Making Money while Homeschooling

Wreaths of Maine has a long tradition of helping to support homeschooled students and their families. Thousands of homeschoolers have sold for us, earning commission on every wreath that they sell. That commission can go toward funding your homeschooling efforts, to defray the cost of educational trips, or even -- as some families have learned -- to help generate household income.

For some families, choosing the fulfilling path of homeschooling means losing all, or at least a portion, of one income stream. Full-time employment is most definitely out of the question. And most outside-the-home part-time jobs have inflexible schedules that don’t always work around homeschooling time. This means that unless you were already a stay at home mom or dad, you’re probably looking at anywhere between a 25-50% cut in your weekly household cash flow.

Reduced costs for childcare may help to reduce that loss to a more reasonable level. But many homeschooling parents look for ways to create income even though closely tied to home.

Here are a few ideas and things you can do to help make it easier on yourself to make money while homeschooling.

Don’t treat yourself like a failure because you feel the pressure to work.
You may have set an expectation for yourself that you would be 100% devoted to the education of your children. But the truth is, not every family is the same. Most families can’t thrive on just one income. And single-parent homes have even less resources to fall back upon.
Cut yourself some slack. Finding a way to bring in income doesn’t make you a failure. It means you’re multi-talented. And probably very busy.

Be flexible.
Running through lessons and helping with homework will most likely keep you busy until it’s time to make dinner. So that means sometimes you don’t get to start “work” until 7:30 P.M. If the work you’re doing can be fit around the things in your life that can’t be moved, then be flexible and go with the flow.
If that means school starts at noon on Tuesdays because you work late on Mondays, then so be it. Life happens and your kids will learn to adapt to it the same way you do.

Be INflexible.
Some days will be so hectic, you’ll do a million things, and yet not make headway on any of them. When these days happen, the only thing you can do is section off some hours of your daily planner devoted to one task, and work on it until it’s done. It’s time to stop being flexible and it’s your family’s turn to accommodate your needs.
It’s also good to teach your kids that just because you CAN move things around on your schedule doesn’t mean that you always should. Sometimes you have to start lessons at 8:00 A.M. even when you’re not feeling it.

Integrate chores with family time. And work too.
No one likes doing dishes, but two people together can have great conversations while doing them. This is actually a good opportunity to multi-task and overlap things on your To Do list. It also helps spread the tasks around so that you can devote a little more time to tasks that generate revenue for the family.

You may find that your family is interested in helping you with your work too. Repetitive, menial tasks can seem fresh and exciting to those who have never had to do anything like them before. Involve your family and farm jobs out when you can.

Wreaths of Maine continues to support the efforts of homeschooled students and families everywhere. If you are interested in supplementing your income by selling our wreaths, please order a sales kit today https://wreathsofmaine.com/node/22.