Easy and Effective Homeschool Schedule Options
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Even though homeschoolers have a ton of freedom, sometimes we like to see what other people are doing. What is their homeschool schedule like? How many hours a day do they spend homeschooling?
I think sometimes we like to see what other families are doing because:
- We need suggestions because our current system isn’t working
- It makes us feel like we are on the right track
- Our routine is fine, but there is room for improvement
Let me reassure you that there is no one perfect homeschool schedule that will work equally well for everyone. Every family is different, so it makes sense that our schedules are different too.
It is okay to move things around, relax the schedule, or even throw out the schedule all together!
There are benefits to a homeschool schedule:
- There is a structure and order to the days
- It can help us reach our educational or family goals
- Routines build a sense of security
- Kids are calm and confident because they know what to expect
Easy and Effective Homeschool Schedules
Over the past nine years of homeschooling, I have mainly used two types of homeschool schedules:
- Time blocks
- Put the kids in charge
Homeschool Schedule Option 1: Time Blocks
A time block homeschool schedule is when you break your day into chunks of time. I used this scheduling method when my kids were elementary age and we needed quite a bit of structure to keep our day moving nicely.
Our day looked a little like this:
7:00 – 8:30 (they were naturally early risers) – breakfast, get dressed, and free play while Mom took care of house stuff
8:30 – 11:30 – schoolwork (breaks as needed)
11:30 – 12:30 – lunch and watch a show
12:30 – 4:00 – play outside, meet up with friends, or run errands (this is also when we would finish up any schoolwork not completed)
4:00 – 5:00 – tidy up and make dinner
5:00 – 6:00 – dinner and clean up
6 – 7:30 – family time
7:30 – 8:00 – get ready for bed
The homeschool schedule was similar each day, so the kids knew what to expect.
You might have noticed that I didn’t assign specific times for each school subject. My family preferred to keep our school block flexible. Assigning subjects to specific times felt constrictive.
Sometimes we worked on math first thing in the morning. Other days we preferred to start the day with language arts. Some days it took an exciting science experiment to get my kids down to the school table.
Flexibility is one of my favorite homeschool benefits and a block schedule allowed us to tackle each subject as we wanted.
If the kids had a lot of energy, we worked on an assignment that was active. If they were enjoying a science experiment, we could linger there and not rush to the next subject.
The block schedule also made sure that there was time in the day for all of the fun stuff too.
Homeschool Schedule Option 2: Put the Kids in Charge
By the time my kids are in middle school or high school, I start shifting the responsibility to them.
I think of it as slowly and gently preparing them for college. After all, once they are living in a dorm it will be entirely up to them get to class and do their work.
I give them a list of all their assignments, broken down by subject, every Sunday night. I also make sure to let them know when they have other commitments (co-op class times, field trip hours, doctor appointments, etc) so they can manage their time well.
Everything is due by Friday at 4:00 unless they are sick or something crazy happens. If there is a big issue, I can always move some assignments to the following week. I did this last spring when our dog passed away at the beginning of the stay-at-home orders. My family was grieving, so I rearranged schoolwork. I think that is the only time that I moved assignments, so my kids know it is pretty rare.
By middle school and high school, much of my children’s schoolwork can be done independently. Being able to see all of their assignments at a glance lets my kids take ownership of their school day.
They can work at their pace. My teenager frequently prefers to do many of her reading assignments late at night when the house is quiet.
When I first rolled out this plan, my kids wanted to do schoolwork for 12 hours a day on Monday and Tuesday so they finished everything by Wednesday afternoon, giving themselves an extra-long weekend every week.
That didn’t work for me. My own responsibilities were suffering because I was spending so much time teaching. I was teaching pretty much all of my waking hours, which left no time for grocery shopping, cooking, running errands, etc.
I quickly adopted ‘office hours’. I am fully available to teach from 9 am – 4 pm. They are welcome to do schoolwork in the evening, but it needs to be stuff they can do independently.
Now, I do not usually teach for a solid 7 hours each day. There is plenty of time in there for me to do a little work, throw in a load of laundry, etc, but teaching is my main priority during those hours. I try not to schedule appointments unless necessary. If I do schedule an oil change or doctor’s appointment for myself during my office hours, I make sure to let the kids know as soon as possible so they can adapt their own schedule.
If you are trying to work from home while teaching
It isn’t easy to work from home while also teaching, but it is something a lot of families are dealing with right now. Here are a few tips that might help:
- Get some work done before the kids wake up – it will help you feel productive and less stressed
- Spend quality time with the kids before a longer work block – fill their buckets first
- Give kids a warning if you are going to be on a call – if they are on the younger side, have a few quiet toys or art supplies that they are only allowed to use when you are on a work call
- Let kids see the schedule so they know the plan for the day
How do you manage your homeschool schedule?
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