Working part time while you homeschool...

[jejily]

Anyone do this? Successfully?

 

My homeschooling is very much one-on-one with my son; so there is no way I could work during the day. I also seem to be spending inordinate amounts of time getting ready every week for homeschooling. That's just my obsessive, perfectionist personality.

 

But, finances are a little tight right now, and I am toying with the idea of taking a part-time job during the holiday season to earn a little Christmas gift money. Has anyone else done this? Do you regret it? How do you balance your time? Any tips from those who've BTDT are appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Erica in PA]

I haven't been able to do it, at least not happily. There have been times when financially I *needed* to work, and I did it for a short time as needed, but it was a hardship for me and for my family. The kids missed me, dh had to take on household responsibilities that weren't comfortable for him, I was very tired and stressed, family time was very limited, etc. For us, it's actually easier on all of us if dh takes on the entire responsibility for bringing in income, even if that means that he sometimes needs to work a second job for short periods.

 

As far as working for Christmas money, I personally wouldn't do it. I'd rather do with less stuff at Christmas, and enjoy family time throughout the holidays. If you had something you could do that you really enjoyed, that might be different. But for me, I didn't have any part-time jobs that I enjoyed even nearly as much as being home with my family.

 

Erica

[PamJH]

I homeschool my 2 teens five days a week, and I work at night four days a week. Mine is a second shift, from 4 p.m. to midnight. Close to full-time, but not quite.

 

Here's why I do it:

 

1. We need the money for our emergency savings (who knows if our jobs will last? We live in Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate. I consider myself lucky to have a position).

 

2. My husband's salary alone would not be enough to cover the bills for our family of four. My salary helps with car and house insurance, curriculum for the kids, clothing for the kids and myself (and we don't buy much), guitar lessons for my daughter and fencing lessons for my son. The last two aren't optional, in my opinion. These are the only activities my kids are involved in. They don't ask for much, and I'm please to be able to provide these lessons. Collectively, these lessons cost approx. $120 per month. I also have a little CC debt that I must pay off. We've needed to purchase a new stove and washing machine this year, and appliances aren't cheap. We don't have cell phones, cable, netflix or a high-speed internet connection, so the money isn't going for these extras.

 

3. I graduated from college with a degree in journalism. I feel privileged to have a position at a newspaper. Newspapers are on their way out, so I'm going to work at one as long as I can. I earn a decent salary for a part-time job.

 

The drawbacks:

The family is a little at sea when I'm not here. My kids tend to eat dinner without their dad, who doesn't mind this. He's tired early in the evening and often goes to bed before they do. I don't like this, but I haven't figured out how to solve it.

 

I'm tired a lot of the time. This isn't good for my health.

 

All that said, I don't think there's anything wrong with you taking a part-time job to earn a little cash. Even if you don't need it for bills, you can always pad your savings account.

 

I hope this doesn't sound defensive. Only two women in my large homeschool group work. I'm constantly being asked when I'm going to quit. This question comes from the wives of lawyers, doctors and other well-paid professionals. I'm a bit tired of being asked the question.

[LilyK]

I actually work full time while I homeschool, but it is only three days a week. I work 12 hour shifts ,but usually only on the weekends, so I only have to be gone one school day a week. On those days, my mom watches my kids and I have a complete itinerary ready for my kids to do for school. It works out very well. My kids are doing awesome, and we are able to stay afloat financially.

The night before I go to work on a schoolday, I have a nighttime review of the following day's schoolwork with my kids and go over their assignments, especially math.

You do what you gotta do.

Good luck.

[Arch at Home]

I work part-time, have since my oldest was a baby. It works great for my family. I love being able to have the adult time and the intellectual stimulation of my job. Working obviously means less free time for me and dh and less together time for he and I also. I also have to be always on my toes preping for the next thing to come and very often last minute and spur of the moment doesn't work. It has provided the money necessary to keep us going as a family.

[G5052]

I've worked part-time since my oldest was 18 months old. I've also worked nearly full-time during part of the year, and frankly that was too much. I've been an adjunct professor teaching 1-3 sections a semester, a homeschool co-op teaching, a tutor, and I do a little web development on the side.

 

Speaking frankly, being a perfectionist and spending a lot of time preparing for homeschooling is going to make working harder. You just can't do everything well and work and homeschool. It can't be done. In our household, family needs come first including homeschooling, then my job, and then the house. That means that I am not a superstar at work and that my house is livable, but not spotless. I also don't use homeschooling resources that require a lot of prep work. If you go that way, something will have to go.

 

That said, my work pays for our homeschooling (including Classical Conversations, which is expensive), Christmas, field trips, and about half of DH's medical bills (which are always hard on us). We're very frugal, but need my income to keep on as we want to. I'm also working to keep my skills up because DH probably will retire early on disability.

[RJH]

I have a home daycare, so I'm working and HS'ing at the same time. It can be a juggling act, but it brings in money and allows me to be at home.

[Donna]

On those days that I work (Thursday and Friday) my husband is home with the kids. We school Mon through Thurs so he does school with them one day and Fridays are left for catching up on missed work, cleaning house, etc...

 

This schedule works great for us and has since we began homeschooling 8 years ago. I picked up extra work (worked 3 days a week) for awhile last year but it just didn't give me enough time to do the one-on-one teaching so I only let it last through the summer. My schedule is very flexible since I set it myself which also helps.

 

Donna

[Joanne]

I homeschool other people's children; that doesn't sound like an option you'd want.

 

I've owned and operated a daycare; another option you'd likely want to avoid.

 

After school care?

 

How about homework tutor?

 

I work outside the home running (legal and free!) poker tournaments for a local poker league. The job is in bars; it's smoky and...well, a bar! But it pays!

 

If I had to make another choice, I'd choose Starbucks.

[emeraldjoy]

I work enough to pay for eating out every once in awhile and some of the extras the kids do like art and piano.

Usually just 1 day week; always when hubby is home. Sometimes I will pick up the second half of the eveing shift; from 8pm to midnight and this works great because I don't feel like I miss out on too much at home. I have been with this organization for five years and am considered "on call" which translates into as much or as little as I want or can do.

 

I work at an inpatient drug/alcohol rehabilitation center for moms AND kids. I love it and sometimes look forward to it as my "professional" break; real adult conversation; real life stuff, you know.

The next morning when I wake up after working It just seems that I like my kids and family so much more.....wierd.....

 

It is always much easier to get INTO something than out of it;That is my only advice here. Maybe holiday/seasonal work would be best for you and then you can decide if it is something you want to do more long term.

 

Blessings to you on this journey.

emerad

Edited October 21, 2008 by emeraldjoy

[TCoppock]

I work part-time on Friday and Saturday nights. We school Monday-Thursday full days and Fridays half days. On Fridays, I go over all of the lessons first and then DS does independent work. I usually try and take a nap from 12-4 before getting up to make dinner and get ready for work. If son does not understand something we go over it Saturday morning before I fall asleep. The schedule is hard on my body switching back and forth from day to night but it is neccesary for our family. DH's health is not great which makes it very hard if not impossible at times for him to work so we rely on my income. It was difficult for me switching to the provider role in the beginning but we all make sacrifices for our family. DS is VERY understanding and compassionate about our unique situation. Although DH would prefer to be the sole bread winner for our family, at this time it isn't possible. I think working and homeschooling can definitely be done, but you must be willing to make sacrifices.

[oliveview]

I work every afternoon/evening. I work 7 days a week most weeks. My job is unpredictable and I never know how many hours I will be gone. Most days it is 1-2 hours but I never know until the last minute. My dh has to take a lot of the evening responsibilites at home. Often we don't eat dinner together, but yet my job is flexible.

 

My dh comes home for lunch everyday so I make that the meal that we all sit down together. I don't know, it just works for us. I will say that my dh is on board and he really does help.

 

The money that I make pays for all the extras for the kids so in that sense it is nice and I can see giving up the time do do that. Besides, I work the minimum that it takes to maintain my certification. That is important to us as a family, because if necessary, I could be the primary source of income.

[charlotteb]

I worked for 4 1/2 years while homeschooling. My hours were Monday-Thursday 6p-10p and then Sunday 9a-5:30p. It was tough, but we needed the money so we made it work. DH was home before I had to leave so we didn't have to worry about childcare. The kids loved having one-on-one time with him and I can see how it helped them to bond more. I did get to enjoy some adult conversation too!