Homeschooling While Working

The question has been asked, "How do you juggle working either in the home or outside the home and homeschooling?"

Well I have worked on and off, both in and out of our home, since the birth of our daughter.  When she was about six months old and then again a few years later, I would go into work once a week for a few hours a day to help out.  The first time only lasted a few months, but the second time I was working for about a year.  Although I only went into work once a week, I would also work at home a few hours each day.  At the time we were not homeschooling but I was staying at home with our daughter and either my parents or my dh's parents would watch her when I went into work and I worked at home during her naps or in the evenings when she was sleeping.

A couple years after that I worked at home for a company taking inbound sales calls.  Again, this was when our daughter was still taking naps so I would only work during her nap time.  Once she was through with naps completely, it was harder for me to find time to work during the day.

Since then, I have had a business at home, making and selling girls' hair accessories (bows, headbands, etc).  I would make them every chance I would get, but mostly in the evenings and weekends when dh was home.  I had a few home shows but coordinated those with playdates, so the children played and the moms would check out my stuff.  I also attended a few craft shows on the weekends and sold at those. 

Since our daughter has been officially homeschooling, which has been about 1 1/2 years, the only job I have had has been with the TOS Crew.  I try to work on my blog, reviews, and other posts early in the morning before she wakes up.  Her school work is very teacher-directed, so I do spend a lot of time one-on-one with her during the day.  If it's a school day, like today, I work on my blog during her breaks and while she is working on an assignment that she can handle on her own. 

It's takes good time management and organization to pull it off.  Not only am I homeschooling, but I have to worry about cleaning the house, doing the laundry, cooking the meals, running errands, and tending to the dog.  It's a lot to think about, but I just can't be sitting still during the day.  If I'm not "working", I'm working on something, like couponing, co-ops, and field trips...but I wouldn't change it for the world!