New Working Homeschooling Mom Life: Surprising Pros & Cons
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I want to support and encourage any woman who wants to be a working homeschooling mom to give it a go. I’ve been on this path since 2017, and have, for the most part, never considered quitting. I love it!
That being said, I’m well aware that we’re all very different. And that this kind of lifestyle might not be for everyone. So today I want to be brutally honest about being a working homeschooling mom.
Let’s the look at both the pros and cons so that you can decide. And so that you can take your first steps with your eyes wide open.
The Cons of Being a Working Homeschooling Mom
I’m someone who always wants the bad news first. 😊 So let’s start by looking at the downsides of working homeschool mom life.
You Need to Be a Master Scheduler
The first negative I have to mention is about your schedule. You have to be pretty organized to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. You’ll probably need live by your calendar and planner, like I do.
I know that people get annoyed because I’m not super spontaneous. Sure, I love to hang out! But I can’t just drop everything and go and have a drink. It needs to be on the calendar first.
If you’re someone who prefers to take each day as it comes, loves spur of the moment picnics, and craves spontaneous getaways, then working homeschool mom life might be quite tough. The only way I’ve seen to thrive is with intentional scheduling and being really clear about your priorities.
Of course you can easily plan in your breaks. You could plan in your spontaneity. Or have a job that you can do from anywhere at any time. Be sure to check out the Pivot Your Skills summit to see how you can turn what you already know in a successful online business.
But generally, you’ll still need to be a master scheduler, in my experience.
Some Things Will Have to Go
It’s not humanly possible to do everything. And as a working homeschooling mom, you might feel like you need to. But trust me that this is just going to bring you heartache, exhausting and frustration. I love Dan Millman’s take on this whole idea…
It’s hard to accept that some things will need to go. For myself, as a recovering perfectionist, doing it all was always a badge of honour.
My business coach Teresa Wiedrich recognized that I’m someone that people always think of as capable of doing anything. I’m not bragging. On the contrary, it can be a curse.
It’s meant I’ve had to be really honest with myself and have needed to set boundaries much more rigidly. Otherwise things just get piled on. Oh, Charlotte can do it. Ask her.
One way to figure out what should stay and what should go is to do a time audit. It will show you where your time leaks are and if you’re spending time on things that are really important to you.
Homeschool Will Look Different
Homeschool for a working homeschooling mom usually looks different. This is especially the case of you’re working full time and out of the house.
From my experiences and from speaking to many, many homeschool and working homeschool moms, most homeschool co-ops and homeschool activities are during working hours. It’s because many homeschoolers are stay at home moms.
If you work during the day, you might miss these opportunities. And I know that it used to make me feel bad about our homeschool and what it looked like.
Another element that might look different to what you see on Instagram and Pinterest, is how you homeschool. Lessons plans, resources and materials take time and effort. And you might not have the time or energy to homeschool in this way.
I homeschool entirely online for this reasons. It saves me precious time and stress. Once again, it used to make me feel bad about how my kids were learning. It’s not easy to be different and to have expectations of what homeschool should look like.
The Pros of Being a Working Homeschooling Mom
Like I said, I’m the ultimate working homeschooling mom cheerleader. So let’s get into all the good stuff about working while home educating your kids – there are lots! I’m going to list a few of my favourites:
- Homeschooling can be really flexible and you can easily work it around other tasks and responsibilities.
- You need to do a lot less homeschooling than you think because the quality of the education is just so much higher.
- You’re able to create a learning environment that’s just right for your child.
- If you’re the parent of a neurodivergent child, you can really create a safe, supportive and effective homeschool for them.
- As a working homeschooling mom, you get to spend a lot of time with your kids. It’s such a gift.
- I love the fact that I get to help provide for my family and contribute to society, while still educating my kids.
- If you’re working from home, your children get to learn about work and what’s involved.
- You can involve your children in so many aspects of family life, where they’ll learn so much.
- The bonding you do as a family, is also a wonderful gift you get.
- Your children are safe and supported at home.
These are just a few of the many, many pros of working homeschool moms life. There may be cons, but I really believe that the positive far outweigh the negatives.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering being a working homeschooling mom, and the cons are feeling really overwhelming, please don’t quit or decide not to. Everything can be figured out with some patience, motivation and an open mind.
If this is really something that you want to do, then you will figure it out. It could be messy and frustrating at the beginning. But what important, worthwhile thing isn’t?
And if you want some help to figure out this messy beginning, then I would love to help you. You can join the WHM Collective and come and find the support needed to take those first few steps with clarity and confidence.
Follow me Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more homeschool shenanigans, advice and resources. And please check out my working homeschool mom coaching if you need some extra help and support.
