Homeschooling while you're a working parent can be hugely satisfying but also really draining and exhausting. As a working parent you sometimes have that teeny bit more of disposable income but there's always that delicate balance of spending money or time. 

If you can’t have it all, why not turn toward home and make the most of it?

Our conversation today involves balancing both money and time in a way that we are intrinsically happy with our decision. Going back to your decision on why you decided to home school will always help you to make the same choice again and again.

As with anything when you know your 'Why,' you will figure out your 'How.' 

How do you balance the two? 

I'm not gonna lie sometimes I still don't think I've achieved the perfect balance and I've tried different approaches and I still tend to tweak things here and there but the general routine that allows me to get the most work done l is letting the kids stay up a little later at night so the morning is clear for work. 

The children need my time and attention especially when I'm trying to teach different ages at once. I have workbooks, flashcards, busy bags, simple pen and paper and at least 200 different LEGO sets... at the end of the day sometimes they just need me and usually there's not enough of me to go around. 

In this scenario you have to always prioritise and weigh up who or what deserves more of your attention. I found that dedicating the time to work in the morning whilst they're still sleeping meant that I wasn't antsy as I hadn't checked emails or messages... I felt satisfied that I had done some work and I could concentrate on them without feeling distracted.  

We usually eat leftovers for brunch in the morning as no one really feels like a big breakfast, which means they get a late afternoon snack. As we're home educating, I tend to let the older kids lead and help the younger ones to cook. They make easy things like noodles, pasta or salad. 

Working means I have to let go on some things, either I work less or I earn more to live a better lifestyle. Grouping the students in sessions means that I can teach my own kids at the same time and not feel guilty. Also it allows me to earn the extra £££ a day I need so I can get a cleaner in 2x a week. 

Home educated kids are inherently creative and enjoy making messes so we do have to help them to hone in on their organisational skills and they usually are compliant but forcing them to do housework which if they were at school would be done by me feels a bit like child labour. So I spend the money to keep us all sane and happy in our relationships. Like I said - it's a delicate balance. 

A part of my work involves them being quiet for certain times of the day and I'm quite strict with them on that.  They get their screentime when I need them to be quiet - again that helps to limit their screens and also ensures I get silence when I need it. They have a mixture of educational games and just games to play and as long as they're quiet for the hour I need to teach - it's a win/win for me. 

The main thing I love about home school is the flexibility to do activities and not have to rush around all evening from class to class, pick up to drop off... I try to ensure their lessons are in the same locality if not the same location as much as possible and again it gives me some time to either have 1-2-1 or 2-2-1 time for the other kids and some of my students join me on an online class whilst their sibling is at an activity as well so it helps a lot to have the flexibility of joining online lessons as well as real life. 

The evenings can get hectic again with sorting out dinner, my husband comes home from work and has a nap to recharge his batteries before he helps with the kids. He also teaches them Maths and Geography and a lot of his time with them is spent on playing, rough housing and outdoorsy activities. I leave all appointments to him and make sure as far as possible they're made for early-evening time rather than a weekend. 

I try to keep their lessons on 3-4 days a week so we have a good work-life balance, there's plenty of time for them to have the work week planned out for them in the future. We have a day or two where we just go with the flow, sometimes we do a group project or science experiments or a family bonding activity like a nature walk or day at the beach. Whilst I was in London it was really easy to grab the OysterTM cards and take everyone for a walk/bus/train ride literally to anywhere in London. Usually we'd find somewhere by googling "Good places to eat!" but just spending time outdoors again allows you to catch up with emails as you watch them play or even work whilst you're on a longer train ride, knowing the kids are occupied and happy. 

Finally have some good stand by activities ready at home for that inevitable moment when there's a customer call and you have to leave the vicinity of the kids to attend to it.

Sand-water table up to age 7, Magic sand or play doh for the others, (I prefer water to be honest as it's an easier clean up - but sand is safer if you're in another room!) 

Screentime (limit it otherwise the novelty wears off) 

Bubble machine is known to have fought the blues away many a day...

For the older kids a project can be set weekly (see my STEM project guide) so they can work on it when they're not in a formal lesson with you. 

Remember Homeschool isn't 'School at home' and neither is it 'forced remote learning,' it's everything you want it to be and more. Be flexible and go with the flow for sure, to ensure you have time for everything and you 

I hope some of what I do has inspired you to make a few tweaks to your own routine to help run your homeschool the way you want it!