Working From Home While Homeschooling
Homeschooling has been something that people have been doing for a long time however, homeschooling while working from home is and will be on the increase due to the crisis we are now experiencing with Covid-19.
If you already work from home, “how to work from home while homeschooling” will be a question you will be asking yourself. If you are looking into how to work from home or looking into what working from home jobs there are, there is going to be a time when homeschooling is going to be a big part of your day.
As we continue in the Covid-19 lock down, there is going to be period when homeschooling will be challenging. To overcome these challenges there are a few homeschooling tips on how to balance work and homeschooling to consider.
- Good Communication
- Plan Your Day – but be flexible
- Create Routines
- Set up a dedicated work space
- Expect to be disturbed
- Give yourself time to adjust
Depending on how the education department structures the learning, whether online or online via a virtual classroom format, you will have to make adjustments to your own working day.
Good Communication
Good communication is very important and one of the main pieces in how to work from home while homeschooling. Explaining the situation to your kids and how it is all going to work will help them understand why school is not going back, why they are doing school work at home and it’s still not the holidays and that you still have work to do yourself.
You can explain to them that it is like going to work with mum or dad for the day.
Not only is good communication at home important but also if you work for someone then you want to make sure that the lines of communications are open and that your employer understands there are going to be times when it does not go to plan. Along with your boss, your colleagues also need to be kept informed of your daily schedule and any times that work well for meetings and appointments that may need to be organised.
Plan Your Day
Plan your day but be flexible. If your school has set times for online classes then the schedule will be set for you, but if you need to schedule your own then have this in place before the day starts to not waste any time doing this in this when you should be getting work completed.
Most days will be the same so the main structure of the day can be set down from the start and communicated to the kids. This can be put on the fridge or board located in the designated work area. A white board is a good way that things can be changed with a white board marker.
Keeping it similar to their school day will help the kids transition to doing their school work at home.
You may also need to work outside of a normal 9-5 time slot to get things completed. Getting up early and getting a few things done before the day starts can really set the day up for success and will put you into a great frame of mind.
Create Routine
Creating a routine is good, but creating a routine and sticking to it is great.
Starting with a morning routine of getting dressed will help tell your brain and your kids that you are getting read for the day. Preparing lunches can also trigger the brain into knowing that today is a day for work and school.
Set up at the designated work area and discuss what is install for the day.
Set Up A Designated Work Space
Having a designated work space is important for the kids to be able to learn comfortably and to make homeschooling beneficial. Whatever space you have to work with you need to consider the work surface, seating arrangements, area to store supplies and resources, lighting and the layout of the space.
You will want to have as much of what is needed close to hand. Somewhere the kids can get to it easily without having to go searching the house for it. Depending on the size of the space you have will determine what can be stored and put into the immediate area. You will need to prioritise what can fit into the area and have the other items stored close by.
Comfort is important to assist the kids to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time. An unsettled kid will cause you to become unsettled.
If you already have an office set up or a spare room, you may be able to set the kids up in the room with you. This will enable you to keep an eye on them. They can then see how you work and you can lead by example.
The space can evolve as you find out what is needed and what works well within the space you have.
Dedicated Work Space
Expect To Be Disturbed
Unfortunately this is inevitable. You are still going to be disturbed by the kids from time to time.
To help reduce his from happening you can have a note pad with the heading “Questions For Later” where the kids can write down their question they have and they can ask you when the time is good.
Have a list of downtime activities that they can do like, reading a book, colouring, puzzles, look at whats coming up in the day or prepare for the next day. Keep what you can inside a box and if they do come and disturb you you can send them to the downtime activities.
Downtime Activity Chill Zone
Give Yourself Time To Adjust
Both Working from home and homeschooling on their own are not easy. When you combine them together it can be a daunting thought. Overcoming the challenges will take time. You will need to give yourself time to adjust and find your own groove as everyone’s situation is different.
Don’t be hard on yourself and ask for help if needed. Just remember why you are doing this to keep it into perspective.
Don’t get me wrong, not all these are going to work for everyone and everyone’s circumstances are different, but these can be used as a guide that you can build on how to balance work and home schooling.
Benefits Of Homeschooling
- Flexible Learning Schedule
- Choose Your Child’s Curriculum
- Choice of Learning Pace and Approach
- Full attention with tailored Instruction
- Social Benefits
- Close Family Relationships and Environment
- High Academic Achievement
- Health Benefits – both Mental and Physical
Homeschooling Statistics
Australia – It was reported by The Conversation that there are around 20 000 homeschooled students across the country. Obviously this will increase but if they did not include the kids that are being schooled at home due to school closures, homeschooling is increasing.
An alternate to homeschooling is distant education and a lot of these students are located in remote areas of Australia where access to schooling can be limited.
America – As reported by the NHERI (National Home Education Research Institute), there are about 2.5 million homeschool students in grades K-12 in the United States. It appears that the homeschool population is continuing to grow (at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past few years).
The homeschooled typically score 15 to 30% above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.
Whether homeschool parents were ever certified teachers is not related to their children’s academic achievement.
Positive Thoughts
Conclusion
Whatever you circumstances are that has brought you to having to work from home while homeschooling you are facing uncharted waters.
I have been working from home for several years and it was only during the school holidays that I had my kids at home through the day when I was working. During the holidays there was no pressure of schooling our kids, the only concern we had, outside of the norm was arranging activities for the kids to do. This was generally shared, ok it was mainly done by my wife, so the impact to me was minimal. As both my wife and I work I would sometimes take a week off during the holidays to spend time with the kids.
Having the kids home all the time now is challenging, but putting a few things in place helps with the day to day running.
As time goes on you will work out what works best for you and if you have nay great tips that are working for you, please drop it in the comments so others can try them to get through these testing times. Don’t forget there a many people who already work from home while homeschooling well before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stay positive, accept that this is the new norm (for now, and if it fits, maybe into the future), be flexible and open to new ideas.
If you want to know more on working from home, read my Ultimate Guide To Working From Home.
Regards
Ben
Beka Products
