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Balancing Act Question–Personal Time
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I previously posted asking about influential books in your home-schooling decision and got so many helpful responses, I thought I’d post another question that I’ve been wrestling with as we seek God’s will for the future education of our children.
As a recap, I’ve got an 18 month-old and am pregnant with our second (so we have a good bit of time here). But as I think ahead I am finding myself drawn to the CM home-school vision.
Now some more background to my question: for the past 7 years, I’ve worked as a professional writer. I’ve felt a tremendous sense of calling, and have had the privilege to use my love for the written word as a means to glorify and serve the Lord. Outside of my full-time work as a writer for a Christian non-profit, I had my first book published with Zondervan in 2009. As my son has come along, I’ve stepped down from my full-time work, and have taken a breather, but am hoping to begin working on some book ideas I have soon. Now with this kind of work, I would have deadlines but thankfully those can be spread out over months.
As I pray and seek God’s will for whether He would have us home-school or instead send to a Christian school, a big question in my mind is whether I will have time to write if I’m homeschooling because I believe writing (at least at a reduced time-level) is still part of God’s call on my life. So with all this long-winded preamble, I’m wondering how much time to yourself do you find that you have in a given week? (I’m sure it waxes and wanes given the ages of your children.) Could you work a home-school schedule so that you could grab a space of a couple of hours for your own hard concentration-requiring work between 2 to 4 times a week? Have any of you successfully used outside help (childcare, housekeeping, etc) or extracurricular activities for your kids to create time for yourself for things God has called you to do? Is this realistic?
I believe God will both equip and supply for what He calls us to do, but I also believe in doing due diligence as we prayerfully seek His particular path for us and our families.
Thank you in advance for your replies. I know they’ll help bring some clarity.
Oh, I think you could find the time somehow. You make time for what you love. I have 7 kiddies and I’m pregnant with #8… somehow I managed to make a double quilt in August (hand-quilted) and I’m more than 3/4 done a smaller (45″x60″) quilt for our youngest (again, hand-quilted). In case you think I’m super-organized or something to be able to do this… I’M NOT… I’m organizationally challenged! If I was an organized person (with a more specific family schedule for example) then I know I could get a lot more done. Sometimes I stay up late. I almost always put the littles to bed on time, so I can sometimes beg off reading novels to the older ones before bed if I have some project I need to do that can’t be done when the littles are awake (paint a room or something). My point is, you make time for the things you love. Go for it. The experience of it will certainly become more fuel for your writing, and there’s nothing like spending day after day with those blessed children to keep you humbly seeking the Lord. Have no anxious thought for tomorrow… if you feel called to do both then trust that God will give you the ability to do it.
BTW, Don Aslett has a book for writers I read once… tons of ideas for squeezing your writing into the extra moments of the day. I love all his books actually. “How to Have a 48-hour Day” “Clutter’s Last Stand” “Get Organized, Get Published!”(that’s the writing book I read) “Is There Life After Housework?” Quick, easy reads… very motivating. I got them all through the library. (He doesn’t recommend schedules and on this point I disagree with him because schedules are especially good for kids.)
A couple of hours 2-4x/week should be very doable for something you love, I think. There are homeschool moms who work outside jobs, PT and FT. I used to work a PT job on my husband’s day off and it worked very well….it felt like a ‘day off’ to me and he did some schooling while I was gone:) I know there are days that I can spend 2 hrs. (sad to say) on the computer surfing homeschool forums, ideas, e-mail….so I think you could definately do it if it’s important to you! Blessings, Gina
Well, the author of one of the homeschooling books recommended in your other thread, Lisa Whelchel, has written several books during her homeschooling years, so it can be done. During the year when she had to write a lot more (publishing deadline loomed), she gathered materials and had her husband drop the kids off at her mom’s house. Grandma did a lot of the homeschooling for awhile. If that’s an option for you, even for one morning a week, you might do something like that.
Also, don’t forget that the early years feature much shorter lessons and you can even wait on formal grammar and science, just do nature study.
Thanks so much for your responses.
Momtomany–I’d love to see your quilt. It sounds fantastic. And don’t sell yourself short, if you can work that into your life while teaching/raising your 7 children, you must have more organizational skills than you give yourself credit for.
Gina–thanks for sharing your experience of working a PT job.
Sue–thanks for the details about how Ms. Whelchel made it happen. I wish grandparents lived closer. That would be such a blessing. And its also a good reminder that earlier on with the littles the lessons are shorter.
I appreciate everyone’s insights!
I think you’ll find the time. I don’t “work” from home, but I do blog, practice traditional cooking, have time with friends and family, and attend many regular church functions. Some weeks are really laid back; others are crazy. We’ve learned to roll with it. I did have a small part-time job last year, but I have since given it up. I find that I have to make time for the things I enjoy outside of homeschooling/being a momma or I’ll go nuts. If writing’s your thing, you’ll find time for it. The ages of your children may make that difficult for you for the first couple of years, but you’ll eventually find your stride. Writing may definitely be part of God’s plan for your life; you might just have a few other things to attend to first. It may have to take a back seat for a while until your children are at a point where they have more independence. I don’t know what it will look like for you and your family, but I know that I can always find the time for the things I enjoy, even if it’s at 11:00 p.m.!
Blessings on your journey,
Lindsey
Through all the crazyness of scheduling and schooling your precious ones as well as maintaining a strong marriage, your writing will become even more enriching. Soak every moment in, even the difficult ones as you relate everything to God’s glory. Maybe scheduling in small increments of time throughout the week for just writing would fulfill your need. That’s how my biggest “projects” get done eventually. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. 🙂 I have to remind myself that often!
Another awesome writer who homeschools is Ann VosKamp, who wrote One Thousand Gifts. Her blog is good too.
Thanks Lindsey and Simplehome for joining your encouraging voices to the chorus. God seems to have all the folks I’m asking singing in unison. I think that’s a good sign of confirmation.
Because I was married young, I started having children in my early twenties (I now have seven children) and found myself so unprepared to run a busy household. I had to learn to manage my home and homeschool in the trenches. I think it is great that you are thinking ahead about your time and trying to gain much knowledge about homeschooling when your children are young. I strongly encourage you to think about your household systems like meals, laundry, paper organization, housecleaning, etc. I believe, dappled light, you will gain a lot of time if you get yourself (or keep yourself) organized now. Your systems will definitely change as your family grows, but they won’t have to be built from scratch as a desperate survival tactic. Reading books about homemaking, organizing, homeschooling as helped me much, but the implementation of some of these strategies and household systems has helped me more.
How many days I have struggled with the imbalance of house and school I dare not write here on a public forum.
Blessings and congratulations on your growing toddler and growing belly dweller.
Janell
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