Love homeschooling because of your flexible schedule? Guess what? A lot of people who don’t homeschool love your schedule too. Even though they say they respect your time, most won’t hesitate to ask you to help out, spend time with them, talk on the phone, etc. when you’re homeschooling. Here’s how to protect your homeschool time.
Set a Schedule
Know what you want and need to get done each week. On a day to day basis, you might get more or less done than you plan. But you should be pretty consistently hitting your weekly goals. If you’re not, take a look at what’s getting in the way.
Accept What You Can’t Change
As the saying goes, life happens. Kids get sick. You get sick. A family member’s in the hospital. Or, on a happier note, maybe you win a three-week family vacation to Hawaii.
Here’s the truth. Your schedule is flexible. You won’t lose your job if you take a week or two to help someone who’s coming home from the hospital. Or if you go to Italy for a month.
Major disruptions to your homeschool schedule (or even repeated minor ones) can be challenging. But you can overcome them. Your kids will survive just fine and you’ll get back on track. And usually, you’ll all learn something in the process, whether it’s how to help someone use a walker or how to say ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ in Italian.
Still, sometimes you need to just…
Say No
“I know you’re busy with school, but can you….?”
One child is immersed in a book, another is sailing along in math, and you’re working with the third on writing. You’re in the groove and a family member just stops by ‘real quick’ to… whatever. By the time they’ve left, two of your kids are having a nerf gun battle and the third is hungry for lunch.
Your friends, family, and employers? They say they get it, but they really don’t.
My (very nice) part-time employer was recently asking when I might be able to teach another class. My availability to help out was laughably small. I could tell that he was frustrated. Finally I said, “Just pretend I work somewhere else full-time with really weird hours.”
The thing is, most people are never going to really understand your commitments as a homeschooler. And that’s okay. What’s important is that you set boundaries – that you know how to protect your homeschool time.
So, say no when you need to, and then…
Say Yes
Give yourself permission to say yes too. Yes, you can help your neighbor. Go over with your kids and shovel her driveway so she can get to the store this morning. Yes, go on that cool field trip. Yes, ditch everything and go play at the park on a beautiful day. (And, for goodness sake, say yes if you ever win an all-expenses-paid family vacation anywhere.)
All those wonderful field trips and meetups can provide a much needed break. And here’s the bonus. They make you use your time more wisely. When you don’t have all day to get things done, you’ll be more productive.
Consider saying yes even when you think you shouldn’t. On the days when nobody’s gotten anything done, you’re all crabby, and you want to say, “That’s it! We’re not going to see our friends today at the park.”
My suggestion? Go see your friends at the park. Take a break, even when you don’t think anyone ‘deserves’ it. Hit the reset button. It’s possible you’ll get more done later. Or do better with a fresh start tomorrow.
As you think about how to best use and protect your homeschool time, you’ll want to also…
Remember to Take Care of You
When you think about your availability, don’t forget to make time for yourself. Do you need time away from your kids? Time with your spouse, partner, relatives, and friends? Time by yourself? All of the above?
When I looked at my availability for more hours at that part-time job, I factored in the time I need for me. Yes, theoretically I could teach every single morning at 6 a.m. and a few more evenings as well. But I can’t. Not really. Not if I want to honor my commitment to homeschooling and all the other parts of my life that keep me in balance.
Balance is what it’s all about. There are some things you won’t be able to change. There are others you can choose to say yes or no to. You need to be mindful of your priorities. And, as you navigate this awesome homeschool life, don’t ever forget to take care of yourself.
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