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Continuing with our “Successful Homeschooling Schedules of Working Moms” series, we have today a homeschool mom who works at home, and so does her husband. They have a good partnership of covering for each other when they have meetings, and she focuses the learning of her children in the mornings.
Tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living?
I’m Amy Michaels, happily married to Chad for 20 years this year and homeschooling mom to our 3 kids. I’m an author and consultant.
Can you please share your work schedule?
I mostly work when the kids are having quiet/nap time or after they go to bed. So, I have about 2-3 hours each day to really focus on the priorities for that week. I’m learning to balance my work hours with client work and creating content for my own products.
My husband and I both work from home, so we can help each other if one of us has a meeting.
Excellent that you both work from home! How long have you homeschooled for and what are your children’s ages?
I think I started homeschooling when I started reading to my first born in the womb. Teaching her has been part our life since Day 1. We have officially completed 6 years of homeschooling.
Awesome Amy! When do you homeschool and how long it takes you on average each day?
Every single year, our homeschooling schedule has changed. We have to be flexible to other things that are happening in our family and daily life.
Typically, we homeschool right after breakfast. We seem to be able to focus better earlier in the day. We focus on reading, math, and writing first. We use a loop schedule for the other subjects. Each child also has independent projects they are working on to pursue areas of interest.
Do you do all the teaching, or do you have someone assisting you?
Currently, I do all the teaching. We do have a few online courses that we have used for independent projects. I might use online learning programs for high school, but we will decide when we get there!
In what ways has working benefitted your homeschool life and/or vice versa?
Our homeschooling inspires all the work I do to support kids and their families to enjoy learning. Working has connected me with homeschool bloggers that inspire new ideas into our homeschooling.
Do you have time for extracurricular activities? (e.g. field trips, co-ops, etc.)
We make it a priority of our time if it is important to the kids.
Do co-ops benefit you in any way? If so, how?
We have done them at times in the past. The hands-on science lab was probably our favorite. It was worth it to pay for the classes to have such great science experiments set up for the kids to do (with no mess at home). 😊
Do you utilize a “boxed curriculum” or do you gather sources together to form your own curriculum?
I put together my own curriculum from Evan-Moor.com and Grammar Galaxy. The lessons are highly engaging to the brain, so my kids remember what they learn. We also are constantly reading books, which sparks more learning!
Which homeschooling approach do you follow?
We are definitely eclectic. We do a mix of traditional skills studies, unit studies, and child-led learning with a mix of unschooling. 😊
What is the main challenge you face working with a homeschooling lifestyle?
My biggest challenge is not working outside of my work hours. There is always more that I could do, but I want to make sure I keep my role as mom as my first priority.
What is the best time management tip you would share with a working mom who is just beginning homeschooling?
My best tip for a working mom who is just beginning homeschooling is to focus on what is most important first. You can do everything – just not all in the same month! Focus on matters most to you and your kids first, and the rest will either fall into place, or fall off your to-do list.
I hope that you found Amy’s schedule insightful. As always, “We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us” (Phil. 4:13), but we can’t do them all at once.
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