Before I can plan out subjects and specific homeschool lessons, I need to know what our school year schedule will look like. I need to know what classes we are signing up for and what our daily rhythm will be. Each school year is slightly different and often the extra classes change with the kids’ ages and interests. This is also a time that I look at the big picture and important family events. The year that we moved I had to adjust our school work so that I didn’t lose my mind. (Also each time I had a new baby.)
Below I am sharing some practical check lists and printables that I have created to plan my homeschool year.
I hope these ideas help you in your homeschool planning. Each family is different and each home is unique. Please take or leave what works for you. 🙂
#1 – What will the school year look like?
Sometimes big events happen that I did not know were coming and we have to adjust. But, I would rather be headed somewhere and have to pivot than not know where I am going. That is just my personality. So I lay out all the dates, all the events, all the big stuff that matters to my family.
I create my School Year Calendar.
I get out my highlighters and mark up the calendar so that I know when we are taking breaks and major events are happening. This is simply an overview of the whole year. Just general notes of what is happening. The detailed stuff goes into the family digital calendar so that I can make changes and communicate easily.
The School Year Calendar:
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Thanksgiving Break – 2 weeks (Thanksgiving prep, clean up, and Christmas decor up)
- Christmas Break – 4 weeks (we take mid-December through 1st week in January off school)
- Vacations / Trips planned
- major family events (examples: husband gone on work trips, extra family living with us, big house projects or renovations, new baby, moving…etc.)
- Starting school date and ending school date (even if they are approximate)
- approx. 32 – 37 weeks of school (depending on your state)
- we enjoy taking break weeks every 6 weeks – Sabbath Schooling
Here are the free printables:
If you are feeling stuck here is a great walk-through by Pam Barnhill: Homeschool Scheduling (6min. YouTube video)
#2 – How will I shape our Weekly Schedule?
I follow more of a Daily Rhythm than a schedule, but really it means the same thing. I look at the week as a whole. So I can plan time to make progress in our school work.
I create my Weekly Schedule with all the information in front of me. I gather notes that I have taken on co-op classes, bible studies, PE, kids’ evening activities, and all the things we might add to our schedule.
I really enjoy block scheduling. I find it gives me space to focus on one type of task at a time and also to keep the day manageable. On the printable, you will see that I have laid out our day using 4 major blocks: Early Morning, Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. These are pieces of the day where I write it the category I will focus on (example: Homeschooling or Household Tasks).
I also write in commitments and specific scheduled events (ex: piano on Wed. 2pm). You can make this as simple or as complicated as you want.
Weekly Schedule:
- Weekly schedule and outside commitments
- classes and co-ops
- weekends and days off (a 4 day school week is our usual)
- planning time
- work schedules
- extra curricular activities
- sports, clubs, competitions
- household chores
- routines & healthy habits list
I also allow for flexibility. When I look at the whole week I can allow for a slow morning or just regular life stuff that happens.
The days we get the schoolwork done often shift and adjust. We might decide to take Friday off to go on a hike so we get our work done in 4 days instead of 5. Someone gets sick and then things get adjusted. This is just an idea of what the week can look like.
Here are the free printables:
#3 – What kind of Daily Rhythms do we have?
This is a time when I do not look to other people for ideas. I just look at what we normally gravitate to. I examine the patterns that we already have. This will be more successful if it fits my family.
I want to create a Daily Rhythm that matches the natural flow of our days.
An example from our house is the way we do lunch. We like to eat a snack at 11am during school time and then have a late lunch at 1pm. This way we get an extra hour of school done and we all have a later lunch together. It just works for us.
Creating our Daily Rhythm:
- This takes some reflection. I need to observe and gather data. Think like a scientist!🙂
- Daily Rhythm – Reflection Questions I ask myself:
- What order do we naturally do things in?
- Are my kids early birds or do they like to sleep in? What is my natural rhythm?
- What does a good day look like for my kids right now?
- What are all the things that need to be done in a full day?
- meals, naps, household clean up, kids chores, outside play
- When do we typically eat Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? What times work for us?
- When do the kids need to start the evening routine and bedtime process?
- Homeschooling Hours – After I know this information I can decide where to put our homeschool hours.
- Charlotte Mason experts recommend 3-4 hours a day for Elementary age kids and 4-5 hours a day for teens.
- I have found this to be more than enough for my kids.
- Here is a Charlotte Mason expert Sonya Shafer on this:
Notice that I have not even cracked open a math textbook or talked about specific lessons yet? In order for the school work to get done, it must have space to be completed.
When I have those “Homeschooling Hours” set aside for teaching and learning, then I can fill those with schoolwork specifics.
👩🏫 See the Homeschooling tab on the blog for more articles!
What will your homeschool week look like?
What do you want to shape your schedule?
Where do you need to spend a chunk of time each day?
How will you make space for household tasks and outside activities?
There is no right answer. Mapping out your schedule can often feel like trying to pin down a moving target. Don’t get stuck in comparison or perfection, just move forward with the information you have right now. You can always make changes in the future.
Each year is so different and each grade level has its own challenges. I hope that you find a weekly schedule that is right for you this year.
Know that I am cheering for you!