Do you feel at a loss for everything that you are “suppose” to be getting done each day as a homeschool mom? You are not alone. Time management seems to be just out of reach some days but how about we take our time back and make it count.
Time Management Hacks for Homeschool Moms
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Homeschool moms have a lot of responsibilities on their plates and it’s easy to struggle with managing our time wisely throughout the day. After 5 years homeschooling I have learned some time management tips throughout the years that I hope will help other moms feel less overwhelmed.
First, you cannot do it all. You can’t teach all the subject each day, clean the house, and have much needed time for yourself. You’ll burn out, you’ll end up hating that you homeschool and I don’t want that.
Daily Routine
Having a routine that you follow without really thinking about it can be a lifesaver. Start by figuring out what you need to accomplish each day, and write it down in the order that you need to get it done. Have a routine for yourself, and your kids, and include the little stuff.
My early morning routine would be:
- 30 minutes of exercise
- drink coffee
- check email
- etc.
My kids routine would be:
- breakfast
- hair, teeth, get dressed
- Brookland & Austin alternate math and language arts (they need no help with Teaching Textbooks)
- Gauge starts math
- etc.
Create lesson plan/routine that you aren’t trying to fit all subjects in in one day. We do math and language arts each day, rotating science, history, art, etc through the other days. If you’re interested in how I schedule our homeschool lessons this post gives you a little more insight.
Meal Planning
I am still working on this particular area. I can go through spurts of time where I know what we are having each night for supper without searching for something quick to throw together at the last minute, but not often enough.
There are great programs available to help out with this one if you want someone to completely take over and plan your meals. I use these meal planning sheets that pop into my planner, when I meal planner that is.
Have Help Around the House
Without having your kids help out around the house, you are never going to have the clean home that you want. Your kids are home more than other children, they are eating meals and snacks repeatedly through the day making more mess. Have them help clean it up too.
Make sure your kids have age appropriate chores to do around the house. This is teaching them life skills that they need to be functioning adults in the world. My kids used to get allowance for chores, but no longer do, I don’t get allowance for cleaning up either sadly.
Have your husband help out too. My husband works a full time job and still cooks supper once or twice a week. He is also the one that does bedtime more often than not.
I try to start a load of laundry each day, and Austin (10 years) switches it over to the dryer at some point through the day otherwise it would sit in the washer until the next day. I do not fold my kids laundry or socks. Each has a basket that I toss them into, yes the socks have their own basket, and when it gets full my kids match them up, matching socks is a time suck for me.
Avoid Time Sucks
Lastly, avoid time sucks. I’m talking about Facebook. And Pinterest. And Instagram. The places I scroll through on my phone all day long it seems. Instagram is a pretty place to hang out instead of washing floors, right?
There are only so many hours in a day and you need to sleep, and to take time for yourself so you don’t burn out. Ask for help Momma. Get your family to help out and create a schedule for lessons that are manageable.