I know a great deal of homeschool families, but they are all duel parent households. Since I am a single homeschooling mother, I feel compelled to encourage other single moms who may not think they have what it takes to homeschool. No matter what your schedule is, you can create a homeschool plan that works for you and your children.

First, be organized, yet flexible. It is best to make a plan at the beginning of the year so that you know how much material needs to be covered each week in order to finish the textbooks. I divide the number of pages in my daughter’s textbooks by 180, which is the number of school days in any calendar year. Often, two page per day is enough to complete the book by years end. The flexibility comes in where you actually choose to do the homeschooling. Generally, my daughter and I do school work at the kitchen table, but we have done it in bed on days when one of us didn’t feel well. School work also gets done in the car when there are dentist appointments, or I need to run a bunch of errands.

Second, plan school around your work schedule. If you work from home like I do, you can do the opposite and plan your work schedule around homeschooling. While you are at work, your child can be busy with independent assignments, such as reading a history lesson. After work, you can concentrate on the lessons that require instruction. What many single moms may not realize is that school only takes about 3 to 4 hours each day, not the 6 to 7 hours that children spend in traditional schools.

Finally, homeschooled children have more time for play, and extracurricular activities. My daughter takes horse back riding lessons at 10:30 am on Fridays, and piano lessons on Thursdays at 1:00 pm. She doesn’t have to wait until school lets out, and she almost never has homework to work on outside of class-the exception being book reports and research papers. When she gets a bit older, she will have the time to volunteer at the Animal Shelter, or take on a job without it affecting her studies.