Balance while working and homeschooling

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Working Homeschool Mom

Finding the Work & School Balance

Ginny Kochis is a Working Homeschool Mom. She is a full time blogger and teaching writer in the Northern Virginia area. Before having children, Ginny was a high school teacher for about 7 years. When her children came along, she knew she wanted to be at home with them, but still needed to help financially.

She came to enjoy working with the homeschooled kids that she was tutoring and saw differences in these kids that she really liked. Being a teacher, however, she fully expected to send her kids to school. Problems began when her oldest began school. She began homeschooling her kids after her first “failed” Kindergarten. How a small child reading at the sixth grade level fails kindergarten is boggling, but there Ginny was, watching her twice exceptional child struggle with school. She found her daughter was bored and not really challenged in kindergarten. Ginny ended up bringing her home after testing and now she homeschools all three of her kids.

She calls NotSoFormulaic.com, her blogging home where she ties together all her interests in twice exceptional children, writing, and tutoring.

Overbooked this year: Freelance writing, blogging and teaching a coop class, and then two clubs in the homeschool group keep her ultra busy this year.

Listen to Ginny talk about their homeschool and work schedule on the podcast.

She has two daughters with Sensory Processing Disorder who are also highly gifted.
This end of year, they are trying their hand at unschooling, and pursuing whatever it is that strikes their fancy.
Extra-curricular activities included an Art studio that includes music, theater, and dance instruction for homeschoolers through the Metropolitan School for the Arts, a classical program for the kids, and the coop.

Working from Home and Homeschool Balance

Ginny lists two challenging issues: The twice exceptional children she is raising. While they have their challenges, a schooling environment would be a greater struggle.
The second is running a homeschool successfully while trying to balance a business. There are days that must be dedicated to projects, and she tries to fit in writing time before the children wake in the morning.

We discuss how it’s typical for homeschooling moms to overestimate what we can do.

Her motivation comes from sheer force of will sometimes. Following through in commitments keeps her going, however, she would like listening to God’s voice to be her main motivation.
We make a change in the question “What would you do differently?” It can lead to regrets. The better question would be “what do you desire to do differently next year?”
Ginny responded that learning how to say no has been a learning curve. Approach schooling differently, which includes cutting back on activities and perhaps building her own curriculum, focusing on writing instruction.

Particular Devotion:

For herself: Ginny prays the Rosary while she exercises. She reads Edith Stein material, and John Paul the Great for his writing on women. Alice VonHildebrand isn’t a saint, but her work is fantastic.
Family: Doesn’t consider herself good at following the liturgical year. Together she and her kids stop during the day and focus on praying for others. Her husband has a prayer routine with the kids at night. During Lent, she had a series of meditations for families on her blog to follow their spiritual growth and they did that together.

Books:
Her own journals for writing,
The Mother’s Manual Fr. Frances Koonz

Popcak’s Beyond the Birds and the Bees

Collection of Rick Bragg

Self Care:

Ginny sees working out is her time for herself and writing is therapeutic.

Talks about the stuggle many face with a work, homeschool balance, but that she finds a lot of joy in her work. It fulfills one of the purposes in her heart.

Ginny sees her vocation to be a wife an mother, also a writer and teacher. She also makes time to spend with friends, and her mom and sister.

Ginny also has learned to respond and not react and considers this as part of her self care. Less reactive and more gentle in her responses.
Celebrate who we are and love the place that God put us. 10-15 years from now, we may understand better what God is asking of us now. Being open to God and praying for his will.