9 Tips to Rock Homeschooling and Housekeeping at the Same Time

Homeschooling and housekeeping don’t have to be at odds with each other!

Remember when you pictured your homeschooling journey? The children would be filled with smiles and wonder as you expanded their minds with math facts, history lessons, and science experiments. Your home would sparkle because after all homeschooling your children would take no time at all because remember everyone says children are little sponges. Everyone around you would just be amazed at all that you were able to accomplish in a day declaring that you were simply amazing.

Now fast forward to present day. You have one child having a meltdown because how can you possibly ever add or subtract fractions. You are about to have a breakdown because you just spent an hour explaining simple phonics facts to a child you are certain is going to be the first child admitted into college who can’t read. As for those science experiments well those are growing in the refrigerator and it isn’t because you meant for the food to turn into one. You are to the point you can’t even invite friends over because they would have to climb Mount Everest (also known as the laundry) to sit on the couch if they were even successful at getting themselves free from the adhesive that is on the floor.

 

We laugh as we picture the above scenario in our heads but the truth is a lot of us homeschooling moms struggle daily trying to balance homeschooling and housework on a daily basis. We go to bed tired, worn down and feeling defeated. We don’t dare tell anyone that we are struggling because everyone else looks so put together. The truth is every homeschooling mom around you is struggling, worn down and burnt out.

What if I told you there is a way that you can balance it all without going crazy?

9 Tips to Rock Homeschooling and Housekeeping at the Same Time:

Today, Rosilind, Misty and I are going to share with you some tips that we have found to be effective when striving to homeschool and maintain our homes. We have been homeschooling collectively for 13 years. All three of us run in-home businesses, homeschool and still somehow get housework done, following these tips.

1. Allow yourself a bit of grace: Your house is never going to be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. Unless you are a celebrity and even then they have people who come in and help stage the home so all those pictures you are seeing are simply photoshopped and staged. The fact is you are a mother who is busy raising children and that is far more important than always having your house spotless.

2.Go in with a plan: Know the things that you need to be done in your home daily. These are things like sweeping, laundry, cooking, dishes, homeschooling, straightening up bedrooms, quickly wiping down the bathroom, and straightening up the living areas. Make a separate list for things that need to be done weekly like cleaning out the refrigerator, deep cleaning the bathroom, washing the bed sheets, mopping, dusting, lawn care and vacuuming. (Note all the things listed are just suggestions, your list may not be the same as the one listed above).

3. Recruit the children: Very early on a child can learn simple tasks to complete around the home and they should be taught how to do them. After all, they will not forever live in your home. Start small and build on to those skills around the house. When your child is a teen they should be able to clean the whole house if needed, not that you would ever make them.

4. Add cleaning breaks to your homeschooling day: In the mornings before you even crack open the books wipe out a few household chores (with the children’s help of course). In the middle of your homeschooling day take another break to do a few more chores with the children, after all by mid day they are bound to be getting fidgety. Finally, at the end of the homeschooling day have everyone clean up their study materials and see how many more chores you all can knock out of the park.

5. Make it fun: Children love a little competition. Set a timer. See how many tasks you all can get done before the timer beeps. This will get your children pumped to work and before you know it the house will be clean.

6. Make a schedule and stick with it: Call it a routine or call it a schedule it really doesn’t matter just have one. This will change your life friend. With a schedule in place, you and your children will always know what is coming next. Note there are some days that schedules have to be thrown out the window, but for most days sticking to a schedule is possible.

7. Add review times while you clean: Multiplication facts can be recited while you are putting away dishes together, history dates can be reviewed while mating socks, phonics review can happen at the grocery store and the list goes on. Seriously the possibilities are endless with this one.

8. Make sure to treat yourself and the children with a reward: Just like in the workplace you have to keep morale up for both you and your children. Getting all the list wiped out could mean board game time, movie time, trip for a cheap cup of ice cream, a game of ball outside together or whatever activity you all enjoy together.

9. Get an accountability person: Misty, Rosilind and I keep each other accountable. We check in with each other and keep each other motivated to keep on going. Something about seeing how much someone has accomplished makes you yourself want to do a little more.

The fact is as homeschooling moms we can have clean homes. We just have to be willing to get a little creative with it. Now it is your turn. What are some ways that you are balancing homeschooling and housekeeping all at the same time?

A huge thank you to fellow bloggers, Misty, Bridget, and Rosilind! Please visit their sites to thank them for this post!

Year Round Homeschooling
Becoming a Godly Wife
Rosilind Jukic

Any homeschooling and housekeeping tips that you’d add to this list? We’d love to add them!