Homeschooling and Working from Home: How to Find a Happy Medium
Homeschooling and working from home can be tough to balance. It can be challenging to find the right mix or a happy medium for everyone in the family.
Whether you are homeschooling because you feel that it is best for your child or you are temporarily homeschooling due to school closures, things can get a little bumpy.
Add in the mix of you working from home and things can get a lot more complicated as you try to find a balance between working from home and teaching your child at home.
Many parents experienced this when it came to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Many students were thrown into teaching their kids at home with independent learning that was guided by the schools during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Suddenly, everyone was homeschooling their children due to the outbreak and a lot of families were faced with hardships. As children started to learn from home, there were a lot of Coronavirus resources made available to help parents adjust to homeschooling, but it was still difficult.
How to Balance Homeschooling and Working from Home
While it may sound impossible to keep a healthy balance between the two, it is possible. Yes, things will be a little crazy at first, but once you find your happy medium, it will all come together.
Hopefully, these tips can help you find at least a little bit of balance.
Create a Schedule
Creating a schedule that works for your family is important. Being a bit flexible with your schedule is also important.
If your child is old enough to homeschool online, you can get them set up to work on their homeschool curriculum while you are working from home.
If you are homeschooling younger children, it may be beneficial to stagger the schoolwork with the times you have available during breaks, before work, or even after work.
This creation of a schedule is particularly important for parents of SEN pupils who attend Oxfordshire special education schools. Without the regular routine of attending school and without the structure of their unique education, molded to their individual needs. This homeschooling experience can often feel overwhelming and daunting for SEN pupils, softened through the creation of a schedule.
Be Flexible and Roll with Whatever Comes Your Way
Do not expect things to just pan out as planned. There will be some days that you will have to be more flexible depending on your workload and the amount of school work they are expected to do.
Be as flexible and you can and try to organize your work and time in ways you can efficiently get it done. Go over what needs to be done first, and tackle those as soon as you can.
Expect interruptions and a shift of priorities due to unexpected interruptions, questions, and other remote learning challenges that may come your way.
If you are looking for some great independent learning strategies, these tips are definitely going to be helpful when it comes to balancing work and homeschooling.
Communicate
Communication is extremely important for your family.
If you are working with a set schedule, you can go over the plan for the day so that everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected.
Remember to take breaks, talk with your child about how their work is going, ask if they need anything to help them better understand a subject. If extra help is needed, set some time out of your schedule so that you can help.
It’s also important for children to know what to do after they finish their work so that you can continue to do yours. Online games can be fun for children to play or you can set aside some toys or games they can play with while they are waiting for you to finish your work.
Find a Support Network
When you are suddenly homeschooling, it can be difficult to adjust. Find a few homeschool groups or some type of support system with other homeschooling parents that you can be part of.
Having some support through family, friends, or other parents to lean on while you vent or answer questions can be extremely helpful for your sanity.
Try to be a support to other homeschooling parents as well. This list of gifts for homeschool moms has some easy ideas!
Just remember that it may take some time to find a healthy balance between homeschooling and working. It may be difficult at first, but as you go on and find a routine that works for you, it will become easier.
