So how does that work exactly?

I've had a couple of people ask me recently (and I'm willing to bet there are more of you wondering) about how I am able to both work and homeschool.

Well, to start, I only teach two classes, two days a week. I do have to hold some office hours, but I also do that on the same two days, so the kids are with a babysitter for about five hours on those days. (And, as I have lamented here too many times, any extra grading work gets done in the evenings after bedtime.)

We have a great babysitter who has been a lifesaver for us this year. In the past, when the hours have been even shorter, we've shuffled the kids around with family, traded babysitting hours with friends, etc., but it has been so much better and easier this year to have someone come to our house. She is a college student and friend of ours from church (one of my former Young Women), and, most importantly, the kids LOVE her. They were counting the days until she came back after Christmas break. (And I tried not to let that hurt my feelings!)

As far as how that all affects our homeschooling...we are able to do the bulk of the work on the other three days of the week. We still do some basics--reading, math, handwriting--on the other two days, plus the kids are to complete a lesson on the computer (we use an online phonics program called Click-N-Kids). But all of our other "big" unit activities are managed just fine on the three days I am home all day.

It might not always be the case (we are just in Kindergarten after all) that this schedule works for us, especially after we add the new little one this year, but for now, we're good. I really enjoy teaching both at the university and at home, and the kids are progressing as they should; plus, I tend to be more organized and efficient when I have a tighter schedule. It's a win-win all around.

So, that's how that works exactly!