How To Balance Homeschooling With Other Responsibilities

Where possible plan out your working week in advance, taking into account, homeschooling, chores, exercise and much needed rest time. Although this might seem like common sense, it is important to consider the different types of activities and when they are happening. For example, if you have a conference call on a Tuesday morning, then you are going to want to ensure your kids have got something they can be completing independently. Whereas, at the times where you are working on that report, they can be doing something that you can support them with, as and when they need it, as it doesn’t matter so much if they do come and interrupt you, as it’s something you can continue with afterwards.

Reflecting on your routine can also be a useful exercise, especially if particular parts of the day are more challenging than others. For example, maybe the kids are a nightmare in the mornings, which is resulting in you being 10 minutes late for that morning meeting each week. Consider why that is. Have they still been following a routine during the lockdown, or has this lapsed a bit since the schools have closed? If the routine has gone out the window then it might be worth reintroducing one for Monday to Friday. Something as simple as having a set bedtime could help with the morning struggle, and even just knowing what is expected could help the whole household’s mindset.

If you are not the only adult in the household, then why not work together to see if you can share the homeschooling responsibility. Allowing you both to do your required work, but also ensure your children are continued to be educated and cared for. This will break up the day for you and your kids, and ensure you all get some individual time too. If you do not have another adult in your household to share the responsibility with, then this can obviously be more of a challenge. However, one strategy that can be effective is introducing age-appropriate independence. Setting up some tasks and activities that are able to be completed without your support. For example you could have a box with a selection of these activities in, that they can access themselves. You could also involve your child in this whole process, to enable them to take ownership of it too.