How to Work When Your Kids Are On Break From School

My seven-year-old son Tyler returned to school today after being on break since Holy Thursday. Now I feel like I need to take a break!

One of the best reasons to work from home, if you're a mom, is definitely being able to spend more time with your kids. But one of the drawbacks of working from home when you have young kids is you still have to work. My son is definitely capable of entertaining himself but he generally chooses not to. He thinks I'm his own personal jungle gym. And although he understands that my only source of income is the money I generate from writing, he still does not feel he has to be quiet when I'm working or that I can't always play with him.

When you work from home and have little ones you will have to find creative ways to be both mommy and business owner. Last week I set a goal of working just one hour a day. The rest of the time I played with my son. It saved us both a lot of unnecessary stress. I don't like working late at night because my sleep cycle gets screwed up. But that was my only other option.

On those rare moments when my son decided to ignore me because was doing something he wanted to do and didn't need me, I was able to sneak in a few minutes of work here and there.


Now the question becomes what to do with him this summer. Should I send him to camp or hope he'll amuse himself long enough for me to work a few hours each day? Will I have to resort to working late at night? Sending him to camp sort of defeats the purpose of my working from home. Plus, I'm sure he'll need a break. Days when he can sleep late, watch TV, fool around on his computer or just do nothing. When I was a kid we spent summers outside playing or just hanging out.

I found a solution in my mailbox. It came in the form of a bulletin from the University of New Orleans. They are offering short programs during the summer months. After looking through the bulletin, I found a two-week mini-college offering that I'm sure Tyler will love. He can take two classes for from 1-4. The classes don't start until July, so that gives him some free time once school ends. And since the classes start at 1, we won't have to get up early or go to bed early. But the best thing of all, is during those two weeks, I will be able to work uninterrupted for three hours. I can take my laptop with me and find a nice quiet place in the library. I have a wireless PC card so I can work from anywhere! I will also be on the lookout for any other short term camps or activities that he can attend that would give me some time periodically to work uninterrupted. For instance, I know that the library is having a summer reading program with activities planned each week. So, I should be able to get in an hour, maybe two, during that time.

If you're in the same boat, consider checking with your local college, parks/recreation department, schools and churches to see what offerings may be available to you.