Your homeschool schedules and routines can make or break your homeschool. Learn how to create the perfect homeschool schedule for your family.
Good Schedules and Routines Will Save Your Homeschool
So you’ve done it; you’ve committed to homeschooling, you’ve chosen a curriculum (or created your own), and you’ve aligned your teaching style with your child’s learning style. You’re feeling pretty good about yourself and your choice to educate your child in a loving home environment. There’s just one problem: IT’S NOT WORKING!
Even with the best resources, manipulatives, worksheets, and homeschool space, everything can still go up in flames if you haven’t created homeschool schedules and routines that work for your family. Homeschool schedules and routines give your homeschool structure and allow your day to go much more smoothly. It also gives your children a sense of stability: knowing what to expect each day and what is expected of them.
If you’re anything like I was when I began homeschooling, you’re imitating public school to feel more “official.” What I realized, though, is that homeschooling is completely different than traditional schooling and I needed to come up with homeschool schedules and routines that worked for my family’s personal needs.
What’s The Difference Between Schedules and Routines?
Knowing the difference between a schedule and a routine can help you plan your homeschool in a way that provides structure and flexibility at the same time. Schedules tell us exactly what we need to do at a specific time of the day. For example, a homeschool schedule will tell you that math begins at 8:00 am and ends at 8:45 each day. A routine, on the other hand, is a set of habits that are expected to be done, not necessarily at a specified time. An example of a routine would be waking up in the morning, brushing your teeth, and drinking a glass of orange juice (maybe not in that exact order, yuck!)
Schedules tend to be more rigorous and demanding. There are high expectations of what must be accomplished within an allotted time. Routines, however, allow for more flexibility while still meeting expectations. That’s not to say that homeschool schedules don’t serve a purpose or that you shouldn’t use them. Depending on your family’s specific needs, you may decide that you need to follow a schedule, a routine, or even implement both.
Types of Homeschool Schedules
When it comes to choosing homeschool schedules, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Don’t get stuck on a schedule that doesn’t work for you. Think about your family’s habits, obligations, and activities. Explore a variety of schedules and choose what works best. Check out three of the most popular homeschool schedules below:
- Loop Schedule
- Block Schedule
- Classroom Schedule
Homeschool Loop Scheduling
Loop scheduling allows you tons of flexibility. Instead of focusing on the time of day, your child focuses on the goals for the day. Typical schedules tell you what to do for a specified time and sometimes can be detrimental. I struggled with typical traditional scheduling in public school. Read more about it here: https://korreainjohnson.com/2022/12/traditional-school-troublemaker/ A typical schedule may say that math is from 8:00 until 8:45, but what happens if your child needs more time for math that day? Language Arts may be scheduled from 8:45 until 9:30, but your child may be done early. Does she have to continue studying language arts just because the schedule says so?
Remember when I mentioned that you can combine homeschool schedules and routines together? Contrary to a typical schedule, loop scheduling serves as the best of both worlds. It has the flexibility of a routine, but gets the job done efficiently like a schedule. Not only that, but you can cover multiple subjects that you may not ordinarily have time for.
How It’s Done
First, you begin with a list of subjects that you would like to cover for the week. Then, you decide how often you would like your child to study that subject per week. Create a list of what must be covered, and your child works through the list. Time doesn’t rule a loop schedule. Your child works through the list for the day at their own pace. Whatever isn’t completed for the day, starts at the beginning of the next day’s loop.
With a loop schedule, lessons begin whenever it’s convenient. Starting your lessons at the same time every day may not be ideal. If you can expect there to be dentist appointments, meetings, recitals, or trips to Grandma’s, it may be better to follow a loop schedule that allows for interruptions.
Just as there are many ways to create homeschool schedules and routines, there are many ways to create a loop schedule. You can create multiple loops depending on the priority of specific subjects that you’re teaching. For example, subjects like math and reading that require daily practice may be on their own loop. This ensures that your child gets daily practice in these crucial subjects. Electives and special interests go on a loop of their own. If you want to get extra loopy with your loops, check out some examples from Sonlight here: https://blog.sonlight.com/loop-schedule.html
Homeschool Block Scheduling
If you want to go a bit deeper with your subjects, you will love block scheduling. Block scheduling allows you to focus on just a few subjects at a time. Instead of trying to find time for seven different subjects every day, block scheduling allows you to spend more time on three or four subjects while getting to others later.
Remember, this is homeschooling, you’re in charge! Just because your local public school may be offering seven subjects in a school week, doesn’t mean that you should. If you notice that your child needs extra practice in certain subjects or if you want to do more than just scratch the surface, block scheduling may be for you.
How It Works
Start with a list of about four subjects that you would like your child to study. Then decide how long your child will be studying those subjects before transitioning to a new set of subjects. It can be a few weeks, a semester, or a school year. It all depends on your child’s needs. Lastly, consider how long your would like your child to study each subject per day. Since you’re only teaching three or four subjects at a time, you can spend more time teaching each subject. Check out the many ways that you can create your own block schedule here: https://ticiamessing.com/creating-block-schedule-homeschooling/
My experience
Personally, I LOVE block scheduling. I enjoyed it as a student and I enjoy it as a homeschool parent. When I first started creating a homeschool schedule for my girls, I quickly realized that I didn’t want to teach multiple subjects. For the first few years of homeschooling, my girls focused on the “three R’s” (as they used to call it in the olden days): Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. I wanted my girls to develop a strong foundation in these core subjects that they would need later when studying other subjects.
Homeschool Classroom Scheduling
After reading about the flexibility that loop scheduling and block scheduling provide, you may be hesitant to even consider classroom scheduling. Yeah, that’s right. It’s time for good old traditional schooling within the four walls of your home (or wherever you homeschool). Even though flexibility is key to homeschooling, it’s up to you and your family to decide what works for you. Maybe the loop schedule doesn’t offer enough structure. Perhaps your child won’t retain information well with block scheduling. If that’s the case, then maybe it’s time to go back to tradition.
How It Works
In case you’re not familiar (and just for the sake of the balance in this article) I’ll explain how classroom scheduling works. Classroom scheduling mimics the structure of a traditional classroom. You begin by listing all subjects that you will be teaching, typically about seven. Next, you will decide which subjects you will be teaching daily, and which subjects you will teach just on certain days. For example, you would teach math, language arts, science, and social studies daily, while music, art, and physical education appear once a week. Lastly, you would create an itinerary for each day, assigning subjects to specific times of the day.
My experience
Classroom scheduling did not work for our family. As a former second grade teacher, I tried and tried to make it work, but for our family, it was a flop. Classroom scheduling could work for you, but here’s a list of reasons why it didn’t work for me.
- Too many subjects to keep up with for a beginner homeschooler
- Too many subjects to keep up with for children of multiple grades
- I wanted my girls to focus on the 3 R’s first since they were young
- It made our school day last too long
- It was just too much for my daughter who’s on the autism spectrum
- It didn’t provide enough flexibility my family who likes to travel
Homeschool Routines
So far I’ve introduced you to three of the most popular homeschool schedules. Block scheduling and loop scheduling are particularly popular for a reason: they combine the structure of a schedule with the flexibility of a routine. It’s still important to include routines within these schedules to make them even more successful.
Create Clear Expectations
Whether you choose a rigorous classroom schedule or a loosey-goosey looping schedule, routines keep things in order. Homeschool routines define clear expectations for the day so that your homeschool stays on track. So let’s think about it. If you’re teaching second grade language arts today, what exactly will you be covering? Language arts is a broad subject that encompasses writing, phonics, reading, spelling, reading comprehension, vocabulary and so on. How will you tackle this broad subject effectively? You can easily break down this broad subject into various activities that touch on each of these aspects of language. For this example, your routine could include a phonics flashcard review, silent reading, journal writing, and completing a worksheet that features one or more of the skills mentioned. When your child knows the routine for language arts each day, there won’t be much confusion about when a subject is complete.
Provide Variety
Creating a homeschool routine also keeps things fresh and interesting. The clear expectations mentioned earlier not only serve to let your child know what needs to be done, but it can also create excitement and motivation. Math becomes much more interesting if your child knows that there will be a game or some screen time after completing some math fact drills.
Creates Predictability
No one wants to be predictable, but a certain level of predictability makes us dependable. When we create a good homeschool routine that our children adore, they know what’s coming next and they prepare for it without too much of a struggle. When I taught second grade, we had multiple routines from lessons to classroom management. After practicing these routines my students often knew what to do without being told. After completing an assignment, my students automatically knew to take out a library book or get a book from my shelf to read quietly. When my students returned from recess, they knew to line up for the restroom. When it was time for math, they completed a challenge question on the board and then found a spot to sit on the carpet.
So Get To It!
Homeschool schedules and routines help your homeschool to run more smoothly because your child will be able to predict what happens next in the day and prepare for it. Your children will learn to work with you, rather than against you. Let’s face it, even as adults, we’re less likely to go somewhere with someone if we don’t know where we’re going. If we’re told the destination, we’re more likely to comply. It’s no different with children, and we don’t want to kill their natural curiosity and critical thinking. With well-planned routines in your homeschool and in life, your children will have the stability and confidence to take ownership of their own education. Instead of being micromanaged about every assignment, your children will learn when it’s time to do a workbook, take a break, or play a game. So now it’s your turn. Choose a homeschool schedule and routine that works for you!
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