Homeschooling and working – how is that even possible?! That’s usually the reaction I get when people find out that we homeschool our kids. Everyone always wants to know how we do it. And it’s usually followed up with a question about my kids’ socialization. Even total strangers will be very concerned that my children aren’t socialized – let me assure you, they’ve got more friends than I do! I admit, our schooling arrangement is very unique to our family. But homeschooling and working is possible because my husband and I are dedicated to making it happen. Let me explain to you how we do it.

But first, a little history…

Way back in the day, i.e. 2007, Mike left his career in the Navy and he got a teaching certificate. He taught high school math at a private school in our area, and one of the great benefits of that school was that our kids went to school tuition free. It was great! Our oldest son, Nathan, went to kindergarten and first grade at that school. And his kindergarten teacher still holds a special place in my heart – that woman is amazing!

However, after Nathan’s first grade year in 2011, Mike decided to leave his teaching position and go to seminary. I was super excited for him, but that left a HUGE gap in our school budget since it was no longer free. We didn’t want to send our kids to the public school in our district, so our only choice was to homeschool.

We’ve been a team since day one

I worked three 12 hour shifts so Mike scheduled all of his classes on my days off – which meant one of us was always at home. And we’ve followed that schedule ever since.

Mike is about to graduate from seminary, so his days of going to school around my work schedule are almost over. But we’re committed to making it work even after he gets out of school. He’s already accepted a teaching position with our local homeschool co-op. He’ll teach high school math and bible classes. He’s also on staff at our church, but works from home, so he’ll be around on my work days to help the kids with their school work. Ultimately, everything works because my husband and I are both dedicated to our kids’ education.

But why go through all of the hassle?

We go through the hassle, and fight to make the schedules work, because it’s worth it. I love having my kids at home with me and being there when they go, “Oh! Now I get it!” I love that I get to be their art teacher. We can pull out every bottle of paint we own and create masterpieces for the mantle. I love that we can spend extra time on subjects where they struggle and we can move quickly through the concepts that they grasp quickly. I enjoy that Mike and I are both here with them, investing in them, because 18 years is such a short time before children grow up and go off to be their own people.

But that’s the goal for all parents, right? Raising our children, teaching them, making the best decisions for them that we can, in the time that they’ve been given to us. And hopefully, they grow up, they’re able to adult, and they can make a difference in the world around them. 😊