The smell of sharpened No. 2 pencils and scented markers in the air can only mean one thing—school is back in session! As you wave your little ones off to school, consider scoring a part-time or telecommuting job that will allow you to be the Class Mom and earn an extra income for your household. Here’s how.

Connect with former colleagues. Sometimes the only way to go forward is to go backwards. If you’re just newly dipping your toes into the working world again, it’s best to start off by reaching out to old coworkers and former bosses. Find out if they know of any positions within their organizations (or their friends’ companies) that could be a potential fit for you. 

Strategize your search. You’d like to work as a legal secretary, but you’ll need to be super specific when looking for a telecommuting job. Be sure to include key search terms such as “telecommuting,” “work at home,” or “flexible schedules.” It’s important to be aware of any potential work from home job scams, so do your due diligence on the companies that you’re interested in working for to ensure that you’re finding real online jobs.

Be social. Sure, you love looking through all those first day of school photos on Facebook, but if you’re just clicking and commenting, then you’re not harnessing the vast job potential that exists on the social media site. So update your FB status (as well as your LinkedIn profile) to include that you’re looking for part-time or telecommuting work. And follow up with a note of thanks for any helpful job leads, referrals and recommendations from friends and former colleagues.

Finding a job that will allow you to showcase your skills as well as earn an income (and be available for your child) can help you get one step closer to your own work life balance. And when your little one comes off the bus, you can both share the exciting things that happened during your day.

Jennifer Parris writes about career topics for FlexJobs.com. Working Mother Media and FlexJobs have partnered to help workingmother.com readers find flexible work solutions – such as telecommuting, freelance, part-time and flexible schedule jobs –  for themselves. Learn more here.