3 Sample Homeschooling Schedules To Get You Started

One of the most daunting parts of homeschooling is deciding what you and your children are going to do all day, every day.

It can be difficult to come up with a schedule that you’re going to be able to stick to, however, without a schedule, you’ll likely find your perfect homeschool dreams quickly turn into chaos.

But finding a schedule that works for you and your family doesn’t have to be difficult, and you don’t have to continue yourself to a minute-by-minute routine if that isn’t something that resonates with you.

If your homeschool thrives on rigid structure, that’s fantastic! But if you find that more flexibility is required, then don’t worry; we’ve got you covered.

In this article, we’ll cover the three basic schedule structures that you can follow and how to implement them in the most effective way.

Whether you’re a fresh-faced newbie homeschool parent looking to get started on the right foot or a hardened pro wanting to shake things up, there’s going to be a schedule that works.

Stick around as we divulge the best homeschool schedules you can get started with today.

Creating a Schedule

When you first start to create your schedule, there are a few things that you’ll want to decide. The first thing is how far in advance you want to plan.

For some people, planning just a week is enough. However, if you live in a state that requires assessments, but you don’t start planning for that until the week it’s happening, you might not have given your learners enough time to prepare. 

If you’re a visual person, it might be helpful to have a printed-out year-long calendar so you can see exactly how far away you are from deadlines and can effectively plan around them.

If your kids are older and have their own devices, it could also be useful to sync up a shared calendar so they can also see exactly what to expect from their time homeschooling. 

Once you have a good grasp on what you need to cover within a set timeframe, you can start to establish your weekly or daily schedule, and that’s where our examples come in. 

You may also like: The best apps for homeschooling.

Traditional Block Schedule

We mentioned that there are three primary schedule types that you can follow, depending on how rigid or flexible you like your routines to be.

This first example is the most rigid that you can get and includes blocking out each day into manageable chunks of time and deciding what you’re going to do during each of these blocks. 

For example, you might make a block schedule that looks like this:

Now, for some people, this might be perfect.

If you’re someone who likes to set routines and structures and can manage your time effectively, this is a fantastic way to keep your kids occupied throughout the day, exploring and enjoying multiple subjects without feeling too bogged down and still getting plenty of breaks. 

This is also a helpful structure if your children are still transitioning out of public or private schools, as this is more similar to what they would be used to than more flexible schedules. 

If this is the kind of schedule that you’d like to create, we recommend building at least a week out in advance and having a lesson plan for each of the blocks so you know that everything will fit into the assigned blocks. 

However, there are a lot of people who would find this kind of schedule very restrictive and unmanageable.

All it takes is one class to run a little long or your child to make a fuss, and the whole day’s schedule is thrown off.

This could end up being pretty frustrating and lead to a lot more unnecessary frustration and dysregulation in the house.

If you think that it would be too difficult, check out some of our more relaxed schedules below. 

Checklist Schedule

If you want to make sure that you do everything that’s required to keep up throughout the day but don’t like the idea of the rigidity of the traditional block schedule, you might want to try a checklist schedule. 

This style of routine does away with the time blocks and instead allows you to set out a more relaxed vision for your days without the pressure of keeping perfect time. For example, your week’s schedule could look like this: 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Math	Math	Math	Math	Math
English	English	English	English	English
Spelling	Spelling	Spelling	Spelling	Spelling
Science	Science	Science	Science	Science
Music/Art	Music/Art	Music/Art	Music/Art	Music/Art

Whilst this doesn’t have the strict time-keeping element of the block schedule, it still ensures that you get everything done in the day, it just allows you to be more free and flexible with your time, removing an element of stress.

It’s still helpful to know what each day’s lesson for each subject is going to look like, but this schedule allows for longer lessons when necessary and shorter lessons if you don’t need to cover as much material. 

If possible, let your child have a say in what each day is going to look like and ask them when they need to take breaks and when they want to do each lesson. 

That said, there are downsides to this structure. Some days, you might struggle to find time to fit everything in, or might let breaks run too long and find yourself struggling to catch up.

Or you could rush through everything right at the beginning of the day and find yourself without a plan for the rest of the day. 

If you want to try the checklist schedule, make sure you plan your lessons so that while the order of the day is a surprise, the content isn’t. 

Relaxed Schedule

The most relaxed of all the schedules we’re looking at, this routine is more suited to older learners who can manage more independent learning.

A relaxed schedule is perfect for people who might work or often have appointments or other responsibilities that make it difficult to commit to a full 8-hour learning schedule.

With a relaxed schedule, you can set out the goals for each day without limiting yourself to a specific amount of time. You’re also more likely to set the same schedule throughout the week so that there’s less to plan. 

Your weekly schedule might look something like this: 

With this schedule, you can include notes for what each subject needs to cover or how long you want your learners to engage with each subject.

You can also switch this up – for example, if you’re often busy during the afternoon, you could leave it until the evening to have your one-on-one lessons or have them earlier if you know that your learners are more engaged first thing in the morning. 

However, if you allow your learners to have independent learning time, you might need to be extra vigilant in checking their work at the end of the day or the end of the week to ensure that they have been covering what they need to cover and haven’t been slacking off. 

This structure is very relaxed, but that also means that there’s less accountability for not getting through all the lessons that you need to meet potential deadlines.

It might be a good idea to plan a few more assessments throughout the semester to check in with whether this structure is fruitful. 

Final Thoughts

In creating your homeschooling schedule, remember it can be a flexible framework, not a rigid script (unless that works for you).

Tailor it to your family’s rhythm, and with dedication and adaptability, you can transform your home into a vibrant hub of learning.

And don’t forget, you can incorporate elements from all different types of schedules until you find the one that works for you.

Here’s to your successful homeschooling; good luck! 

Further reading: How to get started with homeschooling.

FAQ 

Is it okay to incorporate breaks into a homeschooling schedule?

Yes, breaks are essential! They rejuvenate students and promote better focus. We recommend strategic breaks to maintain a healthy balance between learning and relaxation.

How can I balance multiple grades or age groups in homeschooling?

Our schedules consider diverse age groups. You can modify time blocks and activities to cater to different academic levels, fostering a harmonious learning environment.

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Simon Lewis

Hi, I’m Simon Lewis.

I have been in the education space for over 20 years.

I am fortunate to have been the person that all of my students come to with their troubles, and I help in any way that I can.

Unfortunately, I’m only available in one high school of many around the country.

That is why I have created my site so that I can help other children, and their parents, all over the world.

I hope you find my site to be helpful.

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