Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom who homeschools or a mom who is both working and homeschooling, you don’t have to do this alone. All guilt aside, there are things you can delegate to make your job easier as a mom, a home educator, and an employee (or business owner). Keep reading for my top tips on doing just that.
Help for the Homeschooling Mom – You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
You’ve seen the homeschool rates skyrocket over the past few years, with a special boom this year alone. Homeschooling has instantly been put under the microscope, but moms are finding out that they can in fact build a career and home educate their children simultaneously.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to carry the full weight on your shoulders. Thanks to modern technological advancements, the homeschool community has more help than ever before. It’s time to tap into that mama!
Delegating for the Homeschooling Mom
First things first. Go ahead and tell yourself that you’re not any less of a mom or some horrible homeschool parent if you choose to use what resources are readily available for you. Families from times past also had help… it was called community, and family. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about how you can make this journey a bit easier for yourself.
Don’t get caught up in thinking you need to do more.
Most homeschooling moms already know that even a “traditional” day of homeschooling typically won’t last longer than 3-4 hours, yet somehow we believe it’s not enough. Keep in mind that homeschooling can be done any part of the day and according to your child’s unique learning style. Even if your kids are not sitting at desks waiting for bells to ring to indicate a switch in subjects – they are still learning.
Think about it this way: you can work a full-time job (40 hours a week), homeschool for half that time (20 hours), get a full night’s rest (8 hours), and still have 52 hours to do other things! Oh the possibilities!
Join a local homeschool group
Local homeschool groups are popping up all over the place. Typically run by a group of moms, these groups have the potential for offering extracurricular activities, co-op classes, field trip gatherings, and more. Some groups even host dances, geography and science fairs, as well as high school graduations.
Utilize Virtual Resources
Online learning has definitely made its mark and parents are (and should) take full advantage of it. There’s a wide range of online learning resources from Outschool to Khan Academy who offer synchronous and asynchronous courses for kids. Some online programs offer a complete learning program that is tuition based and includes everything you could think of.
Working homeschool moms find these to be the perfect fit for helping teach their children while they work. Even for moms who aren’t working, these supplements come in handy for switching things up a bit or tackling those hard subjects.
Related: Online Classes for Homeschoolers
Get all hands on deck
This has less to do about actual homeschooling and more to do with household chores and responsibilities. Make sure your spouse or partner is contributing to taking care of the house and kids. Give your kids daily chores, meal plan, set grocery shopping and errand days, and find other ways to make your job as a mom easier. Communicate with everyone and let them know their help will be expected in order to keep the house and homeschool running smooth.
You Don’t Have to Homeschool Alone
The overall goal here is to share the load and keep yourself from getting stressed out. It’s super hard to give your kids what they need if you’re on the verge of burning out. Don’t hesitate to set up play dates, library meetups, or take advantage of programs your local community may be hosting. All of these will work in your favor as well as offer your child unique learning experiences that they’ll look back and thank you for.
Remember, you don’t have to do this alone and help is there.
