Advice for a Successful Homeschool Day When Dad Works from Home

Inside: The honest reality when Dad works from home. Get advice on how to keep interruptions to a minimum.

I should have been suspicious of the uninterrupted teaching time.  Of the quiet click of pencils on paper, with heads studiously bowed. 

The absence of little blonde ringlets bouncing at my side should have tipped me off.  But I was lost in a lesson explaining multiple digit multiplication. 

From down the hall, I hear my husband call out, “Destiny, can you come get Lenora?  I have a meeting in five minutes!”

“Shoot!” I hurriedly toss my pencil and hustle down the hall to my husband’s office.

Inside, I find my three-year-old with her blanket spread on the floor. Dolls precisely placed in front of plates filled with play food.  On the corner of my husband’s desk, I see the plate and cup she has so lovingly prepared for him.

The Honest Reality When Dad Works from Home

For the longest time, my husband working from home while I homeschooled was our normal.

We all loved it. We loved he could be part of our school day.

When the day came he needed to return to an office setting, we hung our heads and relented. We knew it was for the best.

Of course, just when we’d adjusted to our new normal, life comes along and upends it all.

Like many, my husband found himself working from home due to the coronavirus threat.

While coworkers struggled to find a way to balance work with kids at home, we implemented our old strategies.

Somehow, There’s Always A Spider–How to Deal with Interruptions

I don’t even remember where the reference came from. Some obscure quote from a homeschool speaker, perhaps. But it became the code phrase for when my husband was feeling overly interrupted by us–“There’s always a spider.”

There is always some reason for your kids–or you–to want to intrude on your spouse’s workday. It’s natural to want to include them. But nothing hampers productivity more than a constant parade of children wanting your attention.

When working from home is new, it’s going to be treated like a great novelty. Like any new toy, the excitement from the newness will wear off, and your husband will begin to feel the neglect he once craved.

Set up a Separate Workspace for Dad at Home

In the meantime, do your best to set him up a workstation in a different area of the house from where you normally homeschool. Preferably with a door.

When my husband worked from home all the time, he had a dedicated home office on another floor. Now, he’s using our bedroom, which just happens to be across from the schoolroom. It’s not ideal, but we’re making it work.

The Closed Door Policy

Do you remember in college when your roommate would put a sock or tie or whatever on the doorknob as a signal they were “busy” and you needed to stay out?

You need to come up with a signal for Dad to let everyone know those times he absolutely, cannot be disturbed. For us, this is a closed door. When Dad’s door is closed kids know he’s either in a meeting or needs complete focus on the task at hand. If the door is cracked, kids can ask him pertinent questions. Wide-open and they are free to wander in for short visits.

You may need to do some re-teaching on occasion, but the physical sign of a closed door is a helpful do-not-disturb reminder.

Give a Heads Up–Minimizing Noise

“Lenora, you need to use your quiet voice.”

This was met by an eye roll and her loudly announcing, “My quiet voice is broken.”

My three-year-old has but one volume–LOUD. And with seven kids at home, it often sounds like I’m homeschooling a herd of elephants or a gaggle of geese for all the noise.

To expect my kids to maintain an air of silence all day is impractical. Instead, my husband gives us a heads up for times he will be on the phone and the estimated length of the meeting. During that slot of time, we do quieter activities, play outside, and ban piano practice.

Under normal circumstances, I would schedule outings to the park or library during set meeting times.

I do try to keep the noise level to a minimum in general. When things get too loud I start clenching my teeth, my eye twitches, and my chocolate supply dwindles.

When my husband is not in a meeting, he wears headphones to cancel out the noise, listens to music or closes the door.

Have Dad Take Breaks with Family

There’s nothing like having Dad open the door from his makeshift office and start a nerf war. Whether he’s nipping out to give me a quick kiss between meetings or we’re taking a walk during his lunch hour, my husband takes his break time to interact with us.

When Dad chooses the “interruption” time, it’s less disruptive to everyone’s day. Now, if he chooses to start a nerf war when you finally got everyone’s attention, you may need to have a chat, but usually, it’s a welcome interruption.

Disruptions to Your Homeschool When Dad Works From Home

When you’re homeschooling while the other parent works from home, there are going to be interruptions to your day. And the disruption will not only be to your spouse’s workday.

Kids have a harder time focusing when they know Dad is home. I have a harder time focusing when I know my husband is home. This is especially true when working from home is not normal.

For whatever reason, when Dad working from home is sporadic, my kids think they get a day pass from school on those days.

You will have to decide how you handle those days. Some days I can get everyone refocused. Other days, I throw my hands in the air and pull out the Legos.

Interruptions are the Spice of Life

Homeschooling is about doing what works for your family. Having your spouse work from home may or may not be an ideal situation for you, but there are ways to make it work. Focus on the positive–no commute time, meals as a family, an on-site principle.

Soon enough everyone will find their groove. You’ll hear the click-clack of keyboard keys and the turn of book pages as kids studiously do their schoolwork. And then you’ll hear your husband calling you to come to get your one-year-old who’s pleased he’s finally tall enough to open doors.

*I know in some homeschool families it is the dad who homeschools while mom works from home. However, for the majority, it is the mother who teaches while dad works. For the simplicity of this post, I used dad instead of the generic of “parent” but all advice is the same.