7 Steps to Make a Great Homeschooling Schedule (Free Cheatsheet!)

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Last Updated on April 10, 2020 by Yuvika Iyer

Are you finding yourself homeschooling with the sudden school closures?

Wondering where to start and how to make a homeschooling schedule that works for your family?

Making a schedule that works for your children and fits in your day is simpler than you think.

In this article, I am sharing the essentials you need to know before you make a homeschooling schedule for your children.

How to Create a Homeschooling Schedule

Around the world, things are crazier than before. We are bracing ourselves to expect the unexpected.

But HOPE is the answer to every problem.

Shine through the gloomy day by following basic guidelines to organize your entire day.

Help yourself, your kids, and family members to wither the storm and stay afloat.

Things to Consider for Creating a Homeschooling Schedule

Get your kid’s daily routine in order by establishing an innovative homeschool schedule.

Inform everyone in your family about the timing, your expectation, and other details in advance. Doing this will help everyone to condition their mind as per the kids’ new schedule.

Some essential factors may influence the start time of your homeschool such as:

Working Schedules

Families with working parent(s) who work on different shifts may choose to begin the class after one of the parents is out for work.

My husband works in the late afternoon shift, so I start school once he leaves for work.

Daily Habits

Some families prefer to be more active in the late afternoon or early evening hours.

If you are one of them, you may choose to start late.

Moring-focused parents or early risers usually prefer to keep the starting time early in the morning.

The choice is yours.

External Activities

Dual enrollment, co-op, or other out-of-the-class activities in your home school may decide the start time.

You may want to finish your schoolwork after or before these commitments.

Setup Morning Routines

First of all, you should have a fixed morning routine for your homeschool.

Specific daily start time will set everyone into the right habit and help them to be consistent.

Use your mornings prudently.

If your kids see you ready every day at the same time, their learning spirit will also increase.

You may also want to be free from your morning chores before starting the schoolwork.

Work with Your Family Needs not Against

Always keep in mind that every family and their needs are unique.

You should make a plan that suits your family and you.

A homeschooling schedule is considered great if it works in your favor, not against you.

If you have a new-born baby, have a sick child/parent/relative, a family farm, or home-bound business, you may choose to keep your homeschooling start time flexible.

Flexibility in timing will help you adjust to any unforeseen circumstance.

Have a Fresh Approach

Bring freshness to your daily approach.

Doing the same stuff every day can bore your kids and you.

Surprise the little ones by throwing something exciting and new into the schedule.

Adding flexibility in the mix will keep everyone happy.

Keep away from distractions

If you are planning to carve out some specific time in your daily schedule, you should ring-fence it.

Avoid making appointments during that time slot.

Refrain from using phones and don’t allow unexpected visitors to barge in.

It may take some time to get used to the strict schedule, but don’t worry.

Everything falls in place with time.

How to Create a Homeschooling Schedule

Yearly Homeschooling Schedule

The first step in your plan should be to determine your yearly schedule.

Follow the homeschooling laws of your state in establishing your annual schedule.

Some states mandatorily need you to include a specific number of home instruction hours every year.

Others require a certain number of homeschool days.

Remaining states consider homeschooling a personal affair and put no restrictions on kids’ attendance.

A 180-day school term is standard across the states with different semester time slots.

The terms can either be 4 of 9-week quarters, 2 of 18-week quarters, and 1 of 36 weeks.

The majority of the publishers make the 36-week model as a benchmark for the homeschool curriculum products.

If you are planning to start your home school, this can be a high starting point.

Weekly Homeschooling Schedule

Once you have finalized the structure of your annual homeschool schedule, you can break it down to a monthly and weekly schedule.

Take external factors like work or co-op schedules into account at the time of planning your weekly homeschool schedule.

The best part of homeschooling is its flexible weekly schedule.

It need not be from Monday to Friday.

If either or both the parents have an unconventional work week, you can easily adjust your kids’ school days to get more family time.

Some families keep four days every week for their homeschool work.

They reserve the 5^th day for field trips, co-op, and other important out-of-the-class activities.

Daily Homeschooling Schedule

The majority of the time, while asking about the homeschool schedules, people refer to the minute details of daily schedules.

The homeschool laws of your state may govern some aspects of regular homeschool schedules, as well as the annual schedule.

For example, your state’s law on homeschooling may require a certain number of hours of daily instruction.

New homeschooling parents may be a little apprehensive about the number of homeschool days.

They may think that since it takes hardly 2-3 hours to complete day’s work, either they are not doing enough or kids are not learning enough.

But, let me tell you it’s a myth. 2 to 3 hours of dedicated and uninterrupted time is enough than 5-6 hours with interruption or breaks in between.

Most parents of young kids find it super easy to cover all the subjects within an hour or two, especially the 1^st and 2^nd graders.

As the students get into higher classes, the intricacy of subjects gradually increases.

They may take more time to complete the daily homeschool work.

Students finishing their daily work early can use the extra hours to explore electives, nurture their hobbies, build the habit of reading and practice different extra-curricular activities.