top of page
Writer's pictureChristal Marshall

How do I do it all? Homeschooling work and family?

I’m a home school, mom self-employed for the last ten plus years.



I'm going to let you know something that after all of these years of observing and talking to a lot of moms and my own personal mom guilt, - something that has really like changed my mindset.  For the longest time I have  heard a lot of people that have this kind of dichotomy mindset-



where it's you either have a good family time or a packed schedule


or you are being  present or growing your career



or the house is super clean or the kids are creative.



You cannot have both in most people's mindsets or what I have observed.



Well, how does that work for someone like me that works from home is self-employed and involves my kids and pretty much every aspect of my day?



It’s Especially hard because I feel like I have to have a clean house, but I also want the kids to learn and grow, make messes and all this stuff that Goes into it homeschooling.


I always felt guilty that I can't spend time on my career- and I can't grow because I want to be present in kids lives.



So how does this all work with Someone like me?


This was a chart that I felt like really set the bar for me mentally.


So how can we have family time and a packed schedule?




How can we have being present and growing career?


How can we have kids creative- but yet the house is Clean.


So, instead of having the mindset of everything is to separate Bubbles and either, or - it can be at  the intersection of both.


We need to live in the tension of having a little overlap.




Then  overlap is where my home schooling comes in.




If I want the kids to be involved in things and then have family time,maybe I can involve them in a:

  • family camping trip

  • a bike riding trip

  • a family soccer team

  • a cookout

  • a church function.



And so I am involving them into activities and things in the community that we can all join in as a family.




That way, I'm not rushing back and forth to, and from sporting events- to and from gymnastics and feeling like I'm doing all of it by myself.


I'm going to feel as if I need to pull my hair out, I don't want that.


I want to do balanced more accessible family activities that I can handle mentally, that my family can be all together.


And I want to build community and have a lot of these social events which is important for all sorts of other things as well.



Being present and growing career-Let's talk about that.


For a lot of Mom's- It's really hard for them to do both and absolutely, it's hard to do both.


So what if you involve the kids into the growth of your career?




For me - we have a studio in our house that people come over. So kids help me clean, mop and sweep. They see me set up sets, they see me go shopping for stuff. They see me shoot things. They do product photos with me - so they're involved in the process of me.


They learn my trade and my art - they learn to work with clients. They see how it looks like behind the scenes.


My husband is also a self-employed contractor- they go on the job site with him.


They learn all the tools-they go shopping at Home Depot-they clean.


So this is how we involve our kids in growing our career but also being present.



Let’s talk about kids being creative, and a having a clean house.




So obviously I don't want to shut down their creative ideas that they have, but I I also do think having a safe clean space is important.


How do I do the integration here?


I have the kids help clean. They have chores. We all have a list that we all have to bear the burden together of having a clean house.



And so this middle circle,  everything that is touching is how I see my homeschooling fits inside all these bubbles.



So if they want to be involved in our daily lives and the things we love - our church, our business-That is how I am able to mentally process all of it.


If you are a homeschool mom, with being self-employed- I want you to comment below what you have done to change your mindset.


What do you do to help compromise and integrate a lot of things in your life- So that your kids can be involved?


How are you also a present Mom? I would love to see her what you guys do.





💡We would love for you to hop on website www.thefunschoolers.com for more info and free resources!



1 view0 comments

Comments


bottom of page