When you’re a working homeschooling mom, life can feel a bit like a circus. You can feel like you’re constantly juggling and trying to keep all the plates spinning. And let’s not talk about that hungry lion (toddler) who keeps growling and requesting snacks.

But we want you to know that Homeschool Planet is here for you.

Many, many Homeschool Planet users are working parents, and hey – we are too! We know what it’s like, and we’ve designed our online homeschool planner and homeschooling support resources with plenty of features that will help you stay organized.

From offering an all-in-one place for planning to our Ready Made School, here is how Homeschool Planet can support busy, working homeschool moms.

Combining Homeschool and Working: Making Time Work for You

One of the biggest struggles for working homeschool parents is figuring out time management.

Sure – we all have 24 hours in a day, but when some (or many) of those hours need to be dedicated to paid work, AND we’re homeschooling, it can feel a bit like Tetris to make all the pieces fit.

Homeschool Planet’s online planner allows you to schedule everything in one place, so at a glance, you can see the whole day, week or month.

A lot of busy homeschool moms and dads use time blocking – a system that allows you to set aside certain times of day for specific events or activities. Homeschool Planet’s system allows you to time block (and add color-coding!), so you can easily see when it’s time to change tasks.

If both you and your spouse work from home and switch off on homeschooling and parenting duties, your spouse can have a profile within Homeschool Planet too, so they can always see what’s next.

Individual Profiles Help Homeschool Students Work Independently

Individual profiles for each family member are actually a huge benefit of using Homeschool Planet.

Each child can have their own unique profile, which helps them keep track of their own tasks, or for your pre-readers, helps you know exactly what your child needs to work on that day.

It’s simple for parents to toggle back and forth between profiles, or see the whole family’s plan for the day or week.

This means that older students are often able to work independently on some or all subjects, which frees up time in your already packed day.

Homeschool Scheduling: Homeschool Planet Provides Flexibility for Working Parents

If you work and homeschool your kids, your schedule may not follow a “traditional,” school schedule, and that’s OK.

There are plenty of working parents who homeschool their kids in the afternoons or even evenings. A CPA, for instance, may choose to take April “off” from homeschooling. Or maybe your “weekend,” is Wednesday, and you homeschool on Saturdays.

(Most states do not require families to homeschool at any time of day or time of year, but be sure to check your state’s requirements.)

It’s easy to schedule and move lesson plans in your Homeschool Planet online planner with our rescheduling helper. 

And Homeschool Planet offers full flexibility – you literally are not “boxed in,” like with many teacher planners.

Choosing a Homeschooling Curriculum for a Busy Family

When you combine working and homeschooling, you may need to find a curriculum that’s made for busy families.

Look for programs that allow you to teach some subjects to several kids at once, and that encourage older kids to work independently when possible.

Our Homeschool Lesson Plan and Curriculum Marketplace is a great place to explore hundreds of homeschooling curriculum options to find the best ones for busy families.

You can also see the homeschool curricula that Homeschool Planet families love most here.

A couple of Homeschool Planet features that help working homeschool parents save time are the ability to quickly integrate whole lesson plans into your planner, and our options for Ready Made School.

Schedule a Whole Year of Lesson Plans Quickly with Homeschool Planet

Through utilizing our Homeschool Lesson Plan and Curriculum Marketplace, you can quickly and easily add lesson plans to your children’s homeschool schedules.

We offer thousands of curriculum lesson plans that you can integrate into your planner in just a few clicks. You can add a whole semester or year in minutes!

Then, it’s easy to shift lesson plans if your schedule changes by using our rescheduling helper.

Homeschool Planet Does the Prep Work for you with Ready Made School 

A great option for busy homeschooling parents balancing homeschool with work schedules is our Ready Made School. 

We offer carefully curated homeschool curriculum packages for students in grades 1-12. We’ve removed the guesswork and the need to research for days or weeks to make homeschooling open-and-go. 

With both faith based and secular options, each package includes everything you need to easily and simply homeschool math, science, history and language arts. 

Homeschool Planet Keeps Childcare Providers in the Loop

Some parents who combine work and homeschooling rely on support from babysitters, relatives, older children or mother’s helpers.

State’s vary in terms of requirements and some do not allow family members or babysitters to help with homeschooling children who are not their own. (Check your state’s guidelines here.)

But a childcare provider or mother’s helper can certainly assist with arts and crafts, reading aloud with kids and keeping kids engaged in play.

They may also be able to run children to activities, playgroups or homeschool co-ops or help with household chores.

Using Homeschool Planet’s online planner means additional family members or babysitters can access your family’s schedule (with your permission, of course.)

Make Activity Lists for Babysitters

Homeschool Planet even allows you to make lists right in the planner, so it’s easy to include information, to-dos and activity ideas for childcare providers.

The messaging/texting feature means you can quickly send babysitters lists of activity ideas for the week like:

• Board games your children like to play
• Ideas for art and craft projects
• Books to read together
• Recipes and baking ideas
• Favorite toys or hobbies
• Snack Ideas 

Housekeeping, Meal Planning and Chores

Finally, when you are working and homeschooling your kids, it’s easy to feel like the house and meals are always in a state of chaos.

But you really can add anything that serves you to your Homeschool Planet online planner, so experiment with adding meal plans and housekeeping tasks. 

Cleaning routines are another place where time blocking can come in very handy, and it’s easy to create routines through adding recurring tasks to your planner.

In fact, Homeschool Planet makes it easy to get the kids involved in house upkeep too. You can schedule recurring chores right into their individual profiles. This helps them learn responsibility and accountability, and helps busy parents get a much-needed deep breath.

It’s Easy To Send Lists

One more way that Homeschool Planet can help you keep your home life under control is through the messaging and texting feature.

Out of ground beef? Need rice or pasta?

Just create a quick grocery list in Homeschool Planet and send it to anyone in your family – including your spouse or any kiddos who are able to drive.

Yes, You Can Work and Homeschool!

It isn’t easy to homeschool, and when you add working to your plate, it can feel pretty overwhelming sometimes. 

But there are a few ways to reduce stress, and simplify your days.

First, don’t be afraid to accept help and support when you can.

Second, remember that there is no one perfect way to homeschool, and the most important part of homeschooling your kids is spending time with them and helping to instill a love of learning. That can look so many ways!

And third, you are taking on a lot, so use tools that give you the support you need.

We believe that Homeschool Planet’s online homeschool planner, and additional homeschool support features like our Homeschool Lesson Plan and Curriculum Marketplace really can make combining homeschooling and working sustainable.

So be sure to try a FREE 30-day trial of our online planner today, and don’t forget to add a FREE lesson plan when you sign up!

And for more advice and support, be sure to check out Jennifer Mackinnon’s website, Practical, By Default. Jennifer regularly shares tips and encouragement specifically for working homeschool parents. You can also join her Facebook group for working homeschool moms here.

You can definitely work and homeschool well! And Homeschool Planet is here to help. Be sure to grab your free homeschool planet trial now.