How to Schedule Your Homeschooling Day - And Have Time to Spare!

There are so many questions new homeschool parents have, and one we are often asked is how we schedule our homeschool days.

Trying to fit in all the regular school subjects, extra curriculars, music, sports, special interests of each child and more can look like a daunting prospect before you begin.

But follow our tips to schedule your homeschool day and you will find that, not only do you easily fit everything in, but you'll have lots of time to spare, too!



So just how can you fit everything into your week and schedule your homeschool day?

Isn't it going to be crazy hours every day and a rush to get everything done?

Actually, once you begin, you'll find that everything takes far less time than you think.

Several subjects can be covered in one go with a project-based topic, for example.

And, with only one or a few students, you'll have far less admin than a school teacher and get down to the nitty gritty of learning in much less time than a schoolroom lesson would take.

Not to mention how much of your kids' learning will be covered in conversations over the dinner table, on a walk, in the bath, or pretty much everywhere!

But let's get into the guide to how to schedule your homeschooling day.



How to Schedule Your Homeschooling Day - And Have Time to Spare!

When creating a homeschooling schedule, subjects of instruction, student age, and family schedule should all be taken into consideration.

The trick is to integrate these three things to come up with a schedule that will benefit both children and adults alike and meets all of your needs.

The first step in creating a homeschooling schedule is to develop a mission statement.

Take a few hours to sit down, write and rewrite a statement of purpose for your homeschool.

Consider these questions:
  • What do you want your children to learn?
  • How do you want them to learn: through a literature-based curriculum, online, gameschooling?
  • What can you provide through homeschooling that your child cannot get through a regular education setting?
  • What traits do you want to promote in your child?
  • Are there things you want your child to learn that wouldn't be covered in school?

Writing a mission statement will help to guide your instruction and scheduling choices.



Once you have a mission statement, it is time to do some research.

Collect information on the topics you plan to teach, and the developmental level of your child.

The internet is a valuable tool for this type of research, of course. The Sonlight website is great for giving an overview of grade levels so you can pick the right level for your particular child.

To make things easier, you may want to refer to the teaching standards laid out by your state for the appropriate grade level.

They have done the research for you so you can use these standards compared to your mission statement to add and delete topics that you would like to be a part of your curriculum.

For example, if religion is something you feel strongly about, you might add that topic of study to your state's standards.

Or you might incorporate it into already existing standards, such as teaching about people who have made a difference, or use religious works as part of a cultural study or reading material.

State standards are particularly important if your state requires regular reporting or testing and expects all children to follow state standards.



With a mission statement and instructional content, you can now begin to schedule your homeschool week.

With a weekly schedule sketched out in front of you, first set down meal, snack and nap times appropriate for your child and family.

Next add in regular necessary family activities, such as weekly trips to the grocery store, baking, sports practice, or church commitments.

Keep in mind that these activities can also be tied into current studies and become part of the natural learning life and environment.



Next you need to decide how many hours a day you wish to devote to active teaching and learning, and what time is reasonable to begin each day.

Finally, divide the time between subjects.

Think carefully about your child's age and their likely attention span when you are planning lesson times.

Some children like to get through the tough lessons first then move on to the more fun stuff, whilst others prefer to break up language arts and maths lessons with more fun stuff in between.

Language arts subjects like reading, writing, grammar, spelling, listening and speaking and maths are the main subjects and ideally should be taught every day.

The rest of your time can then be divided among your other areas of study.



As for the other school subjects, some people prefer to hit every subject for a short time every day, but most hit each area of study for a longer period only once or twice a week.

For example, Monday science, Tuesday social studies like history and geography, Wednesday religious studies, Thursday art, Friday music, for example.

Other families prefer to save some topics up for Fun Fridays or keep science for the weekend when dad is home to help teach it.

Do whatever works best for your family, and this will ofetn be a process of trial and error.

Remember that you don't have to replicate a school environment, school hours or (dependent on your state) school curriculum in your homeschool.

Mix them up, embrace unit studies that hit different areas of study in one topic, and remember that one on one study will get more taught in 5 minutes than a class of 30 can learn in an hour!



The last key piece in your homeschool schedule is physical activity.

While some choose to treat this as any other content area, and designate an hour or two each week to play sports, we highly recommend that you take time each day to get outdoors and have some fun!

A bounce on the trampoline, a jog around the block, a nature walk, a trip to the swimming pool, a scavenger hunt, or a scheduled sports lesson.

There are so many ways to incorporate physical exercise in your week!

Incorporating short spurts of physical activity into breaks throughout the day will re-energize students and allow them to focus more on their studies.

Additionally, spending 30 minutes of focused physical activity with your child each day will model and promote healthy behaviour that will last a lifetime.


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