Tips for a Homeschool Schedule where Everyone Thrives

Homeschooling has the potential to give your family much more freedom and flexibility with your days. It also allows each child to work at their own pace and specifically in areas they are excited to learn about or where they might need extra attention. Having a homeschool schedule whether it’s strict or loose creates familiarity and provides routine where children can thrive.

We all feel a little less lost when we know what we need to be working on and when we can check off our list during the day.

I don’t know about you but I feel like I can conquer the day when I have my tasks and schedule planned out prior to the day starting. When I have clarity in my schedule I’m able to focus on each task and checking off my list of to-dos keeps me motivated. Also, knowing there is a snack or break time ahead should encourage your child to complete their assignments.

While homeschooling can allow for much more freedom you do need to be diligent with sticking to your schedule for the more focus-intensive subjects. I prefer to keep these subjects back to back with a small break between so that we can knock out the hard stuff together. My daughter understands that our focused time is all in one chunk so we aren’t bouncing around from play to work during this time. Transitions from play to work time can be challenging for some kids so this is why we strive to stay in “work mode” through the hard stuff until it is done.

Structure and order leave room for freedom!

Structure and order leave room for freedom to have days when we can take breaks for more intensive work. We can have days off for field trips, going on vacation for a long weekend, or just choosing to have a slower morning at the park. As your kids get older they might have more intensive studies but they also are able to work much more independently. They are able to manage their time on their own and understand how to follow a schedule. I believe you can be a bit looser with their schedules and breaks as their time commitment for each subject may change and fluctuate throughout the year.

With younger kids a schedule to help set clear expectations each day will provide a sense of comfort and certainty in their days. I find everyone is a lot less emotional when we stick to somewhat of a schedule, expectations are met as we stay on track and on time, and we get our work done instead of dragging it out into the late afternoon.

Sample Schedule

Here is a sample homeschool schedule for a family with younger children being homeschooled that might help you get started on one for your family.

Until 9:00am
Breakfast
Get Dressed
Brush Teeth
Free Time

9:00-9:45am
Spelling Handwriting

9:45-10:15am
Reading and Comprehension Activities

10:15-10:30am
Snack

10:30-11am
Numbers and Math

11:00-11:30am
Sciences or History

11:30-1:00pm
Lunch and Playtime

1:00-3:00pm
Quiet Time

Don’t get stuck on a strict time schedule.

If kids get done early with their assignments instead of allowing them a break move onto the next subject so as to keep the momentum going. Schedule breaks that the kids can look forward to and keep them motivated to get their work done.

Schedules are not one-size-fits-all.

So many family dynamics come into play when setting your daily schedule. In one year we found that our morning routine of knocking out the harder subjects needed to be pushed to the afternoons with a more fluid morning routine as our youngest was no longer napping in the morning. We were able to have much more focused time once she did sleep in the afternoons.

Now that we keep our mornings a bit freer we can run errands, go to appointments, or have playdates. We also use this time to have slow mornings, read together, go outside, or put on an educational video. Anything to make the best use of our time.

If you have younger children, toddlers, or babies your schedule might include more of these types of activities:

• independent work for the older children
• art, nature, outside play, or music
• science experiments
• reading out loud or audiobooks
• video lessons
• naptime is for teacher intensive subjects like math or English
• mornings are all optional/supplemental work
• looping in different activities or lessons so you are not doing the same subjects each day

Here is what our homeschool schedule looks like with a busy toddler:

8:00-9:00am Breakfast and Reading
9:00-9:15am Memory Work
9:15-9:30am Spanish
9:30-9:45am Journaling
9:45-10:15am History Video
10:15-10:45am Art/Craft/Cursive/STEM/Outside
10:45-11:30am Break time/Lunch
11:30-2:30pm Baby Nap
11:30-12:30pm Math
12:30-12:45pm Break
12:45-1:15pm English
1:15-1:45pm Spelling or Reading Comprehension
2:00pm Clean Up

Children thrive on rhythm and a consistent schedule.

Do you ever feel like when you are on vacation with nothing you really need to get done that you often find yourself wondering what day is it? Sometimes this can be relaxing to not have anything to do but other times it can leave us with a feeling that we’ve wasted our time or haven’t accomplished anything, as well as feeling unmotivated. Do you ever find it difficult to get back into your rhythm or schedule when you are back from a vacation? This can happen with children too in a matter of moments when they find themselves distracted or on an unscheduled break and then not able to get back into the work they were doing.

Let’s be real!

Homeschooling is not the right fit for every family. Evaluating the time commitment for your school-aged child and making sure you can devote this time to them in your day is essential. Sometimes you need to be creative with how you will handle the other children in your family. How you will balance everyone’s needs and attention demands. Setting clear expectations for your routine and participation will help everyone thrive in your home. I hope if you are homeschooling or considering it that you will find a good rhythm for your family.

To help make it easier to manage your homeschool schedule, I’ve created a customizable printable that you can download for FREE! You can either add your schedule digitally then print or laminate your schedule so you can modify it each week. Enter your information below to get your free download!