Homeschool Help: The Schedule

How Long? How Much?

Morning, Noon, And Night?

Which Schedule Is Right?

It's easy...any and all.

But for those who may be starting out, and are looking for some kind of gauge, that type of open-ended answer, just doesn't seem to answer anything at all.

Finding Your Schedule

For some the schedule comes naturally, largely due to the reasoning that within your home a flow already exists. Whether you choose to continue working within that flow is going to be determined by you. Personal circumstances could determine your learning schedule as well - do you work mornings? Are there larger age ranges among your children?

That's why there is no one size fits all homeschool schedule- every home is different.

Beginning our homeschool journey four years ago, meant we were able to continue functioning in our form of freedom. Implementing our learning kicked off with earlier mornings, but soon fizzled, as that has never been the type of people we are.

Not to go back too far in our life story, but from the time my kids were born, we have been night owls. While sometimes thoughts cross my mind that we stay up quite late, it is nothing unusual or uncomfortable for us. In the times we've attempted earlier nights, it inevitably winds up back to our original schedule, because that's our natural rhythm. This, as you know, will look different for every family.

Embrace yours and use it to your advantage!

While I could run a tight ship, with early wake-ups, and try to set ourselves to what others may advise is a better schedule, I rest in knowing that it is only better if it works.

When are you at your best?

Does your family prefer mornings?

Is there an afternoon fallout?

Reflect on what a day in your home looks like, and when learning opportunities will be optimal. While most of our dedicated learning in our home takes place in a block of time, perhaps you would prefer smaller blocks spread out over the course of the day.

Once you identify which hours you and your family run best on, is when you will be able to begin to flesh out your homeschool schedule, and reach your homeschool stride.

All In A Day's Work.

I often read questions regarding how many hours a homeschool day includes, and how much material is typically covered.

This varies, not just among families, but among the weekdays themselves.

The amount of hours spent covering the daily lesson plan, or your outline will depend on the age, attention span, learning level, and snack breaks!

There are general guides that list elementary level as 1 to 4 hours, middle school level as 4 to 5 hours, and high school level as 4 to 6 hours.

These guidelines may be helpful to you, but keep in mind that these hours are going to be tailored to your kids, and are flexible. One day's lesson may be met with resistance or may need to be adjusted, making the learning time in need of shorting. The next day may make strides, and be met with readiness, making the time able to lengthen, and likewise the amount of material covered.

There's been plenty a hard day in our homeschooling journey, where I realized the day wasn't going to be productive, or life events happen, and the "homeschool hours" were brief. That's all in a day's work, and learning isn't as lost as you may think. It's important to remember that homeschool includes far more lessons than those on paper.

Find encouragement on how to handle the hard days here.

From this I hope you will take away that you and your family are the determining factors of which homeschool schedule is right, and that you and your family determine what your learning time will look like.