I’ve spent a lot of time searching the internet for free, valid, work at home leads. Here are few places you can go to look.
pcworkathome.net
workathomecareers.com
wahm.com (Check the forum there, it’s more updated than the listings)
workplacelikehome.com
I will continue my research and add more if I come across them.
Being a college student and being a mother are two completely different lives, and when you are both, things can get a little bit hard to handle.
Fortunately, the ability to go to school online from the comfort of your own home makes this task slightly easier, but when you get down to it, do you not think it would make it a little harder? I mean sure, you save money by not having to put your child in a daycare facility while you physically attend courses at a conventional campus, but now you have to find time to sit in your virtual seat while raising your child.
Attending school online has its own set of difficulties, given the asynchronous learning environment. Adding the stressed of motherhood, or fatherhood for that matter, can drive anyone mad quickly. This is my daily life. I go to school ¾ time at the Art Institute Online, taking three courses a quarter. I raise a four-year-old little boy, and earn a few pennies here and there from my writing submissions here at Associated Content, while searching countless websites for legitimate work at home positions to solidify extra income for my family.
Therefore, my nerves wear thin on a daily basis. I seem to live in front of this computer screen. Somehow, though, I manage to make above average grades in all my courses, make more money here than I had originally counted on, while making sure that my son is never neglected. Though the house is always somewhat cluttered, and never anywhere near spotless, it is generally always presentable to unexpected guests.
How I manage this some days, I do not know, (yes, I do get at least six hours of sleep a night), but here’s what I do to keep all my priorities straight and tasks completed.
My son and I wake each morning at 7:30. While I make breakfast, lunch and dinner (I believe in a cook once a day philosophy) he quietly watches Noggin. After we eat, he and I work on some worksheets together, and then I speed clean the kitchen and living room. 9:00 rolls around and I work on schoolwork for a solid hour while Joe plays in his room, or on his V-Smile Gaming System. At 10, I break and do a load of laundry or something and focus on Joe until Noon. He plays with his dad before he goes to work while I re-heat the lunch I made earlier in the morning, and we eat. After lunch clean up, he naps from 1-3. For the first half hour, I vegetate, and plan the rest of my day, and from then on until he wakes up, I write. When he wakes up, we eat a snack, and I work on getting the sides for dinner done. We play and relax until about 5 when we eat, then I clean up, and we play a bit more until 7. Then it is bath time, story time, and then the toys go night-night when we clean up his room. He is always down by 8:30PM, and that gives me two more solid hours before his dad comes home from work. I am always in bed by 1 AM, and ready for the next day. If it were not for scheduling and planning, I would not be able to accomplish nearly half the things I do in a day.
So next time you are crunched for time and stuck with a to-do list a mile long, remember the life of a college student mother!
A work-at-home mother has many hats to wear during the course of one day. She must hold true to her duties as a mother cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children, while she must answer to her virtual boss, no matter what the actual professional title may be. Unfortunately, we do not have the convenience of being able to completely separate the two lives, or being able to work a full shift without an interruption. With all the chaos that arises for a mother in her daily life, we all may need a few tips to stay sane as a work-at-home mother, and to help balance our lives.
Schedule, Plan, and Prioritize: When you have a full plate with two work-at-home jobs, one professional and one familial, the most important thing is to plan everything to the best of your ability. Schedule as many things as you can in advance and plan around them. In addition, remember that while this job is important for financial purposes, your family and yourself should always come first. A stressed out, overwhelmed woman makes a poor employee, and mothering becomes more difficult. No one deserves to have to over extend themselves for anything, and you should learn when to say “No.” and know your limitations. Cleaning often becomes the thing to go on the list of things to do when it comes to working at home and taking care of your kids, so allow the house to get a little messy or enlist the husband for help. He works too, but he makes as many messes as the children. If your children are old enough, have them help you a little here and there as well. Cook meals ahead so you do not have to stress that daily. See my article on Once a Month Cooking for help with this.
Work in Blocks: This will keep you from becoming too stressed over one item, be it the children or the job. When you wake up in the morning with the children, make sure to spend time with them after breakfast festivities are finished and make sure they are squared away to play independently for awhile. Give them a task, and some options to keep themselves busy while you work. Work until you become frustrated or you need a break. Take a few minutes to breathe. Then repeat until the work is done and/or the children are in bed for the night.
Use Naptime: After you have taken a break from the work and gone back to tending to the children, put them down for a nap. For the first half hour or so of the nap, do not do anything. Do not clean the house, do not go to work. Just take this as “Me” time. We all need it for a bit, and the more load you have, the more often you need it. If your children do not take naps, do it when your husband comes home from work. Work through the remainder of naptime so that your children can have your full attention again when they wake.
Step Back and Breathe: The most important thing to do is be able to take a break from either situation and realize that you can do it. However, you do not have to do anything right at that second, (unless your children are in danger, of course) and take that “Me” time I was talking about for a few minutes a day. This will help tremendously when things get tough.
Many work-at-home mothers stay stressed, and this is not healthy for anyone in the situation, so take the tips and put them to some use. I am sure they will help!
Your child just turned four, and all of the sudden you have nothing to entertain them with. Here are some activities that you can do with your child that will not only entertain the child, but have them learning as well.
Four years old is a great age to start all sorts of activities. Swimming lessons are a healthy activity, and if the child does not already know how to swim, it is a good age to start because the body has the strength to begin to learn easily.
Some other great things to involve the child in that encourage social activity along with physical activity are dance classes (for both boys and girls), gymnastics, horseback riding, martial arts, and sports. Some toys that are good to have around at this age are:
Role-Playing Toys: Costumes, props, etc. that allow the child to step into a variety of professions and places. Playing with toys like these will allow the child to engage their imaginations and work on problem solving skills. Any play set that allows the child to step into a make believe world, such as a pirate ship, dinosaurs, or anything else you can think up, will encourage imagination development. To help the child learn more, you can take pictures of the make believe worlds the child sets up and have them tell you stories about it.
For Girls: Dollhouses and Accessories: Because children at this age have more refined motor skills, they can easily move parts of the toy world around to fit anything their vivid imaginations can cook up. Make sure the child has enough room to spread all the play sets out. Play with the child on a play mat that you can make yourself. You can ask the child how to design the mat, mimicking a neighborhood environment like your own. Encourage the child to tell you about what she is playing, so that she may fine-tune her vocalization.
For Boys: Cars and Remote Control toys: Children will enjoy these kinds of toys because they have so much energy they love to make things go, constantly. Racing cars gives them the thrill of competition and helps them to learn all about sportsmanship. To help the child learn more, you can create race tracks of your own, or watch a segment of a NASCAR race on mute so that you and the child can take turns announcing the action. Another good activity would be to take the child out on a walk, pointing out signs and signals to teach the child what each of them mean.
Ride on Toys: Toys like these help to build a sense of independence because they can “drive” themselves around, and they combine physical play with imaginative play. These toys are great opportunities to teach the child safety topics.
Preschool Electronics: Real digital cameras, mp3 players and other kid versions of electronics are wonderful because they allow the child to feel grown up. Having a camera they can use allows them to take pictures of things they like so they can express themselves in a different manner. To help the child learn more, let them take photographs of their favorite things and make a scrapbook of the pictures together. Record the child singing and let them listen to themselves. Encourage play of all sorts of toy instruments so they can explore with musical talent.
Creative Toys: These toys allow your child to express himself creatively with art in many forms, and they have interest in toys like this because now that they have a longer attention span, they can focus more of their attention to details.
All of these toys and activities should keep your child busy for hours, and encourage all sorts of things to make a well-rounded child.
If you are looking for some activities to do at home during the day with your three-year-old child, then look no further. Even though everyone says the two’s are terrible, the three’s are often worse as your child reaches a stage of self-discovery and independence that can be frustrating for us parents. Look to these activities to help your child learn and to make your day fun for the both of you.
Three year olds are very reluctant to be still, so running and chasing activities are a great way to keep them occupied. Though you will tire of it before they will, it will almost ensure a nap later on in the day.
Three year olds are very eager to help in any way they can, and want to be included in everything. To make getting work around the house done a little easier, enlist your child for help. Do not stress if they do not want to help, but you will find that they like to help you wash dishes and will even tote laundry to the washing machine or to the dryer for you. Even though it is not much and you probably will not get it out of them every time you ask, it does help you because you get things done while knowing that your little one is not off getting into trouble. Stress that they are a good helper and they will become even more eager to help, and be sure to show them the accomplishment and thank them many times.
Now is a good time to introduce them to the kitchen. You can find preschool friendly recipes all over the internet. I suggest Rice Krispy treats, or trail mix. They enjoy helping and really enjoy eating their snack later, especially knowing that they made it.
In addition to the more intense physical play, helping around the house, and socializing, bring more into the arts and crafts. Try using play-doh or finger paint. It makes a mess that is easy to clean up so it is as equally stress free as it is fun. Teaching the child to help you clean up is a great way to get them started cleaning up after themselves, and if you ask nicely, they should have no problem.
At this point, it should be easy to have the child saying the alphabet and they should have some interest in reading. Phonics toys that teach letter sounds and simple flashcards will help them learn to read. Start with some simple handwriting exercises, and you will be on your way past kindergarten in no time. Search “preschool handwriting activities” in Google, and you will have plenty of information and worksheets readily available! A great toy for teaching phonics is Fridge Phonics by LeapFrog, and runs about $20 at Wal-Mart.
Next in my series, see activities for your four-year old. Also, be sure to check out activities for your one-year-old, and/or your two-year-old.
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