Will my wife cope? (He actually means, “Will she have time for me?)
The answer is, “Yes and Yes!”
Homeschooling should not be school at home. A mom (or dad) does not need to spend 6 hours of the day teaching the children. About 2 hours a day of her full attention should be enough. Then they should be able to do some activities on their own, especially once they can read.
Children also need to be trained to help with chores so that they are part of a team that contributes to the running of the home. It’s tough in the beginning when they are small, messy and not much help. You may need to lower your standards of neatness to guard your sanity at that stage. It gets better as you get better organized and get systems in place to help you with the smoother-running of the home. They also get older and more efficient at helping.
Here are tips and printables to help you train your children to do chores. Free Printable Chore Charts
Every home and family will still have challenges and this will force you to grow in character as you face your flaws and work on learning good relationship-building skills in the face of these challenges.
Deal with attitudes first and academics later. This means that sometimes a character-issue will become the lesson for the day and books will have to be put aside for another time. These heart-to-heart lessons are priceless. They equip your children for life, so don’t only measure education by pages completed in books.
Read Raising Men and Women of Character
When it comes to your relationship, you will both have to make it a priority and set aside time to work on all aspects of the relationship. Your partner deserves more than just the ‘leftovers’ of your time and attention!
Take time out to be alone – whether it is in the bedroom, a walk around the block, a chat after the kids are in bed, a coffee date or even a meal out, when finances allow. Make the effort as this tells your partner that he or she is special and also a priority, not just work or the kids! When his love tank is full, he’ll be much more inclined to be supportive, especially if he was originally skeptical about the decision to homeschool!