Steps to Make A Homeschool Schedule
It is time for me to make my homeschool schedule – hooray! I thought it would be fun to type the steps I go through and share them with you here, in case it may help you make your homeschool schedule. Of course, this is just my way of doing it, so think of this as one way to make a schedule and take it from here to make it your own!
Things I Print to Reference
I like to print some things to reference, as I make my homeschool schedule. First, I print the suggested time allotments for each guide I am using:
- Little Hands to Heaven – Revival to Revolution suggested times can be found here.
- Mission to Modern Marvels suggested times can be found here.
- World Geography suggested times can be found here.
- World History suggested times can be found here.
- U.S. History I and U.S. History II suggested times can be found here.
Second, I print the “setting up blog post” for each guide I am using. You can find my blog post with links for each “setting up blog post” here.
Third, I print or reference my last year’s homeschool schedule. If you’d like to see my last year’s homeschool schedule for World Geography, that schedule can be found here.
Making Time to Homeschool
The suggested time allotments help me set aside enough time to homeschool. They are guidelines, however, so I take into account each of my son’s approach to homeschooling. My oldest son was efficient with time, a quick reader and writer, and very logical. So, he moved through school quickly with few breaks. The time allotments were right on target for him.
My middle son was neat and organized. He was a quick reader, but he liked the creative process of writing and of completing projects. Creativity takes more time. So, for writing assignments, history projects, and art projects, I planned more time for him. I often put these types of assignments at the end of his homeschool day, so he could take as long as he wanted on them.
My youngest son loves all things hands-on. While he is a good reader and writer, he does not enjoy reading and writing as much a my older sons. Early morning is his best time to work. Transitions take more time for him, as he gets distracted by things outside of homeschooling. He is my go-to-guy for my husband and is often called upon to quickly help. I try to take this into account as much as possible. I also need to meet with him more often, to make sure he is on track and moving along.
So, I set aside enough time for me to be able to teach, discuss, do follow-ups, and correct all work based on the suggested time allotments and based on each son’s approach to homeschooling.
Differences Between Making Schedules for Youngers and Olders
When I had younger children, I set the schedule by myself. They were not involved in the process, as their school was shorter. Babies and toddlers took much of my time when I was a young homeschool mother. I knew everything going on with the day, while my youngers did not. So, I began making my schedule with my little ones first. I scheduled my little ones’ day every 30 minutes. To see what that looks like with multiple ages, you can read Carrie’s post here.
With older children, I set the schedule with them. If I have multiple older children, we set key times together. I list those in bold. Key times might be breakfast, chores, snack breaks, lunch, and supper. Different kids have different start times based on how long their guides are and whether they are early morning risers or not.
I will say, all of my children became early morning risers by the time they started high school. They wanted to get up and get going on their guides so they could work or have free time in the later afternoons and evenings. If high school students enjoy sleeping in and start later in the day, that is fine! They just need to not be surprised when they are still doing school later in the day. High school should take more time, so we can award high school credits in good conscience and so our children can be prepared for adulthood upon graduation.
Emmett’s World History Schedule
Emmett and I met to talk through how we’d both like to approach his World History schedule. He has become a very early morning riser. My hubby is up very early, and Emmett enjoys getting up the same time. Emmett also started an exercise and weight-lifting routine this summer at home. He really enjoys that and wants to keep going with it. He has become a quick worker, a good direction-follower, and a solid reader and writer. Three afternoons a week he goes to work, one afternoon he plays baseball with his cousin, and one afternoon he likes to wash and detail our cars/truck. He enjoys doing ‘homework’ for about an hour or so. He decided he’d like to do Spanish and Biology for his ‘homework.’ Finally, he likes to do Bible first thing in the morning.
I have found it is still important for me to check in more often with Emmett though. This keeps him on track with his schedule, and it keeps me on track with going through his work with him, correcting things, listening to his narrations, and doing any teaching/discussing I need to do in smaller increments. I like to do my own Bible in the morning, and I also try to exercise. I also need time to prep and make meals, and I work in the afternoons. So, I like to have several independent things for Emmett to do last. Emmett can then set them out for me to correct when I get home from work. We chose Fine Arts and Living Library for Emmett to do last. Click the link below if you’d like to check out Emmett’s schedule…
Emmett’s World History Schedule
I hope you this can help you as you consider how best you’d like to approach your homeschooling schedule! If you’d like to see more homeschool schedules, check out the Let’s Share Our Schedules thread. It has more than 200,000 views!
In Christ,
Julie
