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With the new year, many families are reflecting on their homeschooling year so far. Schedules and whether they should be doing a strict schedule come up a lot. One family had been told they should be following the same schedule as their public school. There are several different schedules you might want to consider. Remember, homeschooling is not about putting a school in your home. It is about homeschooling. That means you make your homeschool journey fit what is best for your family. You can have a very unique schedule and still have a highly successful homeschooling year.
Daily Schedule
A daily schedule means you do all or most of your subjects every day. Many companies which provide a curriculum out of the box will provide lesson plans. These plans are usually set up as if you did every subject every day. If you follow them exactly, that is what you are doing. You are following a daily schedule. Remember, the lesson plans are not set in stone. You can adapt them however you need to so the curriculum fits your family.
Four Days a Week Schedules
There are actually three different variations of a four-day-a-week schedule. This could be where you do all subjects for four days a week and take one day off from formal learning. You could spend two days doing one set of subjects and the other two days doing the other subjects with one day off from formal learning. Then there is the four-day-a-week schedule with one used for co-ops, field trips, and other extras.
All Subjects in Four Days Schedules
This is where you chose to do all of your subjects four days a week. Then you take the fifth day of the week off. This could be a Friday, Monday, or even a Wednesday to give the family a break in between. Remember, your children are always learning including the day off from formal learning. They can use this day to explore or look at a subject concept more in-depth. Do not bring up what he should be doing on the day off. He will find something to do. If it makes you feel better, you can journal what he does down. I am sure you will be able to spot areas where he is learning and it might just be in an area you had not considered teaching yet.
Two Days for Each Subject Schedules
In this schedule, you do one group of subjects on two days and the rest of the subjects for the other two days. Then you take a day off from formal learning. The day you take-off can be just like if you covered all subjects every day. You could take Friday off, Monday off, or even Wednesday off. Two days for each subject schedule work great for many scenarios. I have found some families like to take Wednesdays off. They do one group of subjects Monday and Tuesday. Then they do the other subjects Thursday and Friday. Again, this helps to provide a break every week. Many families find they are a lot more productive using these types of schedules.
Four Formal Subject Days and One Day for Extras
In these schedules, the four days of formal subjects can be in any form as previously mentioned. However, on the day off students go to a co-op, take field trips, go to the library, museums, etc. Making sure all the required subjects are completed in the formal four days allows the family to take the fifth day of the week and use that as needed. This could be for lessons such as art, music, or physical education. With this extra day, field trips and trips to the library can easily fit into the schedule without putting stress on the family to complete the work required in the formal subjects.
Your Homeschooling Journey
Remember, you know your family best. You know your children’s strengths and weaknesses and can create and follow a schedule that works best for your family. You do not need to follow the schedules of your local brick-and-mortar schools. If you have a student who struggles with math, you may want to cover that subject on a daily basis instead of only twice a week. How you choose your schedule will be based on what your family needs and what activities you are involved in at the time. It is your unique homeschooling journey. So do what is best for your family and make your journey a successful one.
To learn more about getting started with homeschooling, read Yes, You Can Successfully Homeschool.
