3 Homeschooling Mistakes To Avoid When Working Full-Time & How To Fix Them

Do you hate making mistakes? Does fear of failure hold you back from trying new things? Are you holding back from homeschooling while working full-time due to fear of failing your kids or making a mistake that you think will haunt you for the rest of your life? 

If so, you are not alone. But what if you could learn from other people’s homeschooling mistakes? Some of the best conversations I’ve had with other moms are when we share our mistakes. 

Why do we love to dig up past failures and homeschooling mistakes and then share them with others? It’s not because we are a sucker for punishment but because it reminds us that we all make mistakes. And those homeschooling mistakes aren’t the end of the world, even though it may feel like it. 

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In fact, from those mistakes, we learn valuable lessons. We learn to overcome roadblocks, make adjustments, and learn to thrive in less-than-ideal situations. 

My oldest baby graduates this year. That part of my life with him is over. I am finding myself spending more and more time reflecting on our homeschool journey while working full-time and the impact it has had on our lives. 

Does This Sound Like You?

I loved being a stay-at-home mom. I loved being there for every single moment of my children’s lives. The thought of leaving them to return to work was heart-wrenching.

Maybe you feel the same way? I never planned on being a working mom who is also homeschooling. 

As an adult, we don’t always get what we want. Instead, we get the “parent card” backfired. We do what is best for our family, even if it is hard and scary.

Because that is what it is really about, doing what is best for our kids. 

Once we had decided I would return to working, I wondered how I was going to homeschool and work full-time out of the house?

I’ll admit, 14 years ago, I wasn’t on the internet much. I felt totally alone, trying to work and homeschool at the same time. 

None of my friends were doing it. 

Those who worked put their kids on the school bus each morning. Those who homeschooled stayed home with their kids. 

So while I knew I would have to stumble along, I wasn’t ready to give up on homeschooling. 

When you try something new, you end up making a lot of mistakes. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Don’t Let Fear Of Making Homeschooling Mistakes Hold You Back

Before we dig in, I want to encourage you not to let the fear of making homeschooling mistakes hold you back from homeschooling while working full-time.

Let’s be honest for a moment; this life, this working homeschool mom journey, is not easy. 

As I mentioned above, this week, my son graduated. I’m not really sure how I feel about it. 

Part of me is sad. There were so many other things, fun things, we never got to do. There are so many new amazing programs that I never got to play with because they came out after my kids were too old. 

Part of me is in awe. We did it. I feel like I’ve run the hardest parenting test ever that I never got to prepare for. LOL, We both tried, failed, screwed up, laughed, cried, and oh my dear …that child is so much like me we butted heads – a lot! 

But we are still friends. And that was an important goal of mine. Forget academic accomplishments. I wanted him to LOVE learning, to take charge of his education and USE it. 

Here is part of the grad letter I wrote to him and put inside a singing chicken card because everyone needs singing chickens, right? 

“Congrats on finishing school. I am so very proud of you. Not just what you have accomplished academically but how you have chosen to use the education you have acquired. 

It’s been amazing to step back and watch you take charge of what you learn, how you learn and do research. Then take the information you do find and make wise decisions and choices. 

You’ve always been a deep thinker, and I know I haven’t always expressed appreciation for that skill like I should have. Then again, let’s be honest. I haven’t done a lot of things right over the last 18 years. 

I never planned on homeschooling, but it was undoubtedly one of the best-unplanned adventures of my life. Thank you.”

I share this because I know some of you are just beginning your journey, and you are scared to death. Scared to mess up. (you will, and it will be okay!) Scared you can’t do it. (you can, you totally got this!) You think it is too hard. (it’s hard, not gonna lie but so is parenting). 

Homeschooling is an extension of parenting and part of your life. There will be days (weeks, months??) you feel like you can’t do it. There will be days (weeks, months??) where you will doubt everything, every decision you’ve made, and then before you know it, you are looking at your 18-year-old drive off to work, and it’s over.

Find the good moments and hang on to them tight. Find the fun stuff you really want to try and take the time to try it. Leave the dishes if you need to and build a rocket in the yard. Have a balloon fight, and call it science. Throw a Mento into Coke and measure how high it flies. 

Those are the memories you’ll both remember! 

With that in mind, I want to share with you three homeschooling mistakes I made and how to fix them so you can learn from them. 

Homeschooling Mistake #1: Not Adjusting Our Homeschool Learning Style

My first heads up that something was wrong with our homeschool was the tears—mine and hers. 

Our first challenge in working full-time while homeschooling was the math program. When you teach math in your homeschool, there are a few mistakes to avoid. For us, we had a program that was designed or it needed to have an instructor explain and teach the process. It is ranked as a “difficult” math program which we adored – when I was home.

Without me there to teach it, it was a hot mess of tears and frustration for everyone. My son was doing okay, but my daughter was NOT. Math was not a favorite for her, and it took years for us to find something that worked. 

Our first big homeschooling mistake was not adjusting the curriculum to our new life. 

My kids were used to doing all the homeschool work with me. Now I wasn’t available to be there because I worked full-time out of the home, and yet, we were still trying to homeschool the exact same way. 

While I am a big believer in not fixing what isn’t broken, but when something IS broken, don’t be afraid to FIX IT. 

Solution: Ditch Homeschool Programs That No Longer Serve You

Repeat after me: You can stop using a program that is no longer working for you. Or, better yet, use the program differently than it is designed to be used. 

Just because the homeschool program comes with directions doesn’t mean that it is the only way it works. 

I had purchased years and years of this math program due to a “closing out” sale. Funds were tight, so the idea of shelving the whole thing and starting over was daunting. 

Was I throwing all the hard-earned money away? How was I going to find the right program? Where did I start?

After I was done freaking out, I took a deep breath and dove in. I learned the value of asking others for their input, reading reviews, and testing programs for ourselves. 

Eventually, we found a math program we love that worked perfectly for our life. 

Another thing I’ve learned is to change the schedule that comes with the program to fit our needs. 

For example, we used Story of the World for years. But we did not follow the program. Instead, we made it work for us and my work schedule. 

This is how I fit Story of the World into our busy homeschool life. 

3-Day Schedule For Story Of The World (Example)

Story of the World can be overwhelming to those just beginning to homeschool. We use a 3-day schedule for history in our homeschool. Here is how I break it down:

Day 1: Read & Write

I read aloud from the textbook. Then I ask the questions from the activity book, and the kids answer orally.

We add the dates and characters to a timeline. I use a timeline from Notebooking Pages. I have the kids either write one paragraph summarizing what they learned, color a coloring page or map the activity provided in the workbook.

Day 2: Read & Write

I read aloud from the textbook what is left in the chapter. Most chapters are divided into two subheadings. I ask the questions from the activity book, and the kids answer orally.

Again, we add the dates and characters to our timeline. I have the kids either write one paragraph summarizing what they learned, color a coloring page or map the activity provided in the workbook.

Day 3: Fun Day

On this day, we pick one of the extra activities to do. Sometimes it is a game we make from scratch, cook a meal, or make a craft. A few days beforehand, I make sure we have what we need to do that activity. 

Again, always do what works for you. This is how I use Story of The World in our homeschool. You can usually do this with any program, so play around with the schedule and keep adjusting until you find what works for you. 

Homeschooling Mistake #2: Keeping The Same Homeschool Routine While Working

My children thrive on a homeschool routine. I guess that is why I was so adamant about keeping the one we had when I was not working.

Needless to say, my work schedule was not fitting our routine when I first started working outside the home. I had what we called an “ever-changing schedule.” Every two weeks, I had to create a new schedule. 

Of course, I didn’t make those vital adjustments! Oh no, I would desperately try to fit our old routines and my current work schedule into the next 14 days. 

I would wake at the crack of dawn trying to squeeze as much as I could get done before the kids woke up or before work and then run until midnight and fall into bed exhausted, only to begin the next day again. 

Trying to keep our old homeschool routine was causing more stress and anxiety than comfort. 

Solution: Create A Simple Schedule

This “ever changing schedule” was a massive change in our life and homeschooling. After burning out, I learned that something had to give. 

Much like curriculum, planners alone weren’t going to save me. I had to learn to use a planner not only to keep track of all the moving pieces, but I needed to use the planner in a way that worked with my new life. 

I learned that by taking a realistic look at your work schedule, homeschool schedule, appointments, errands, co-ops, etc., you could work out a simple schedule for your family.

It took testing and being flexible and learning what I had control over and what I didn’t. It took learning to simplify every part of our life and cut out all the complicated things we just couldn’t fit in right now. 

We adjusted our homeschool schedule from a “set day schedule” to a “rotating schedule.”

Instead of trying to do every subject Monday – Friday, we mixed it up. We did homeschooling on the weekends, and we tried it in the evenings, rotating days, and moved things around.

Until we found something that worked, then we stuck to that until it stopped working. 

I can not explain the relief of knowing what needs to be done when and what can shift on your schedule when life throws you a curveball. If you’d like to learn more about the system that I use, I have a free course on creating a simple schedule for you to check out.

If you find yourself with a routine that isn’t working, take time to see why and try new things. You’ll soon discover what works and what doesn’t. 

Homeschooling Mistake #3: Keeping The Same Expectations

Looking back, I wonder what was going through our heads at this point. Life changed. I was working. The kids were home, at the sitter’s, then back.

And yet, I thought everything would be the same. We had the same expectations for the kids in their homeschool as we did for me and what I could and couldn’t do.

Before returning to work, I handled all the shopping, errands, cooking, housekeeping, and homeschooling.

Guess how many adjustments we made when I started working full-time and homeschooling? Zero!

Homeschooling mistake number three was not making any adjustments to our expectations. 

I’ve already shared our curriculum and homeschool adjustments, but now I want to dig into the expectations of you, the working mom. 

Before I started working, I thought I would seamlessly slide into being a working mom while still doing everything. 

If you’ve ever wondered how those moms get it all done, the simple answer is they don’t. They can not do it all, and neither can you. 

If you try, you will fall flat on your face. 

Solution: Learn To Ask For Help

I would never be the one to ask for help. I believed that it made me a bad mom. If I couldn’t do it all, then I was a horrible, no good failure as a wife and mom.

That was the lie I believed. And I held on to that lie longer than I should have. 

The truth was that I was one person. I had to admit that I needed help. I also needed to adjust my thought process of believing that it was my job alone to keep the household running while homeschooling.

I encourage you to take a good look at your life and decide what is truly important and what is secondary. 

Most of us will agree that while clean dishes and clothes are important, there are other things that rank higher such as a good relationship with our kids. 

My first piece of advice is to lower your standards. While you may not be able to have a spotless house, you can have a reasonably clean and tidy house if you get the kids involved and ask for help.

Remember, homeschooling is an extension of life. This includes the day-to-day aspects of life. Asking for help, outsourcing, and working together as a family has a direct impact on your homeschool.

Your job as a parent (homeschooling or not) is to prepare your kids for life. So unless you plan on cleaning and cooking for your kids, they need to know how to do these things before they leave home. 

It takes time and patience and a lot of counting to 10 some days to teach them, but it is worth it. Depending on the age of your kids, let them load the dishwasher and resist the urge to reload it your way. As long as the dishes get clean….who cares? 

All homeschooling moms and their families must figure out priorities and set parameters for what they can and can’t live with. So do the dishes if that puts your mind at ease, but don’t do it all! 

Homeschooling Mistakes To Avoid While & Working Full-Time

We all make mistakes, they are part of learning. Ask any mom out there, and they will all have at least one story, if not more, to tell you. 

Be brave enough to try new things, make mistakes and LEARN from them. Mistakes are often the best teachers. 

It’s okay not to have it all figured out yet. As you can see, I’ve made quite a few mistakes over the last 14 years, and I am absolutely sure I’ll make a few more with my daughter. 

However, I hope this list will help you avoid these three homeschooling mistakes and give you the courage to jump into the working full-time homeschool journey. 

3 Homeschooling Mistakes And Solutions

1. Homeschooling Mistake: Not Adjusting Our Homeschool Learning Style
   • Solution: Ditch Homeschool Programs That No Longer Serve You
2. Homeschooling Mistake: Keeping The Same Homeschool Routine While Working
   • Solution: Create A Simple Schedule
3. Homeschooling Mistake: Keeping The Same Expectations
   • Solution: Ask For Help

You can work and homeschool successfully at the same time!

Take care

Jen

PS. If you need help, check out this article: Can You Successfully Work And Homeschool Your Kids At The Same Time?

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