Homeschooling While Working

by Natalie Orzame
Aug. 31, 2026

“Can I homeschool if I work?” We hear this question often and the simple answer is, “yes.” But that raises the question: How? The answer to that lies in the beauty of schooling at home. Homeschooling isn’t about recreating a traditional brick and mortar classroom at home. It’s about creating an educational experience that works for your family.

You Might be Surprised

There are many obstacles that can come up in your life when God calls you to homeschool. Time, money, ability, etc. While some of these challenges are very important and practical, as with any step of faith, much of our struggle is rooted in fear and insecurity. Sometimes God calls us to sacrifice and stay home full time with our kids. Sometimes God calls us to sacrifice and step out into the workplace to fulfill our calling there as well as at home. Sometimes, as often happens in California, God calls us to sacrifice for a season to help bring in additional income so we can stay in California. The important thing is to obey God in what He is calling you to do, and to trust Him with the details. You might be surprised how He comes through for your family when you begin to step out in obedience.

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

Juggling a job and homeschooling can get tricky. But it doesn’t have to be complicated if you keep your priorities in check. Dr. Julie Goodman-Bowling, in her workshop entitled “Navigating Working Outside the Home While Homeschooling” at our 2025 Parenting & Homeschool Convention, addresses this point brilliantly. Julie points out that we all have a primary calling and a secondary calling. Our primary calling is always to be a Christ follower, a wife, and a mother. Our jobs or careers are our secondary calling. Chances are, the reason why you have chosen to homeschool your child is partly because you want to be the primary influence in your child’s life. Don’t let your job take that family influence away from you. Prioritize building connection time with God and your family into your week.

Let Go of the "School-at-Home" Mindset

Now, fleshing out how to live out those priorities–balancing a job, homeschooling, “wife-ing”, and mothering–requires flexibility and creativity. Thankfully, one of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility and creativity it offers. Going on a work trip? Take the family with you! Stop at some local museums and experience some history different from your own. Work a 9 to 5 job? A day’s learning can be done in the evening hours that a public school student will spend doing their homework. If you have family or other homeschool friends nearby, your children can learn with grandparents or parents who are willing to take turns co-teaching. If you and your spouse work different hours, sometimes you’ll discover that Dad is a much more patient math teacher than you. Maybe the elderly lady at church would be thrilled to lead your kids in all of those messy art projects that you dread. Many PSPs also offer drop-off classes for several ages. 

But chances are, if you don’t fit into any of those work scenarios, your job is probably one that offers a lot of flexibility. According to a recent Gallup poll, a combined 78% of people in the workplace work remotely or have a hybrid job that offers flexibility. If you fall into this category, whether you work full time or part time, now is the most favorable time to homeschool and work.

There Isn't One Right Schedule

Getting creative with your learning schedule offers lots of options. I teach my kids September through May around my part-time, work-from-home schedule. Another thing I do is a four-day school week since we prioritize one day a week for my kids to spend with their grandparents–which is a win-win situation for us all! This works great since my younger kids curriculum is often a three-day a week schedule. For my older ones, one day a week is a double lesson day for two or three of their subjects. 

I mentioned above that oftentimes school work can be done in the evening hours of the day. Some families like utilizing those early morning hours for this. Another option is schooling year-round. This spreads out their year so there is less pressure on you to fit everything into a restricted time schedule. Some families even do all of their curriculum during the weekends. The possibilities are endless. 

Choose Curriculum That Fits Your Lifestyle

Being a working parent, you’ll probably not benefit from a curriculum that requires a lot of prep time or personal one-on-one teaching time. This doesn’t mean that you won’t ever teach your child one-on-one or that you’re giving your kids entirely over to someone else to teach. But there are many options that are:

• Open-and-go

• Independent when appropriate

• Flexible rather than rigid

• Easy to pause and resume

Remember that not every subject needs to be done every single week day. This is where priorities come in handy again. Focus on your family’s educational priorities. Many families prioritize Bible or devotional time each day, no matter what other learning ends up taking place. Then the core subjects like math, reading, and writing can happen, even if the science experiment didn’t happen because you forgot to have all of the supplies on hand (ask me how I know).

If You Have Littles

One important caveat is that all of these ideas are easier if your kids are a bit older and independent. Many working moms have babies and toddlers, and I should insert here that some seasons are harder than others and require more grace for ourselves. It’s wise to keep in mind that mothering and homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes you have to jog (or walk or drag yourself through) the turns and sometimes you are sprinting the straights. Where you lack in one season, you will flourish in the next. Do your best to get creative with your time and abilities, utilizing your spouse, older siblings, family, church family, and friends. But also, be patient with yourself and your kids when each day is a struggle. Some seasons require perseverance and simply doing “the next right thing” as Elisabeth Elliot so wisely said. What you toil to plant in this season will flourish in the next.

Conclusion

You are in good company! Thousands of working parents homeschool successfully. Keep your priorities in check and remember that success isn’t measured by having the perfect schedule or doing it all, but by faithfully investing in your children’s education and character. Homeschooling can adapt to many different work situations. With planning and a lot of flexibility and creativity, you can create a rhythm that supports both work and learning.

Join our working homeschool moms Facebook group for fellowship and a safe place to ask practical questions and get tips from other working homeschool moms in California.

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Natalie and her husband are church planters in Southern California and homeschool their four children, ages four through thirteen. Natalie works as CHEA’s Communications Assistant. If you’ve visited CHEA’s social media pages or received their newsletter, you’ve seen her work. Her favorite part of homeschooling is reading aloud to her kids and relearning everything she wasn’t taught in public school.