With the current state of the world and its uncertainty, homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular. You may be one of the many parents juggling homeschooling plus a job, but fear not—it is manageable.
This article will provide you with step-by-step tips on how to homeschool and also hold down a full-time job.
Formulate a Realistic Schedule
The single most important step when trying to successfully homeschool alongside a job is making a realistic schedule. While the routine should work for your student’s age, there may be times when you need to deviate from it.
Once you determine the essential hours that need to be spent on homeschooling, compare it to your work hours to ensure you can make it work. Planning your days carefully will ensure you have time for school and work, as well as keeping time aside for activities to alleviate stress. When it comes to making a realistic schedule, you should be taking certain factors into consideration.
The age of the children is certainly one. If the children are young, then their learning schedule should revolve around their eating and sleeping needs.
You should also factor in activities such as walks or family time. Challenges such as studies or projects should also be taken into consideration. Lastly, don’t forget you.
As a parent managing both homeschooling and a job, you will likely need timeslots set aside for you to rest and have time to yourself. In addition to a schedule, it’s also important to set boundaries.
This means clarifying both what needs to be done and by when. Also be sure to communicate expectations both with your children and your employer. If you haven’t done so already, increase work-from-home opportunities if possible as this will create more time for homeschooling during standard work hours.
Preparing for Homeschooling
Once a realistic schedule is set up, it’s time to move onto the second step: preparing for homeschooling. If you’re new to the homeschooling phenomenon, you will want to educate yourself on the many homeschooling options available. This involves researching topics such as curriculum, teaching materials, and online resources.
It also means ensuring you have access to quality learning materials, technology and a dedicated workspace. Once you’ve gathered supplies and organised the physical space, consider the type of environment you want to create for your child.
This should revolve around the importance of learning and have adequate supplies, such as books, paper, and art supplies. When the child walks in to the classroom, they should be motivated to learn. When deciding on a curriculum, it is important to remember that the purpose of homeschooling is to provide a quality education tailored to the individual’s needs.
As such, the curriculum should be designed to meet the student’s specific needs. This could include engaging with learning styles, different instruction techniques, and setting achievable and measurable goals.
Time Management Tips
Time management is key to succeeding at a job and homeschooling your children. There are many techniques you can use to master the art of time management.
Start by breaking tasks down into smaller goals or daily lists. These should include smaller items to finish in between your work and homeschooling, such as cleaning the house, preparing meals, and shopping for groceries. Breaking tasks down will also enable you to focus on the most important tasks first and get through your to-do list quickly and efficiently.
It’s also important to make sure you avoid procrastination. To do this, create efficient and achievable daily schedules that provide specific achievable targets.
Once the targets are accomplished, reward yourself. This can be in the form of a reward such as having an hour of your favourite show or something as minor as a piece of cake. Research also suggests that developing healthy time management habits early on in life can benefit your child in the long run.
Integrating Technology
In today’s digital world, technology plays an important role in the education of children. As such, as a parent, it’s important to ensure you have the right tech to make homeschooling successful.
This means having access to the right tech resources and online tools such as video calling, online platforms and online tools. To make the most of the internet, opt for a reliable access package that provides enough data to stream and download educational content. Once you’ve got the resources, you will also want to be taking advantage of technology to make homeschooling effective.
This means having tools such as online tools where your children can submit their work or video-calling for live classes with their teachers. There are also a variety of platforms that allow students to collaborate with peers, as well as a host of educational apps from your device’s app store.
Tech Management Strategies
Once the technology is set up and you’re all set to use it, you will also want to implement some strategies and tips to manage the use of technology. This means ensuring there’s acceptable use policy and setting clear expectations. As a teacher, you will want to set rules such as no unsupervised screen time, no use of tech during meal times and limited time for gaming.
You will also want to ensure you child has the most up-to-date software and antivirus protection.
Maintaining Communications
As a parent who works and homeschools, you will no doubt have tight timelines. Despite this, it is important to maintain open communication and feedback loops with other parents, teachers, and caregivers.
In particular, it is important to keep teachers closely involved in their student’s development and progress. This might involve setting up regular video calls or voice calls with their teacher and having conversations about the progress they’re making, challenges they’re facing and questions they may have. Sending regular updates and performance reports, as well as having the teacher able to follow the student’s progress can also help maintain open lines of communication.
Organise Learning Materials
In order to manage both homeschooling and a job together, it is important to ensure that all learning materials are organised. This means ensuring study materials are assigned for each day or week and that worksheets, textbooks, and relevant resources are organised and easy to access. You will also want to provide your children with a place to store the documents that are collected throughout the school year for easy reference.
Encouraging Self-Learning
A key factor in homeschooling success is encouraging self-learning. This means giving your child the time, space, and freedom to learn things at their own pace. To do this, you will want to provide them with proof of their progress by awarding badges and certificates, or even progress reports.
You could also set achievable goals that will encourage them to work harder and stay organised.
Provide Support and Encouragement
As a busy parent juggling a job and homeschooling your children, it can be hard to remember that you still need to provide support and encouragement. To do this, set aside regular one-on-one time throughout the day or week to focus on the child’s achievements. During this time, praise them or provide rewards for their hard work.
Conclusion
Homeschooling alongside a full-time job is challenging but possible with the right approach. As a parent trialing this method, remember to set realistic expectations and communication boundaries.
Also be sure to take the time to prepare for homeschooling, set a schedule and make use of technology and online tools. Once the routine is set, be sure to provide the right environment for learning and maintain open lines of communication with teachers. Lastly, don’t forget to encourage your child, reward achievements and provide support throughout.
With the right approach, you can manage homeschooling whilst facilitating a busy work schedule.