We Are A Two Income Family, I Can’t Homeschool My Kids
When I was in elementary school God placed a small desire in me to homeschool my future children. Later, I graduated from college, started working, got married, grew in my career and then became pregnant with my first son. The plan was to take maternity leave then place my child in childcare when I returned to work and place him in school after that. But, once I held my baby in my arms that small desire to homeschool grew. However, there was one small problem, my husband and I both needed to work to pay the bills. So we prayed and guess what, God gave me the opportunity to work and homeschool my child.
While I was pregnant I worked two jobs. I was working in the IT field by day and as a bookkeeper by night and on the weekends. I approached both companies asking for a flexible schedule that would allow me to spend more time at home with my baby and only one of the two companies agreed. I had to leave the job where I was working in my chosen field, I.T., so that I could fulfill my bigger career goal of raising and homeschooling my child. It was a difficult decision but it was the most important decision I have ever made.
Friends and family have been a tremendous help in my homeschool journey. While my son was still an infant I was able to bring him to work with me. He slept most of the time so this worked out perfectly. As he became older he slept less and less so my grandmother and my mother watched him during the day while I worked. This was the perfect setup because my child was given the opportunity to develop a relationship with his grandparents and great grandparents. This is a relationship that he truly cherishes.
As my child has gotten older my job titles and functions have changed a bit. Right now I am blessed to be able to work from home. Homeschooling and working from home has not been easy for me but it is doable and I’m very thankful for this opportunity. If you would like to work from home or at a job with a flexible schedule there are several opportunities available to you. A few of them are as follows:
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Start a Blog
Yes, this will take a bit of work but there are several successful mommy bloggers out there. I would recommend picking up a book or two about blogging. You could start with Michael Hyatt’s book Platform. I would also suggest you attend a blogging conference so that you can get to know and learn from other bloggers. You could start by attending BEECH or Titus 2:1
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Start a Business
I know this may seem overwhelming but you can do it. If you are crafty start selling some of your crafts on Etsy or a similiar site. You can clean houses, paint houses, start a landscaping business or start an online business. My husband is very artistic and he created a site where he gives away and sells images and videos. He can only do this in his “spare” time but he has been able to make enough money to buy a car and a few fun things for our family. He also created an online grade reporting system that I manage. So we are able to work together which is nice, most days!
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Find a Flexible Company
Find a company that will allow you to work online or have a flexible schedule.
Work for a company as a virtual assistant or a bookkeeper. I know several people who maintain the books for companies that allow them to work on the evenings or weekends. Become a medical transcriptionist, a property manager or a realtor. I have worked as a property manager it wasn’t the easiest job but it was flexible and allowed me to spend more time at home with my kids.
With a little work and planning it is possible for both parents to work and homeschool. It’s been hard at times for us but totally worth it. Are you a two income family who homeschools? How do you make it work for your family?
