Creating a Flexible Homeschool Schedule and Routine That Works for Your Family
When we think about homeschooling, flexibility often comes to mind—the ability to create an environment tailored to our children’s learning styles, interests, and needs. The ability to put family needs first, and not be stuck in the 8am to 3pm rigidity that makes up most traditional schools. Along with this freedom, establishing a consistent schedule and routine is just as essential for a productive homeschool experience. Why? Because kids need a certain amount of consistency in their daily life, and we do too.
Why We Need a Schedule
Kids thrive on consistency. Knowing what to expect reduces anxiety and lets them focus on their lessons. This can be especially reassuring for younger children or those who find change difficult.
- Responsibility and Independence: A schedule teaches children responsibility and helps them develop time management skills. As they learn to anticipate what’s next, they gradually take ownership of their tasks. It’s great when my kids get up in the morning and start on their chores and tasks. This makes the day go so much smoother.
- Positive Learning Environment: A routine minimizes the guesswork for both parent and child, making time for learning, breaks, and family activities. This balance helps create a peaceful, productive atmosphere.
Types of Schedules
We’ve done a variety of schedules through the years. What works one year may not work the next. We have had sickness, death in the family, and a million other reasons why we got off schedule. However, when we get back on track, our kids seem to thrive and get right back into the swing of things. Schedules vary as widely as homeschool families do, here are a few approaches:
- Block Scheduling: Divide your day into blocks of time, each dedicated to a particular subject or type of learning activity. For instance, the morning might be for core subjects like math and language arts, while the afternoon is for hands-on projects, arts, or science experiments.
- Loop Scheduling: With loop scheduling, you create a list of subjects to cover, do certain subjects on specific days. For example, on Monday and Wednesday, they do math and language arts, Tuesday and Thursday would be science and history. Friday would be subjects like art, computer, PE, or even co-op day.
- Traditional Schedule: If you prefer a structured plan, set up each day with specific times for subjects, breaks, and activities. This approach works well if you have a child who thrives on knowing exactly what to expect each day.
- Five-Day Week Schedule: Typical schedule similar to the traditional public school schedule. We did this for many years when my husband was teaching school. We were on the same schedule as him and it worked for our family. This schedule works well with a packaged, pre-planned curriculum.
- Four-Day Week Schedule: Divide subjects up so that you complete everything in 4 days. This can require a little finagling, especially if you have a certain number of hours to complete (like we do here in Missouri), or you just like to finish all of the curriculum.
- Six-Week Switch-Up: One of our favorite schedules is what I call the “Six-Week Switch-Up.” Very simply, we do sIx 6-week sessions which amounts to a 36-week (180-day) school year. Between each session, we take a break. Sometimes this break is a week or two, sometimes it’s a month or more. It depends on when you like to take a longer break. We prefer taking longer breaks in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. My kids love it because they know a break is coming soon, and the six weeks seem to go by faster.
There’s no perfect schedule, and it’s good to stay somewhat flexible. Make changes as you go along.
Start Planning
Planning your schedule for the year, starts with assessing your goals. This might involve spreading out your books and curriculum all over the kitchen table. It might involve printing out a few copies of a yearly calendar so you can circle important dates and plan holidays and vacations. Maybe you want to use an online app or Google Calendar or something similar. Whatever your strategy is, it can get messy!
I recommend:
- Making a list of each child’s subjects. Identify the core subjects or activities you want to prioritize, and schedule those first. This ensures that the most important parts of your homeschool day are covered. Work other activities into your day as your schedule allows.
- Develop a schedule for each day. (see above section for ideas)
- Decide how many days in the year you will homeschool. This can be based on state requirements, the number of lessons in your curriculum, or amount of hours you need to reach.
Once I have our subjects/curriculum figured out, I determine the number of hours we will complete each day. I then divide that number by the number of hours we are required to have (which is 1,000 hours for core subjects in Missouri). For example, if our subjects amount to 6 hours a day (1,000/6=167), that’s 167 days we need to complete. I then divide it down to weeks and plan my calendar.
By the way, 1 hour of math does not mean it takes my child 1 hour to complete. She still gets credit for 1 hour of math even if it only takes her 30 minutes. (Remember, in public school when you finish your work and get to read your AR book? You still get credit for that whole hour.) For us, we just move on to the next subject, so our day is much shorter.
Sample Daily Schedule
- 8-9:00 Breakfast, bible memory, chores
- 9-10:00 Math
- 10-11:00 English
- 11-11:30 Spelling
- 11-noon Handwriting/Reading
- Noon-1:00 Lunch Break
- 1-2:00 Science
- 2-3:00 History
- 3:00-4:00 Special class (computer, PE, art, music, etc.)
Will everything go perfectly according to plan? Probably not. Life has a way of throwing unexpected things our way, and sometimes even the best plans need adjusting. Still, going in without a plan isn’t an option for me, so I map it out regardless.
What are Routines?
Routines are a little different to me than a schedule. Routines are those consistent, daily habits that help set the rhythm for your day. Kids need a routine, and sometimes it takes a little guidance to get them going. I usually start a new school year handing my kids a list of things to accomplish when they get up in the morning. It’s simple things like:
- Make your bed
- Get dressed
- Quick bedroom pick-up
- Feed cats and dog
Our kids each have chores that they do daily and weekly. They have spiritual goals, fitness goals, and personal goals. These will be different for each child and every season of life. It will vary by age and maturity level, attention span, and ability level. It’s good to establish “good” habits early in life that will stick with them even into adulthood. Start simple and build as they progress.
Most Important Part
In our homeschooling journey, schedules and routines aren’t about creating rigid structures—they’re about crafting a reliable foundation that gives both children and parents the freedom to learn and grow together. The routine you choose doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s; it only needs to work for you and your family. All routines and schedules should revolve around the family.
Do you have a routine or schedule for your kids? Have you tried any of the ones I mentioned above? Leave me a comment!