Homeschooling When Dad Works at Home
Homeschooling when Dad works at home can be a challenge, but it is also a blessing for us all to be at home together each day.
Since my we began homeschooling about 7 years ago, my husband has worked at home on and off, and he recently started working from home again for what appears to be a long-term arrangement.
Being a homeschool family with 7 children presents quite a challenge for my husband to get in a productive day of work. Between sibling squabbles, whiny toddlers, kids who want to show Daddy their latest masterpiece, and a Mommy who sometimes wants to escape to have some adult conversation, it can be difficult for my poor husband to focus on his work.
Here are some things we try to implement so that we all can have a productive day:
Pretend he’s not there
This is easier said then done. It’s so easy for me to just call to my husband if I need help with something or to go in his office to discuss a matter with him or for the kids to treat my husband’s office as if it’s a revolving door. You (and the kids) need to have the mentality that he isn’t home–or at least isn’t available. If you have to, when he is ready to start working in the morning, all of you should give him a kiss and a hug and say good-bye as if he is really leaving the house to go to work.
Set clear ground rules
Make it very clear to the kids that Daddy is not to be disturbed, and set consequences if needed. Make rules about the noise level in the house so that you don’t become disruptive. And lead by example; if you are making visits to Daddy’s office, the kids will think they can too.
Headphones or earplugs
Invest in some good headphones or earplugs. My husband really does this; he puts on headphones and listens to music while he works. If your husband can focus while listening to music, this might be a good option if your house gets a bit noisy. If he can’t, then try some earplugs instead.
Designate quiet time
If your husband needs to make phone calls during his work day, you should designate some quiet time where everyone is required to go to their own rooms (or beds) to read or have some quiet play time. This would be the optimum time for Dad to make any important business calls.
Put some distance between you
School as far from Dad’s office as possible. If it’s a nice day, do school outside. Go on frequent field trips. Or if you’re having a really chaotic day at your house, Daddy might be the one who wants to get away – go out to the car to make his phone calls, or take his laptop to a quiet coffee shop or library.
Have some Daddy time
Have your morning devotions as a family, have breakfast or lunch as a family, or even have Daddy teach a subject. This way the kids will get their Daddy-fix and hopefully not be tempted to visit him during the rest of his work day.
Homeschooling when Dad works at home is a special circumstance that requires give and take on everyone’s part, but it’s so worth having us all home together.
Does your husband work at home? What are some of the challenges you face as a homeschooling family? How do you deal with those challenges?
What a challenge! This is one of the reasons I’ve been so hesitant about working at home while homeschooling my kids. Both my husband and I work outside the home and homeschool our 2 younger kids (the older 2 are in college and were not homeschooled). We both are in a field of work where if we really sought out work at home jobs we could get them. But the truth is, both of us knew we wouldn’t be able to concentrate with the kids around. My brother in law works from home and in order to be able to get his work done, they hired a nanny to manage the kids and he goes out the house and down to the basement door which stays off limits to the kids.
When you work at home and homeschool, you definitely need to think outside of the box to make things work for everyone. You have to do what works for your family. I think it’s pretty amazing when moms work outside the home AND homeschool!
Thanks fo the ideas. We homeschool 4; hubby works from home all the time. It can be stressful…he has con calls & phone calls constantly. End of months are the worst cause he is sooo busy. I wish I had tips but for us everyday is dealt with according to that days events. I will say end of quarters & fiscal years…I try & take the kids out of the house for most of the day. So field trips, park, library etc.
I hope some of the ideas will be helpful to you!
My husband has been working from home for nine years, exclusively for the past three years. It took us a little while to adjust but now we’ve just kind of developed our rhythm. His home-office is only a door away from our school room so it has taken training on all our parts, that when the door is closed he is at work and so are we. He had to learn that he didn’t have to intervene at ever overhear scuffle, the children had to learn that they couldn’t just walk into the office without knocking and receiving an invitation, and I had to learn that his work is a priority and what affords our lifestyle, and that I am still the manager of the home whether he is physically here or not. Thanks for your tips, it’s always great to see suggestions from families in a similar situation.
There is definitely learning and adapting on every family member’s part. Thanks for sharing your experience; as you said, it’s nice to hear from others in a similar situation.
My husband has worked from home since day one except for the nights here and there where he is speaking somewhere and now the weekly staff meeting for the worship minister position he has had for six months. We own our own online based company that we have made very family friendly. It is usually not a problem for us to pop in for minute to say hi or to show off the lastest school project at just about any time during the day. It is always during the conference calls when he needs it to be quiet that the two year old sneaks off to see him!
The hardest part for us was helping our children understand that why Daddy (and sometimes Mom, too) has to work even though he is at home. We have been blessed that he has been able to accompany us on our outings to the museums, parks, and zoos over the years. Separating the play time from work was a difficult concept for them to grasp and they didn’t understand why they couldn’t always have our undivided attention all day long. Starting formal homeschool (K) this year helped a lot. Now, we each have our own work to do during the week, but still plenty of time to be together and to play. Love all of your tips!
Thanks Joni! How wonderful that you have a family-friendly business that you are both a part of. It can definitely be hard for the little ones to understand why they can’t see Daddy whenever they want. Overall, it’s a great blessing and we also love that Daddy has the flexibility to join us for special projects and outings.
I really appreciate this post. I have three kids, 7 yrs, 4yrs, & 2 yrs. My husband left his job for a ‘sabbatical’ period, sort of, two years ago. He was able to spend a lot of time with us and we were all free to request his time whenever we felt like it. It was a great season.
Six months ago he began doing paid consulting work, and it has become a lot harder for all of us to manage our time. I love having him with us so much, but sometimes I get frustrated and even resentful that his presence puts extra burdens on me to keep the kids reasonably quiet and out of his office. I also struggle to feel like — I’m not sure how to word this, but I guess… the ‘boss’ — when he is in the house. If he hears extreme crying, or our oldest being disrespectful to me, he will often come out to make sure everything is okay or to give a ‘respect your mother’ speech.
My dream is to have a guest house/garage apt/climate controlled workshop that he can go to while he’s working. For now I’m just trying to urge him to get out of the house more often and go to a local coffee shop or library to work.
I am encouraged to hear that we are not the only ones navigating these tricky waters.
Both my husband and I work from home. I am a support teacher for homeschool families and my husband is in transportation. The kids know not to go downstairs when daddy is on the phone otherwise they are free to go down and talk to him for a few minutes. If he is busy at the moment, he lets them know and they will come back. But because my kids are older, they have learned to respect boundaries and understand when is a good time to see daddy and when it isn’t.
Great post! Dad at home for any reason can be a tough situation but full of potential blessings if you plan ahead. And it’s good practice for retirement. Someone I know told her retiring husband, “I married you forever, but not for lunch.”