Top 5 Time-Wasting Mistakes To Avoid When Balancing Work and Homeschool for Busy Moms

Top 5 Time-Wasting Mistakes To Avoid When Balancing Work and Homeschool for Busy Moms

One of the most challenging things in busy working moms' lives is balancing their work and homeschool "hats". It can be hard to judge how long a work day will last and maybe you are lost with where to begin when planning your homeschool year.

Often, homeschool moms find that their child needs help much more frequently than anticipated and that their work schedule is interrupted far more often than they'd like it to be. Often, the mom feels "inadequate" and unable to complete everything on her "to do" list.

I've been there. I got you.

It can be difficult to juggle both working full-time and homeschooling your children, but with a little planning, you can make it easier, I promise!

In this article we will discuss:

5 mistakes that working parents often make when trying to balance work and homeschooling so that you can rest easy knowing you are doing your best!

>>> Download our FREE Guide: How To Avoiding Homeschool Failure As A Busy Working Mom

Mistake 1: Not Knowing Your Child's Learning Personality

Knowing your child's learning personality is crucial when it comes to choosing your daily homeschool schedule - and even more importantly, your child's curriculum.

Children learn in many different ways — through exploration, experimentation, repetition...and younger children most importantly by playing.

And some children are highly self-motivated and eager to work independently at their own pace. Others are more traditional learners and need more in-person guidance to stay on task and complete their lessons.

If you don't clearly know your child's learning personality, it will be difficult to determine what type of independent work they will succeed at with homeschooling.

Remember, the less independent a child is, the more time you may need to dedicate to their schooling. If you choose a curriculum that is difficult for your child to resonate with because it doesn't match their personality, that could mean more one-on-one instruction than is often necessary.

Keep in mind that homeschooling serves to inspire the love of learning in a child. If we make learning too complicated or force children to learn things in a style that makes learning difficult, we can turn homeschooling into a dreadful task - defeating the whole point!

So, make sure to observe how your child learns best and determine how much supervision and direction they will need for each subject.

Mistake 2: Setting Unrealistically High Goals for Yourself & Your Child

If you're balancing a busy work schedule with homeschooling, it can be easy to set higher-than-usual goals for yourself. We want to do it ALL...and then some. As homeschool moms and business women, we feel the pressure. But, don't get caught up in trying to do everything at once or feeling bad if you can't "do it all".

The toilet will overflow, the milk will spill and you will burn dinner. All on the same day. Just know that we've ALL been there - believe me!

Homeschooling is about learning life skills, developing social skills and understanding how the world works around them. So, if your kids have learned ANYTHING at the end of the day, you did your job!

The key is not to make yourself feel guilty just because you missed one day of teaching them their times tables or didn't have time to give them a weekly spelling quiz. Sometimes your work will have an unexpected "ASAP" and that's okay.

Mistake 3: Leaving Out "Breaks" Between Activities

When you are homeschooling and working at the same time, there are so many activities vying for your attention - from emails to kids' homework that you've forgotten about - leaving out "breaks" between activities is a common mistake. It's very tempting to coax your child(ren) into cramming all of their activities into a morning session without breaks in hopes of having the whole afternoon "off". But, the reality is that this can take a toll on your mental energy and result in frustration for both you and your child.

Time-Saver: If you need to save time in a pinch, try combining a few subjects on certain days - even if it's not planned in advance. (Think outside the box.)

Example: If your child is studying plants in science, ditch the book and grab a baggie. Head outside with your child and have them place different "plants" such as grass, leaves, flowers, weeds, etc. into the baggie. Spend some time identifying the parts of each plant as you place it into the bag. Then have your child sort them by color. Once they are sorted, they can glue them in a collage or paint with them...and BOOM! Science, art and classification skills all at once!

Mistake 4: Believing that Screen Time Can't Be Beneficial in Learning

I'll be the first to admit that when we chose to homeschool, technology was NOT part of the plan - even though at times I felt I'd do ANYTHING to have a bit more time to focus on my career.

But, as it turns out, screen time can be beneficial in learning!

For instance, YouTube has AMAZING videos that I use as free online resources for how to do all sorts of things - like create a website, perform an experiment or cook from scratch - and they're often taught by professionals. Video is a great way for children to experience a virtual "hands-on learning" - just short of being there in person. So if you're learning about the life cycle of plants, why not have your child watch a video about planting their own vegetable garden? They can even write a quick summary about it in a science journal...Get excited about video! (And the fact that you may have a bit of extra time during your day to get some work done!)

Online apps like Khan Academy, ABC Mouse or Multiplication.com offer games for your child to play with letters, numbers, shapes...all while having fun solving puzzles.

(My son struggled to memorize multiplication facts, so one of the ways he found success was playing a game that required him to earn his starting position in an online cars racing game - he played it ALL the time and aced those facts!)

Just search online or ask in homeschool groups for online recommendations to help what your child is struggling with - there's SO many to choose from! And you can "mix it up" if they get bored!

The list goes on and on when it comes to using electronics to help enhance your child's learning. If you're willing to think outside the box when balancing work and homeschooling at the same time, there's so much potential here that can make this experience a lot more enjoyable for everyone involved! It doesn't have to feel like such an uphill battle after all.

So, the next time you need your child(ren) to give you some time to focus on work, plan for some fun learning games that don't feel like a typical "public school" learning plan - they will thank you for it!

Mistake 5: Focusing on Academics at The Expense of Social and Emotional Skills

When beginning the journey of homeschooling while working (and owning) 2 businesses from home, it's easy to focus on academics often at the expense of social and emotional skills. That's because we desire more "time" to get our tasks done when we're also working moms and it's OH SO EASY to feel more "accomplished" when you can "check a box" on the homeschool planner - you're one step closer to "done" with your homeschooling day when you do, right? Hence, we fall into the trap of creating academic-only goals for our homeschooling schedule.

However, focusing solely on academic learning throughout their education leave your child vulnerable in "real life" circumstances - in a sense - as they may lack the necessary life skills that can help them succeed as an adult.

Social emotional skills are just as important as academic skills, and parents may not realize how much they're needed until a child is older. Just think of what could happen if your child never learned to empathize with others or knew how to show respect to their peers and authorities. (Actually, if I'm being honest, we can see this all around us - just turn on the news!)

You get the point...

So the next time you leave a box "unchecked" because you had to take care of a "business emergency", take a different perspective and recognize that you're preparing your child for unexpected issues that may lead to disappointment or a test of patience. Focus on your child growing in a developmentally appropriate way both emotionally and socially as well. You'll be happy you did!

In closing, remember that homeschooling IS different than public school. You will have to participate actively in the child's education, but by keeping these 5 mistakes to avoid in mind, homeschooling can provide all the benefits of a traditional school environment, without having to totally derail your work schedule.

Pssst - And one of the best parts about balancing homeschool and work is that you will have more opportunity and flexibility for family activities and spending quality time with your kids!

>>> Download our FREE Guide: How To Avoiding Homeschool Failure As A Busy Working Mom

If you're a stressed-out, time-deprived, newly working-and-homeschooling mom that carries the worry of "failing your child" while balancing both, we've got just what you need!

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