10 Ideas to Manage Working From Home With Your Kids Around

More people than ever are working from home with their kids around — and if you’re new to this balancing act, I’d like to share some strategies that have worked for me over the years.

Over the past 13 years I’ve worked from home while raising and homeschooling 6 children. While I may not know all the tricks in the book, I’m happy to share what has worked for me.

1. Create a schedule with set times for activities, chores, lunch, school, reading, and other things. The kids may balk at having a schedule at first, but it will give you a lot of peace once they settle in.
   • Print the schedule and hang it in a common area so everyone can see it. Being able to see it will serve as a reminder, and also eliminates arguments and confusion.
2. For preschool and elementary-aged children create bins with different activities. They only get to do one activity at a time for a 30- to 60-minute time frame. The time will depend mostly on your child’s attention span and how well they like the activity.
   • Ideas for bins: Magnet sets, Legos, Play-Doh, sensory bins, Wedgits, Discover blocks, games, coloring books and paper, paint projects, art supplies, and books.
3. Involve older children. If you have a middle- or high-school-aged child have them do an activity or craft with a younger child or…