A Day in My Life as a Working Homeschool Mom

When I first started considering homeschooling, I wondered: Would I need to quit my job? Could we even make it work on one income? Did I want to quit my job? Is it possible to work and homeschool? If so, what would that look like?

I felt like I had so many questions and so few answers. While there were lots of people on IG showing their homeschool days, very few also worked a full-time job. So, now that I homeschool and work full-time, I thought maybe it would be helpful to give you a look into how we’re making it work in this season.

Every Year and Season is Different

As my children grow and as seasons change, our routine has continued to evolve, and, if I’ve learned anything, it’s to be willing to be flexible as those changes come. This look at our day is our routine for this summer, but it’s different than what our routine looked like this past fall, winter, and spring, and it’s different than what our days will look like this fall.

Please know that there are so many ways to arrange your days as a working homeschool mom, and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you. And what works for this season won’t necessarily work for the next season. The purpose of this post is to help you see that it’s possible and to give you ideas for how you might think outside the box to make it work for your family.

My Work

If you work and homeschool, your days will obviously look drastically different, depending on what kind of work you do. I work in fundraising for a large international nonprofit. My work is full-time remote, with a small amount of travel throughout the year.

As I interviewed for positions a couple years ago, I paid close attention to the way that the hiring manager talked about the job and their own work-life balance. I interviewed with one company that repeatedly used the terms “start-up culture” and “we all pitch in where needed”. Those were major flags to me, suggesting that they would require long work hours and abnormally high production. On the other hand, my current employer said things like “I believe that your family is your most important priority” and “I take time off every afternoon to pick my kids up and I want you to have that flexibility, too”. Some employers will get it; others won’t. If you’re able to, choose carefully.

Our Day

Before 7:30am

Our children have an okay-to-wake clock that turns yellow at 7:30am to let them know they can get out of bed. So the time before 7:30am is mine. Honestly, I’m very inconsistent right now about what time I wake up. Some days, I’m up at 6:30am, working on my business. Some days (especially if the baby was up a lot), I let my husband get up with the kids, and I roll out of bed at 8:30am.

7:30am-8:30am

Once the kids get up, we feed them breakfast, get them dressed, pack lunch bags, and get ourselves ready. I try to be present with the kids while I’m doing these things, and I do my best to spend a few minutes snuggling on the couch with them or down on the floor playing.

8:30am-12pm

Because I work full-time and my kids are still very young, I have to have childcare during my work hours. We’ve chosen to send our kids to an in-home daycare, where they’ll get a little more of that home-feeling and one-on-one attention.

For this past school year, my 4-year-old son was home with me, except for a pre-k program three afternoons a week. Now that his pre-k program has ended, we’ve decided to have him go to the girls’ daycare in the mornings to give him time with other kids and to give me some dedicated kid-free work time.

So, this summer, I drop all three kids off at daycare at 9am and then head to a coffee shop. I get at least three hours of focused work time in before heading back to pick up my son for the afternoon. I try to use this time to focus on deep work and get done the things that need my full attention.

12pm-1pm

I pick my son up at 12pm and then we head home for lunch. Our lunch hour is also our homeschool time. I do our read-alouds while he eats, and then we move on to the more hands-on activities. I treasure this time with my son and am so grateful that I get a front row seat to his learning.

1pm-3:30pm

After we wrap up our homeschool time, I jump back into my work. My son is very good at playing independently, so this is his alone time to play with whatever he’d like. There are plenty of toys and books and games around the house to keep him occupied.

3:30-4:30pm

Depending on my workload for the day, I typically try to wind down my work at some point a little after 3:30pm. This last kid-free hour is then dedicated to housework. I do my daily chores, my deep cleaning, my dinner meal prep, etc. during this time.

4:30pm-7pm

At 4:30pm, I pick up the girls from daycare and then we head home. From there, we do dinner, free play, toy clean-up, and bedtime. During this time, I keep my phone away and am fully present. The kids are my highest priority during this time. Outside of making dinner, I try to keep this time free from other responsibilities, unless the kids can do them with me.

After 7pm

Our kids go down at 7pm (although, bedtime often really takes until 7:30pm-ish). After they’re down, I finish tidying anything the kids missed, and then I use the evening to do whatever I’d like. Often, that means working on this business, but I also set aside plenty of time for reading, hanging out with my husband, and, occasionally, baking. I’m typically asleep by 10pm.

One Last Note

My guess is that, at this point, you’re probably counting up my work hours and realizing they don’t add up to 8 hours a day, which is very true. I work about 5-6 hours a day and I’m okay with that. Many studies have shown that the average office worker does less than 5 hours of productive work each day, and that’s being generous; many of those studies show 2-3 hours of productivity. Because my work hours are limited, I am very intentional about using those hours on focused, productive work. Again, everyone’s job is different, so you’ll need to figure out what works for you and what you’re comfortable with.

At the end of the day, juggling work and homeschool isn’t about having a perfect schedule – it’s about figuring out what works for your family’s needs, your job’s requirements, and the season you’re in. If you’re wondering if it’s possible to homeschool while working full-time, I hope this glimpse into our current routine shows you that it is possible. Whether you’re just starting out or adjusting your setup, know that there’s no one “right” way to work and homeschool.