Homeschool Time Management: A Guide For Busy Moms

If you have decided to homeschool and take charge of your children’s education, you are likely feeling blessed, but also a little stressed! As a busy mom myself, I understand the feeling of being pulled in many different directions. So today, I’m sharing the homeschool time management skills that work best for us, in hopes that they will give you a boost as well! These time management tips promote consistency within our homeschool, limit wasted time, as well as help prioritize the things that are most important in our homeschool day. 

The To-Do List

When you’re a homeschooling mom, your to-do list is never ending! Not only is it filled with homeschool related tasks, but also regular life stuff like cleaning the house and getting groceries. 

One of the homeschool time management tips that works for me, is to think of our homeschool time as the first item on my to-do list every day. Our daily routine starts with our homeschool morning routine, and everything else comes after that.

Now, there are some days when certain things such as appointments or different tasks that aren’t normally part of our day, do force us to switch things up a bit. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Homeschooling gives us a lot of freedom, and it’s ok to take advantage of that when needed! But on those regular days, make it a point to put your homeschool time at the top of your to-do list, and then put everything else in order of importance after that. This really helps with consistency, and after awhile it will become a habit that you won’t even need to think about. 

Treat Homeschooling Like A Full-Time Job

Another great homeschool time management tip is to treat homeschooling like it’s your full-time job. Don’t worry, this does not mean you are homeschooling your kids for 8 hours, Monday to Friday! All I mean by this is that when you want to prioritize your daily homeschool schedule, it’s helpful to think of this as your job – because really, it is! 

When we as moms take on the responsibility of homeschooling our children, we are assuming the job of directing their education. Just because we are at home and not receiving a pay check, doesn’t make it any less of a job. Having this mindset toward your own homeschool will encourage you to build a consistent schedule that prioritizes your homeschooling time.

Focus On The Most Important Things

As a homeschooling family, we love taking part in extracurricular activities and field trips with our homeschool co-op! They’re fun, educational and are great ways to build relationships! They certainly do have a place on our list of homeschooling goals every year, but there has to be a balance between fun outings and time spent on academics. 

Every family does homeschooling differently, but I believe we can all agree that it is important for children to learn the basics of math and language arts. Obviously, as kids progress into the high school years, they will deep dive into many things. But when they’re still young, establishing good math skills and having the ability to read is typically the main focus. 

So when it comes to homeschool time management, focusing on the core subjects such as math, reading and writing, will ensure that those things get the attention they need. Other than those subjects, you as a homeschooling family can pick and choose what you want to learn about and when! Again, homeschooling provides so much freedom to customize your children’s education, but it’s up to us as homeschool moms to make sure our kids are getting a strong academic foundation. 

Promote Independent Work 

One way to really help with your homeschool time management, is to train your children to be able to work independently – for the most part. Independent work not only frees you up to focus on a younger child who needs more support, it also allows you to step back a bit and let your kids take ownership of their education. 

Now, this definitely does not apply to younger children, however you can be training your younger ones to work independently on level appropriate tasks. Whether it’s practicing their printing, or coloring a picture, encouraging them to do it themselves without you sitting right there with them is the beginning of the road to independent learning.

Also, having your children work independently means you can attend to some important tasks if needed, without your child just sitting and waiting for you to get back to the kitchen table and help them. So do yourself a favor, and start including some independent learning time every day in your homeschool. As your children grow this will get easier, and will make balancing it all a little bit less tricky.

Schedule Loosely

Often times when homeschool moms needs some time management help, they think that perhaps creating a rigid schedule will make it easier to stay on track and manage their time wisely. Although that may work for some, I know from experience that in most homeschool environments, trying to stick to a strict schedule just isn’t sustainable. 

As homeschoolers, it’s ok to have a daily schedule that you strive towards and aim to complete each day. But usually when you try and copy public school by implementing what looks like the traditional school schedule, it ends up falling apart and you start to feel like a failure. If this has been you, take a minute to read about how homeschool is different than public school. It will definitely give you a new perspective!

Let me tell you – you are NOT a failure! But homeschool is not public school, therefore trying to replicate it at home is like taking a step backwards. 

It’s perfectly OK to have a homeschool planner where you write out your weekly plan for your homeschool,  and what you would like to see happen that week. Having plans and goals is a good thing, but you do not need to attempt to put everyone (including yourself) on a rigid schedule that doesn’t allow for real life. 

By having a loose schedule that includes your goals, but leaves margin for when life happens and nothing gets done, you as the mom are better equipped to handle those times with grace and confidence. You won’t freak out or feel like you’re failing, and it will empower you to prioritize the specific needs that require your attention, while letting the rest go until the dust settles. 

Take lots of breaks

Here is another homeschool time management tip that has really helped me manage our time and not feel burnt out! Please make sure to give you and your kids a few breaks during your homeschool hours. Taking a few short breaks here and there will give you a few minutes to tackle other priorities around the house, get something organized for the next lesson, or simply recharge your brain. 

In our homeschool, breaks are just as much for me as they are for my children! And the fact is, by allowing yourself and your children to take breaks throughout their school time, it actually leads to increased focus and productivity for everyone.

Keep Housework and School Time Separate

This time management strategy has been a game changer for me! The first year that we homeschooled our kids, I tried to multitask all my house work during their school time and quickly realized that wasn’t working. I was getting worn out, the kids would get impatient, and I actually got less done because of the stress. 

Now, I do things very differently! I have created a cleaning routine that is built around our homeschool day so that there isn’t too much competing for my attention at once. Try creating a cleaning schedule or routine that factors in your school hours, so you aren’t always feeling behind on housework while you’re trying to focus on homeschool. If you need some help with this, I have a blog post all about creating an easy cleaning schedule that will get you started on the right track!

I will warn you though, this might mean lowering some expectations you have for yourself. Yes you should aim to stay on top of things in your home, but you do not have to have a spotless house at all times. My house is never spotless, but I do clean it on a regular basis and I have learned that in this stage of life, striving for a perfect home is an absolute waste of my time! 

Now, due to the routines I have developed, I don’t feel pulled in every direction while we are homeschooling. I can pour my time into my children because I know that those home maintenance tasks will in fact get done at a different time. 

Final Thoughts

From my experience, the most successful time management strategy’s are all about shifting your focus. I heard a quote recently that says, “We aren’t managing our time, we are managing our focus”. And it’s so true! We all have the same amount of “time” in any given day to accomplish our goals and tasks. But by being intentional about what we choose to focus on, we are able to prioritize what is most important to us. 

Remember to prioritize the most important things, take lots of breaks, and enjoy the freedom homeschooling provides!

Blessings!

~Maryann