How I'm Balancing Work at Home and Distance Learning

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April 6th marked the first day of distance learning for us here in Oklahoma. Every school district in the state has closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to flatten the curve. Coincidentally, I got my first job since the first half of March on April 6th, so now I’m officially a homeschooling work-at-home mom. How about that?

It’s funny how things work. I’m suddenly thrown into homeschooling, trying to figure out things I’ve never done before (for three students, mind you), and BAM, I get that email asking me if I’m available for work.

Of course, I was ecstatic to get the email; it just came at a not-so-convenient time. BUT I’m determined to make it work. We can do this! Here are some things I’m doing to help us get through it.

Make a Schedule

Technically, I do follow a schedule, but it isn’t so much a “wake up at this time and get started at this time” type of schedule; it’s more of a “first we do this, then we do this” type of schedule.

I’ll be honest. I like to sleep in. It only takes about an hour and a half for each child to finish her schoolwork, so I’m not a stickler about waking up and getting started at any certain time.

Our schedule looks something like this (at no particular starting time):

Breakfast (and definitely coffee for me)
Schoolwork
Reading
Lunch
Free time for the kids; work time for me
Dinner
Nighttime routine for the kids
Bedtime for the kids (8 p.m. for the littles)
My shower
Work time for me
My bedtime

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As you can see, I don’t overload my kids with a lot of things to do. I make sure they get their mandatory schoolwork and reading done, but I’m pretty relaxed after that.

Work During Breaks and After Bedtime

With the kids being out of school, it’s impossible to get as much work done as I did when they were in school. I could get a good five to six hours of work in a day when I just had my four-year-old who is still home with me full-time. That’s not happening now.

I have dedicated after-lunch free time for when I work. I do this until my husband gets home from work and then again after the kids go to bed around 8:00.

It’s not ideal, but we are making it work.

Make Printable Reading/Sight Words Log

I needed a way to log my first grader’s reading and sight words practice. I was instructed to have her read for 20 minutes a day, practice her sight words for 20 minutes a day, and then take a picture of the log and send it to her teacher via ClassDojo. Here’s what I came up with:

I’ve made these printables available in my resource library for anyone who might be needing something similar.

And here’s a printable one-page planner I made to check off as each item is completed. I suggest laminating it and putting it on the fridge. It’s also available in the resource library.

Stay as Calm and Relaxed as Possible

This one is hard for me. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by lunchtime with two little ones who like to fight and ask for a snack every 3.5 minutes.

I’m just telling myself I need to enjoy this time I have with them. I find myself saying yes to things I normally say no to, like eating in the living room and occasionally staying up a little past bedtime.

Another way I’m staying calm is by not freaking out when my child doesn’t want to cooperate. Is it really a huge deal if she doesn’t want to do her writing assignment right this minute?

It’s not a big deal at all, and in the grand scheme of things, our relationship with each other is what’s most important.

I will not yell at my child if she doesn’t want to read for the full 20 minutes. We can do a few minutes now and the rest later. It’s nothing to get mad about.

In my journey through motherhood, I’ve found myself getting upset over little things and sometimes overreacting. I always feel the dreaded mom guilt when that happens.

So that’s why I’ve decided to just let things go and not care as much if things don’t go exactly the way I want them to. This is new to my kids too, not just me. I can show them grace because I want to be shown grace in new situations.

I hope y’all aren’t going too crazy being cooped up in the house all the time. I haven’t left my house in 25 days, and I’m doing surprisingly well. I thought for sure I’d have pulled out all my hair by now. It helps that my two youngest have finally decided they want to sleep in their own beds every night. All I have to say about that is hallelujah!!!

How’s it going at your house? I’d love to hear about how you’re getting on in the comments below!