Q&A: How do homeschool moms manage their time?

"I'm lucky to be able to work from home, but how do I balance homeschool-time, family-time, & work-time? I feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done!"

Answer: Well, frankly, there really aren't enough hours! Who decided 24 was the right number of hours for a day? But, seriously, there are ways to manage your time so that you can get the optimum productivity out of yourself and your family (without feeling worn out or like a drill sergeant). Here are tips from our homeschool moms straight to you...

Ideas from other busy moms!

• "Getting the chores done around the house is always the biggest challenge for me so I set up a chore schedule. For example, since the house gets vacuumed on Saturdays I know that I don't have to worry about it the rest of the week. If the floors look dirty on Friday, I can relax because I know that I will get to that chore tomorrow.
  
  "Bigger jobs (like cleaning out the garage or organizing the kitchen cabinets) are also a bother. For these jobs, I wrote up index cards and I keep them in a drawer in the kitchen. Each card has a chore written on it and the last time it was done. That way, whenever I get a free afternoon (and how often does that happen?), I can go through my chore cards and pick one that really needs to be done. I feel organized and I know that everything will get clean when I get the chance. This takes the stress out of housework!" - Amber

• "I too work from home. My husband works from 2:30 pm to 1:00 am, so I have a lot of just 'mom' time at my home. With four kids,ranging from 2 weeks old to 7 years old, this can be frustrating. However, I have found a solution that seems to work for me. Our school day begins around 10 am and goes until my oldest son is done. We take breaks in between subjects or ideas to play with Dad, and sometimes Dad actually schedules playtimes. These are times when all we do as a family for that hour is play and enjoy each other. Then we get back to school work. We hit school really hard between 2:30 and 5:30 as this is the time right after Dad leaves and both the babies are down for a nap. After school, we have 'mom' time. We read, play games-just whatever we want to do. The kids must go to their rooms at 8:30, this gives me time with the baby and then work time. It is a very strenuous routine, but it works. The key is the late wake up time. Since we just had the baby, this school year will present it's new problems but hopefully the main routine will remain the same." - Layna Vann

• "Time managment is a tricky subject... bravo for trying to shed light on one of the things that has troubled mothers for centuries! But seriously, I want to say that the perfect solution to your time management problem is available. The only problem is it's probably going to take a lot of trial and error to figure out what it is. I work from home as a customer service consultant for a large internet company and my six month old daughter really puts a spin on my day. Not to mention the loving attention I get from my five year old son. Here is some of the things I do when I feel like the sky is falling:
  • Take one day at a time. I sit down for five minutes after my kids are in bed and mark down what I need to do the next day. I know you could write hundreds of things, but get serious and put down the three to five things that you REALLY want to get done.
  
  
  
  • No matter how tired I am, I never leave a dirty kitchen. I may be more ambitious than most, but waking up to a clean kitchen is worth making sure it's taken care of before I fall exhausted onto my pillow. If life is too much - just be sure that your sink is cleared out and cleaned before you call it a day.
  
  
  
  • Make sure everyone is pitching in. No matter how young, it's important to be sure your children are cleaning up after themselves. It starts out small and it seems like you're doing most of the picking up, but before long your kids will get the hang of things and will really be helpful!
  
  
  
  • My father, best friend, husband, and I all work long days and have busy lives. To help each other out, we have gotten together as a group and have "cooking nights." We all live close together so it's pretty easy to get together for dinner. Since my house is full of kids and harder to transport, we almost always cook and eat here. We have split the week up and chosen nights that each person will cook for everyone. Whoever is cooking buys their own groceries, but never has to clean the kitchen afterwards. My best friend cooks two nights, I cook three, and the guys only have to cook once a week. I know we're doing more of the work, but hey as far as I'm concerned three is much better than seven! If anyone gets lazy we just order pizza!
  
  
  
  • Sometimes I take a night a week and stay up late after the kids are asleep. I get all the work I need to get done in the surprisingly quiet and peaceful house. I do NO cleaning, just computer work or other tasks that I feel are important. On these nights, I arrange for my husband to do the morning routine with the kids and I sleep in a couple of hours. It works out most of the time. The only problem with this is that if there is any type of crisis my husband immediately wakes me up to take care of it and I'm miserable without sleep for the rest of the day! I've been doing this for months now and let me tell you... most of the time it's really worth it. Even if all I get done is sipping a cup of hot chocolate under the moonlight with a good book.
  
  
  
  • I Co'op babysit with another busy mother. Our babies are close in age and we take turns either dropping the kids off with each other or even just spending the day at each others house. One mom plays with the babies while the other mom works in the other room. This is normally after homeschool time, but sometimes whoever has the kids for the day does an educational activity with the older kids. We play it by ear and do what works with our schedule. It's fun for both people. One mother gets great quality baby time and the other gets work done.
  
  
  
  • Take time for yourself. I know - all the magazines and experts say it, and they aren't the basic work-from-home-homeschooling-mothers-with-a-baby. But a lot of us are and we know that quiet mom time is so important! I am soo tired and over run right now, but the simple things make me feel better. Tonight, after I'm done writing this, I'll slip up stairs to my room, throw open the window to let the night breeze in, sit and just breath for a minute, then light my favorite smelling candle on my night stand, and listen to 10 minutes of soft relaxing music until I fall asleep. I know this doesn't sound like much, but like I said earlier - just do what works for you!
  
  
  
  • Don't forget what's important. I'm going to tell you something very important so listen up.... Here's a little bit of reality. The dishes will keep piling up, the clothes will always get dirty, the floor will ALWAYS need sweeping minutes after you're done moping, the car will perpetually be on E, the dog will always need to go outside and will also continue to run away with just one shoe, the fish tank will slowly turn green no matter what you do, and the phone will always ring as long as you're there to answer it. These things NEVER change! Everything in your life is always in a state of needing your attention. The one thing that will change and will eventually no longer need you... is your children! Yup, the same kids who chanted "Mom!Mom!Mom!Mom!Mom!Mom!Mom!Mom!" the entire time you were on the phone with your sister and then forgot what they had to say when you finally answered them. The same kids who waited patiently to go to the park while you cleaned up until it began to rain and the trip was canceled. These are the only thing in your life that truly matter right now. Not the laundry! Not the dishes and sure as hell not the vacuuming! Trade every undone load of laundry for a quiet story time with your kids. Order pizza instead of cooking and eat popcorn while watching the latest Disney flick. Go for ice cream instead of making it to bed on time. These are the moments that matter. You are here right now with your children. Bury your nose in their stinky kid-smelling hair and hang on tight to their little hands, because one day you'll need them to hold onto yours!

  Good luck with your homeschooling and parenting adventures. May you always choose the path of more stories and less laundry. - Kristi

  

  Share Your Ideas about next month's Ask A Mom.
  
  "What do you do when your child has a Potty Mouth?"