

I was a freelance writer before Homeschooling. I wrote nationally and did quite well. But...I knew I would not be able to keep up that work when homeschooling. Now...I have an Etsy shop. Oddly enough, it is going very well...and I find that I'm definitely having to work hard at balancing work/homeschool.

Usually it works out well...until I have one of those weeks where I get 500 rush orders...and then it all gets a bit crazy....

What do you make in your Etsy shop? I love Etsy! I just bought the sweetest little pixie hat for my up-coming little girl....I can't help but to admire women who can make such wonderful things!

[greenemami]

Me!  We're just getting started though, since my dd is only 4 and ds is 1.  I am already nervous about how to juggle it all.  Tentative plan is to do school work in the a.m. and work in teh afternoons/evenings like I do now.  Where do you all find time to plan lessons, if you do plan/use a curriculum/do not unschool?  I am pretty relaxed about curriculums etc, but will still need time to prep and have no idea how I will manage to fit that into my schedule!  So glad for this thread to see it is possible :)

[ameliabedelia]

I WAH, but not nearly as much as I should.  In a good week I manage to get about 10 hours in. I don't work for anyone else, so I can spend as much or as little time as I need, but I should be spending more.

I basically squeeze my work at home stuff in around school.  Take a few minutes here or there to answer email, network (on facebook), etc.  Then we do most of the school in the mornings and I try to work in the early afternoon for an hour or so.  In the evenings, I try to get another 30 or so minutes in.  It's hard because I have so many other tasks to do a day, that it's hard to squeeze things in.  I just try to manage my time most effectively and waste as little as possible...take whatever chance I have to work on my blog, answer an email, network, write a little, etc.

[ameliabedelia]

Just read the rest of the posts.  I totally want a treadmill desk!

[MommaCrystal]

Originally Posted by greenemami 

Me!  We're just getting started though, since my dd is only 4 and ds is 1.  I am already nervous about how to juggle it all.  Tentative plan is to do school work in the a.m. and work in teh afternoons/evenings like I do now.  Where do you all find time to plan lessons, if you do plan/use a curriculum/do not unschool?  I am pretty relaxed about curriculums etc, but will still need time to prep and have no idea how I will manage to fit that into my schedule!  So glad for this thread to see it is possible :)

The curriculum I've chosen (a variety from different sources) requires next to zero planning time.  I'll take 15 or so minutes at the beginning of the week to thumb through things and just get an idea of what is ahead and that's about it.  Easy!

[rubelin]

I'm also a single, wah, homeschooling mom. My boys just turned 11 & 7 and this was the second year we homeschooled. It's been rough trying to get in enough quality hours of work but they were in some homeschool classes two mornings per week this year and next year they'll be attending a charter homeschool hybrid and will be in class 2.5 days per week.

I'm a fashion designer/seamstress, I work with private clients and also have an Etsy shop. I really work best with large chunks of uninterrupted time, which doesn't happen much. I used to work at night a lot but this year I cut that out because it really wasn't good for my sanity and I wasn't getting enough sleep. We also have to get started early in the morning (kids are up between 6 & 7) or else the day tends to disappear out from under me =)