It’s About Time is a blog series on time management. Join us as we take a peek into the lives of different homeschool moms, all with a unique approach. Today, let’s meet Awilla!

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From Nurse to Homeschool Mom

My name is Awilla, I am a full-time homeschool mom with 3 kids, Sasa 8 years old, and my set of twins, Aaron and Abby, 2 years old; yep, I know life is crazy.

I have been homeschooling for a year now, and it has been a crazy journey, a learning curve for my husband, daughter, and myself.

I have quit homeschooling in my head so many times it’s not even funny anymore. But the joy of seeing my daughter learning something that I know she would not have learned at school keeps me motivated. Also, I am not a quitter.

A little background about me, I am a Biologist who became a nurse (that is what I practice full-time) who is also a full-time homeschooler. My husband and I made the decision to homeschool our children many years ago, but we were unable to do so due to the state we lived in, NJ. Let’s just say it’s much harder to homeschool there.

So, we moved to NC 3 years ago, and we are loving every second of it.

What does my schedule looks like?

Crazy, really, that is the best answer. I wake-up at 4:50 am; that is my time. I have my devotional and work a little on my blog, One Perfectly Imperfect Mom; this happens from 4:50 to 7 am.

From 7:00 am to 8:30 am I start cooking breakfast and dinner. Yes, you read right, dinner, because there is no way I will cook when I come back from work. The kids wake up around 7:30 am.

I go to work at 9 am, and my husband stays home and does some of the homeschooling. He is in charge of history and overseeing answering the questions from the work I set up for my daughter on the previous day.

We only homeschool 4-5 times per week, and we follow a year-round schedule, which gives us the flexibility to do a lot more things with our daughter and the twins.

Then I get home at 3 pm. Have dinner with the family and we go for nature walks. We have a big elementary school behind our house with a huge field and playground so I take the kids there or around the neighbourhood. This is a great observational and a way for me to teach science a little differently.

At 7 pm it’s time to read out loud for the twins because they go to bed at 8 pm.

8:00 pm to 8:45 pm, my daughter and I go over what she did during the day, and we usually do some craft related to what we are learning or the season of the year.

Main Challenges

The main challenge for me it’s that everything needs to be planned out. If not planned, it’s not getting done. So, I walk around with a 70-page notebook or my planner all the time.

To be honest with you, if it’s not written down it’s not getting done. From meal planning to craft with the kids to walks, everything needs to be written down.

It’s hard because sometimes I find myself going in circles without ever stopping and taking care of myself. This is when I pray to God to give me the strength to keep on going.

Tips

The best tip I can give to any person homeschooling it’s to just plan. Plan ahead for success and to set yourself up for success. If you have a busy life as I do, there is no time to waste.

I find that when I plan and go through my to do list thinking part is avoided and therefore less stressful.

Seek time to take care of yourself.

On Saturdays, my husband knows that I don’t cook I only clean in the morning and do the laundry. I don’t even want to go out, to be honest. But Sunday is the planning day for the week.

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About Awilla

Awilla is the One Perfectly Imperfect Mom. She’s a mom to four little munchkins Haddy 7 years old, Jazmin 17 year old and Aaron & Abigail 22 months old fraternal twins. She’s been married and her mission is to help moms understand that there is no such thing as perfection. Every household is different therefore, know that you are a GREAT MOM because you are getting the job DONE. Learn more about Awilla here.