How to Balance Homeschooling and Housework
How to Balance Homeschooling and Housework
How do you manage and balance the responsibilities of homeschooling and housework? From cooking to cleaning and tantrums to mathematics, the mental and physical load carried by homeschoolers is heavy. So, if you're struggling to keep it all together, know that you aren't alone.
If maintaining a homeschool routine and a housework schedule seems impossible most weeks, we can help! Read on to discover the best way to keep your house clean and organized while simultaneously educating your children - without losing your mind!
Here are my best tips for balancing homeschooling and housework.
Give Yourself Some Grace
Without straying too far from the purpose of this blog on balancing homeschooling and housework, let me assure you that your kids don't need a perfectly maintained home to be happy and healthy. In fact, new research shows just the opposite is true: letting your children get dirty is actually good for their health!
It can be intimidating to see perfectly manicured landscapes and homes so clean you could lick the floors in pictures; but, don't be fooled by social media. No home is perfect nor are the people who live there.
All this to say... although you naturally want your home to be clean and organized, don't be too hard on yourself when it's not. You are striving to do what's best for your children. And that's what matters most.
Make a Plan
You know what needs to be done in your home, but without a solid plan, you will feel disorganized at best and inadequate at worst. Making a plan to deal with your housework and homeschooling responsibilities can help these tasks seem manageable. Let's dive right in to the process of creating a workable routine.
First, make a list of all of your homemaking and homeschooling responsibilities. Fair warning: it will be long and intimidating at first. Don't worry, though! You can organize and plan all of it to create a workable, calendared task list that won't drive you crazy.
Once you've listed all of your housework and homeschooling responsibilities, remove any items that aren't really and truly necessary to health, safety or education. A good example is making beds. I know, I know... there are experts who say the best way to start your day is by making your bed, but they have clearly never been a homeschooling mom of young children.
The reality is that you need to be selective about what you spend time on during this phase of life. So, right now, while my kids are small, I only make the beds when we have company coming over. This approach gives me more time for things that really matter to me, like snuggling with my small children when they wake up. I encourage you to consider using this practical approach! (If it makes you feel better, you can add the non-essentials to a "I'll do it when I have extra time" list, so they aren't completely forgotten).
Once you've gotten rid of items you feel aren't essential, label each chore based on how frequently it needs to be done: daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.
Daily chores should include the real nuts and bolts of the household and homeschool tasking that really make a typical day work for your family. Include things like dishes, laundry, cooking meals, outdoor play, quiet time, and unstructured play time. If you're a Montessori homeschooler, you will also want to include environment preparation, observation, taking notes, and lesson presentation.
Weekly chores should include things like cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, and mom's private homeschool prep time (for curriculum review, printing, laminating, trimming and shelving works).
Biweekly chores should include things like changing bedsheets, dusting and rotating toys.
Monthly chores might include washing comforters and cleaning car interiors.
Quarterly chores could include washing and conditioning leather furniture, sweeping out the garage or clearing out the patio or sandbox. Additionally, I recommend re-evaluating your homeschool schedule each quarter to ensure that it fits your children's ever-evolving needs.
Annual chores may include washing window exteriors, sealing the granite countertops or curriculum re-evaluation.
Now that your tasks are labelled, reorganize them so that you have a clear view of what needs to be done each day, week, every other week, month, quarter and year. It might looks something like this:
Spend a moment mourning the fact that the longest list is the daily one, then get back to work balancing your homeschooling and housework! Seriously, though, arranging your homeschool and housework tasks like this will help you better organize and delegate tasks. (Yes, you SHOULD be delegating tasks!)
Make a Calendar
Having a regular schedule helps create structure and a sense of normalcy. It also helps sleep-deprived parents remember all the things! So, let's use that list we just made to create a homeschool and housework calendar.
The goal with your calendar isn't to create a daunting checklist of to do's. It's also not to create a beautiful document. Instead, it is to create a flexible year-at-a-glance that allows you to get things done in real life.
And remember, if you can't get to something on your list that day, it's okay. The calendar we create will contain options for pushing chores back as needed. Having a plan helps, but perfection is not the goal.
I'd love to tell you there is a one-size-fits-all approach to this that you can just download and use, but like homeschooling, your personal housework and homeschooling calendar will be unique. After many attempts, here is how mine wound up looking for 2023:
You will notice that nothing is scheduled for the weekends. This is because I reserve Saturday for make-up work not completed during the week and because Sunday is our dedicated day of and rest. Yours need not follow this approach, but this is what works best for our family.
You'll also notice that my biweekly tasking appears under the "Weekly" heading, so if you're wondering where that went, know that I just combined weekly and biweekly to make the layout easier to work with.
Practically speaking, this tool is easy to use to help me balance homeschooling with housework. I just printed this page, laminated it and hung it on my fridge. Voila! I have a visual, reusable, year-long calendar that keeps me accountable from day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month and so on.
Enlist the Children
Ah, yes; enlisting the children. This is one of my personal favorites - and not just because Montessori moms love practical life skills! Let's face it: one of the most important skills for children is personal responsibility. So, don't try to handle every task alone. Your kids can help with housework and chores at almost any age.
Here are some examples from my home. My 6 year old sets and clears the table, gathers laundry, feeds and gives water to pets, tidies up her messes and helps fold the laundry. My 8 year old does all of that plus cooking and running loads of laundry in the washing machine. We all work together to clean the inside of the cars and wash windows when it's time. They truly enjoy these tasks and feel like productive, helpful, important members of the family when participating.
Recruit your children to pitch in and help on a daily basis. Even young children can learn simple tasks to complete around the home. Start small and increase the household tasks as they get older. By the time your kids are teenagers, you will have given them the gift of knowing how to complete any household task when needed.
Take Cleaning Breaks
No one wants to clean all day, but kids usually enjoy helping out in short bursts. Have the kids do a simple task before starting their day such as collecting laundry or taking out the trash.
Take a mid-day chore break to clean up supplies, help with snacks, or water the plants. At the end of the day, the kids can clean up study materials, organize supplies, wipe down tables or counters, and prepare for the next day.
Teach your kids to help with laundry, fold clothes, and put away their clothes each day. This will save you time, and it teaches them that families work together to get things done.
Have Some Fun
Cleaning is a chore, but it doesn't have to be boring. Make it more interesting by playing music, setting a timer, or even turning a household task into a friendly competition.
This makes it fun and helps motivate kids to complete their chores quickly.
Other Ideas to Consider
I've been improving how I balance homeschooling and housework for almost a decade now. Here are my top 3 most helpful habits I've developed to keep things running smoothly:
1. Use curbside pickup at the grocery store instead of shopping yourself as often as possible.
2. Make it a family rule that each person uses ONE water container per day, and no more.
3. Hire a neighborhood teenager to help out as a mother's helper a few hours per week.
Balancing Homeschooling and Housework
Choosing to homeschool your children is an act of love, but it can be hard to maintain a balance between homeschooling and housework. Every home is different, so you have to find the right balance for your family.
Remember to allow yourself a little grace, make a plan, and enlist the help of your kids to make your day a little easier.
At Multisori, we believe every child deserves a quality, customized education. Our goal is to offer parents the resources, products, and community they need to help them with their homeschooling journey.
Take a look at the high-quality Montessori homeschooling products we offer today.
