Homeschooling while working full-time sounds impossible—until you’re doing it because, well, here you are. You want your kids educated, your bills paid, and maybe—wild thought—your sanity intact.

Good news: it is possible to homeschool while working full-time.
Bad news: it won’t look like the homeschool schedules you see on Pinterest

And that’s not a bad thing or a failure. That’s just reality.

Let’s talk about how this actually works in real life—without burnout, guilt spirals, or pretending you have six uninterrupted hours a day.

Can You Really Homeschool While Working Full-Time?

Yes. But not by creating Pinterest-perfect homeschool rooms, or copying stay-at-home homeschool routines and duct-taping them onto your life.

Homeschooling as a working parent requires:

Fewer hours, not more
Smarter systems, not stricter schedules
Letting go of “school should look like…”

If your kids are learning, growing, and not completely miserable, you’re doing it right—even if math happens at 6pm and science is a YouTube video.

The Biggest Mistakes Working Homeschool Moms Make

Let’s save you some exhaustion, here’s what NOT to do when you’re trying to homeschool while working from home...

1. Over-schooling

More hours does not equal better education. Depending on their age, most homeschool kids finish core subjects in 2–3 focused hours. Here are the hours per day (by age) that I try to follow:

Preschool: 0. Yes, I said zero. No formal instruction. Playing and reading books together is all you need to do.
Kindergarten: 0. Again, no formal instruction at this age.
Elementary (Grades 1-4): 1-3 hours. Often 45 mins - 2 hours, increasing as they get older but I say 2 hours is plenty.
Middle School (Grades 5-8): 2-4 hours. Can range from 1.5 hours up to 3-4 hours for academics plus special interests.
High School (Grades 9-12): 2-5 hours. May extend to 5-7 hours with deeper interests, projects, and working or volunteering in a field.

2. Over-scheduling

Minute-by-minute schedules fall apart the second a meeting runs long or someone needs a snack. (Someone always needs a snack.). It’s also the quickest way to fall behind or burn out!

3. Copying stay-at-home homeschoolers

Their schedule isn’t better. It’s just built for a completely different life.

What a Realistic Homeschool Day Looks Like When You Work

Here’s the truth Google won’t tell you: homeschool doesn’t have to be during the day, or even happen all at once. You can work it in however you darn well please!

Option 1: Morning Focus

Independent work or reading before work
Short lessons you can oversee while getting ready
Recommendation: Morning Baskets are great for independence! (see below)

Option 2: Afternoon Flex

Work breaks = check-ins
Educational shows, audiobooks, or online programs
Recommendation: get your “dealbreaker” academics done early so the afternoon is easy but educational!

Option 3: Evening Learning

Read-alouds
Interest-based activities
Discussion-based subjects
Recommendation: Keep the evening a little more chill and watch your child for when they are hitting their limit!

Homeschooling CAN happen at the same time as your work, but it doesn’t HAVE to. Your kids don’t need you hovering over them 9–3. But you can also homeschool at night or on weekends if they DO need more of your attention.

5 Systems That Make Homeschooling + Working Possible

This is where the magic actually happens.

1. Time Block Scheduling

Set loose times throughout the day to group similar subjects together instead of doing everything daily. And then stick to them.

2. Loop Scheduling

You have a schedule but they’re on a rotation that isn’t daily. When life happens (and it will), you just pick up where you left off. No guilt required.

3. Morning Baskets

One grab-and-go set of books or activities that works for morning time (you could do a basket for each child or one basket for multiple kids).

4. Independent Learning Blocks

Teach kids how to work without you. This is a life skill, not neglect.

5. Weekly Planning (Not Daily Perfection)

Plan once a week. Adjust daily. That’s it.

How to Prevent Burnout Before You Hit the Wall

Burnout doesn’t show up suddenly—it creeps in quietly.

Here’s how to stop it early:

Define your minimum viable homeschool (aka “dealbreakers”)
Build in flex days
Stop trying to “catch up” like you’re behind

You’re not behind. You’re homeschooling and working. That’s already advanced mode.

Listen…do less

You don’t need to do more—you need to do less, better. Homeschooling while working full-time is about systems, not trying to do it all at the expense of your sanity.

If you want help building a homeschool plan that fits around your work schedule (instead of fighting it), this is exactly what I help working moms do every day.

And if you need a planner to help you juggle homeschool and working, grab my Homeschool HQ Planner so you can have everything at your fingertips.

How to Homeschool While Working Full-Time (Without Burning Out)