Creating Education That Works for Your Family’s Lifestyle

Not every family runs on the same clock or has the same priorities. Some parents work odd hours and travel for work; some live in cities where the schools do not meet their standard. Some families cherish time together, running their lives more fluidly, while others require more structure to enable children with special needs or health complications to thrive. The same is true for education. A structured day with a fixed time and location and pace, is perfectly suitable for many families, but this does not have to be the only way to provide an education and avoid pitfalls of online school stressors for families who rarely get a long school year break. For many families, this is the best option, but this isn’t the only option, nor is it the best option for many.

Realizing That the Standard Models Do Not Fit

The first step is recognizing that what’s workable is not workable. For parents whose schedules constantly need to be adjusted in an effort to manage drop off, kids who can’t keep their eyes open because they’ve had to get up at the crack of dawn for a 7 am start time, families who spend their weekends catching up on what they missed during the week—it’s clear that education is not on par with how the family operates and instead becomes yet another stressful component on an already filled to-do list.

There is no shame in admitting that what’s good for other families isn’t good for yours. Every family has its own dynamic, and forcing a square peg into a round hole only frustrates everyone else.

Finding Opportunities Where Others Aren’t

Once families realize they need something different, the next question revolves around what else there is. The opportunities that virtual education affords were not around decades before. Children can work on a curriculum when it makes sense for a family instead of getting into a building and a routine at the same predetermined time day after day.

For families considering online school as a better fit within their lives, often, it’s the flexibility that works best. Children can work on lessons during times in the day that they’re most awake and focused—be it early morning or mid-afternoon. Families who travel don’t miss out on weeks of learning and catching-up. Parents who work shifts need not scramble to find backup care to support learning; they can be present.

This is not to say that this lessens the amount of learning or ability to have any structure—this bends the structure to suit familial needs instead of forcing a family to bend into it.

Creating Schedules That Work for Families

Flexible education does not mean no schedule at all. In fact, for many children, there still needs to be some sort of predictability woven into the days. It’s more about families creating what makes sense for them instead of what schools tell families must be the case.

Some families will find success in getting an 11 am start instead of dealing with conflicts at 8 am; others will benefit from learning early in the day to focus on extracurriculars in the afternoon. Still, others will find better suited working with parents who work 3-11 pm shifts, meaning learning will have to occur during laps in scheduling when those parents are home and available for guidance.

Creating a rhythm of life that makes sense is critical because attempting to fit a mold creates stress—not alleviates it. This also means recognizing when certain age groups require different types of structure—elementary school children often need more rigid standards than teenagers who thrive on weekly goals and independence.

Emphasizing Family Values

Traditional schools have set curricula with little wiggle room as far as what gets emphasized and how. When families maintain more control over the educational structure, they’re better able to incorporate what matters most to them—and it’s not always skipping over challenging subjects as a means of cutting time.

Instead, a family that loves outdoor adventures can incorporate lessons into nature studies during the day instead of recess breaks or weekends; a family passionate about volunteer work can ensure an afternoon trip after lunch versus waiting until weekends roll around.

It’s not about avoiding what’s hard or avoiding what’s palatable—it’s about ensuring that family values include what’s permissible with additional requirements as assessed by each family as needed. Some families value creative arts; others field trips; still, others religious or cultural experience. When families have more say within their educational structure, these priorities get their due value—and they’re meaningful when nothing else occurs.

Dealing With Practical Considerations

Prioritizing an education option that fits your lifestyle doesn’t make everything magically less burdensome, it merely creates different challenges that are manageable when all are aligned. Someone needs to oversee learning—we need time and energy, we need organization, we must ensure progress within academics, which may be tricky without additional support.

Social opportunities must also exist if children are not in school for traditional components outside of school. These challenges are manageable, but they’re challenges that require planning and resourcefulness to accommodate. The trade-off becomes consistently having an education model that works for the family’s life instead of against it, but for many families, that’s worth it.

Taking the Leap

Choosing an educational path that diverges from what most families do can feel uncertain. There’s comfort in doing what everyone else does, even when it’s not working well. But education is too important and takes up too much of childhood to settle for an approach that consistently creates stress and doesn’t serve the family’s actual needs. Every family should have an education structure that works for them and makes sense.