What does our daily homeschool schedule look like?
One question I get asked all the time is how I structure our day as a homeschool mom of 3 kids. Our rhythms and routines are EXTREMELY full to say the least. To be honest, there is never really a time where I’m ever wondering what needs to happen next! Lately I am finding that the days and weeks seem to be flying by faster than ever with our 15-month old in tow! Having our set rhythms helps to keep things going as smoothly as possible. It also helps us to be more intentional about our time. Let me give you a peek inside our daily homeschool schedule!
I would say now more than ever we are sticking to a fairly structured school day. In years past I was a lot more flexible. As long as we got done what needed to be done school-wise, I really didn’t mind what time of day it was happening. This was how things were before our baby boy came along!
Also, last year we homeschooled year-round knowing we had a baby on the way and I wanted more flexibility. A lot of families homeschool year-round. There are many benefits to this. There are all sorts of schedules you can follow such as a loop-schedule, or a few weeks on and a week off as the regular rotation. As of now, my plan is to take a 2-month break in the summer months this upcoming school year, but of course the learning never stops!
“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” -Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education
New baby, new schedule!
Once we had a baby in 2023, we needed to shift things around. I quickly realized my older kids needed to have set times to know what needed to be done. They needed to know what was required of them at certain points in the day.
Our new schedule has worked very well for us – although certainly not perfectly! Each day we seek to balance the things of normal everyday life. Inevitably, things come up when you’re dealing with 3 kids of varying ages! This year my oldest is 10, middle is 7 – and we have a baby (currently 14 months!)
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Our Weekly Homeschool Schedule
We do our schooling at home four days a week (Monday-Thursday). On Fridays we are out all day attending an amazing faith-based homeschool program for the arts where my kids take dance, piano, guitar, choir, drama, art and photography classes. It really is a unique and wonderful community and we are blessed to be a part of it.
Daily Homeschool Checklists
To help remind my older kids what is required of them, I create a few lists of daily tasks that we keep in protective plastic sleeves. They are always excited to personalize and decorate them whenever I print out a new copy. Each day they can mark up and check off their lists with a dry-erase marker and then start over the next! This has worked really well for us. On one side it includes their chores and responsibilities for around the home. On the other side is a to-do list for all of their schoolwork. I’ll give you an idea of what some of those things are on the list:
Samples of Daily Homeschool Checklists
Around the Home Checklist: Make bed, brush teeth, get dressed, brush hair, feed pets, unload/load dishwasher, laundry, practice instruments, and tidy rooms.
Schoolwork Checklist: Copywork/Handwriting page, Bible, Language Arts, Reading (with set timer), Math, Science, History, Typing
Of course every year (or a few times per year) I’ll need to add or remove things that are more appropriate for their lists depending on their current ability level. For example, we have recently moved my oldest from only emptying the dishwasher to now loading it also.
Our Typical Daily Homeschool Schedule (Hourly)
The Morning Hours:
5:45 AM
I usually try to get up before my kids. I’m definitely a morning person! Not everyone shares this same sentiment, I know- but I really do love to get up before everyone else. Watching the sunrise and making my morning smoothie while the house is still quiet. I follow it with an oat-milk matcha latte in peace and quiet! I spend some time in prayer and reading my Bible. This is absolutely my LIFELINE and the only way I could do any of this! Of course some mornings this is not going to happen because, well, baby. However, this is what I’m aiming for! When a morning is too hectic, I’ll listen to the Daily Audio Bible while working out or doing dishes.
6-8 AM
My kids wake up and come downstairs at their leisure usually one-by-one for breakfast. My oldest is usually up earliest and makes eggs, waffles or pancakes for all of them. While they are eating, I usually head upstairs to dress, wash my face, put contacts in and brush my teeth so I am ready for the day.
Many mornings I won’t shower right way since I try to workout at least every other day when the baby goes down for his first nap (usually around 9:30ish). While I am upstairs getting ready my kids have their checklist that I expect to be done before school begins at 9.
9 AM
Schoolwork begins. We always start with Bible – using either Not Consumed Bible Studies, simply read a devotional from our Louie Giglio science book, or if it’s a holiday such as Easter or Christmas we will do special studies leading up to that. For Easter and Christmas we love An Expectant Easter and A Connected Christmas! Many mornings we will work through a monthly hymn from Happy Hymnody. We always wrap up our Bible time by praying together to begin our day.
Math
Next, kids move on to Math. I work with my second grader, while my fifth grader will complete her math lesson independently. Our math curriculum that we use provides video lessons once you hit fourth grade math, so she borrows my phone or the iPad to complete her work.
We use The Good & The Beautiful Curriculum for most of our subjects, and love that it is an open-and-go style. I don’t usually have much time to be prepping school ahead of time. I usually spend about 20 minutes going through the lesson with my second grader, and then she works independently on her review sheets.
10:30 AM
Break time! Kids grab a snack and (most of the time) head outside. I love to get them outside throughout the day as much as possible. They love to go out and jump on the trampoline. I do a few dishes, throw in a load of laundry, or if the baby is napping I will try to jump on the treadmill or exercise bike for 20 minutes then shower.
11 AM
Language Arts & Reading
Lessons resume with Language Arts. I guide my second grader in most of her language arts lesson, and she finishes up with a review sheet or two then reads aloud to me with timer set for 20-25 minutes. My fifth grader does most of her work independently, aside from me quizzing her and having her read a few things aloud to me. She also will set a timer for 30 minutes of independent reading. While they are doing their reading, I am usually prepping lunch so that it is ready when they finish.
The Afternoon Hours:
12:15 PM
We wrap up with language arts and it’s time to eat! Sometimes they will eat while listening to an audio book (usually our book of the month for our children’s book club we are a part of). When they are finished eating, they clean up their dishes from lunch, wipe down the table and have a little more break time before resuming we continue with our lessons. While we are eating lunch, I’ll usually try to check all of their independent work completed that morning and make notes of any changes or fixes that need to be made.
1/1:15 PM
We either continue with anything left unfinished from the morning, or if one of them needs extra help with a certain subject from earlier; or we will do a science or history lesson. I aim for about 1-2 history lessons per week, and 1-2 science lessons. I am somewhat lenient with these subject because I know they are getting a lot of history and science included in the book club curriculum that we use. Naturally, they are picking up lots from the stories we read and all of the activities involved.
2 PM
School is done and kids are free to play, pursue their personal interests and hobbies, practice sports, create artwork, etc. At some point in the afternoon they practice their instruments if they haven’t already done so that morning.
3 PM
Baby usually goes for a nap around this time so I’ll make dinner while he sleeps. Of course, this is what works for now – but talk to me in a few months (or weeks!) as anyone with a baby knows, seasons change rather quickly. I’m really hoping he will continue to be a good afternoon napper for a while. Sometimes my oldest will help me prep dinner. I love to get them helping and learning in the kitchen.
Dinnertime & Evening Routine
5:30 PM
When sports aren’t in full swing, we usually eat dinner together around 5:30, once my husband arrives home from work. Sometimes we pull out these fun cards while we eat to encourage some interesting conversation since usually my brain is fried at this point in the day. After dinner, sometimes we will play a game altogether, or kids will watch a movie with their dad while he unwinds from a long day.
While they are all spending time together, I’ll typically clean up the kitchen while listening to a podcast and then spend some quality time with the baby giving one-on-one time reading books, giving a bath, and such until it’s his bedtime around 7:30. Once in bed, my older kids will read for a bit with their personal reading lights, and then it’s usually lights out by 8:30PM.
Flexibility Is Key to Homeschooling
As you can see, there is not much extra time outside of our schedule – however, I do try to remain flexible as inevitably things come up and challenges present themselves. No two days are ever really alike. The schedule we have in place helps to give me peace of mind that we are making the most of our time and doing our best to fulfill our responsibilities to the very best of our ability!
That’s all we can do really. Not expecting perfection, but progress! Always moving forward. If we have a rough day, tomorrow will be a new one with mercies anew!
Give Yourself Some Grace!
I think one of the best things you can do for yourself as a homeschool mom is to give your kids, and yourself lots of GRACE! Take things day by day.
Here is an excerpt from one of my favorite books on homeschooling, “Teaching from Rest”:
“Whatever is getting in the way of your plan for the day-the toddler’s tantrum, the messy bedroom, the sticky juice leaking all over the fridge and into the cracks of the drawers, the frustrated child, the irritable husband, the car that won’t start, the cake the dog dragged under the couch… whatever that intrusion into your grand plan for the day is, it’s also an opportunity to enter into rest. C.S. Lewis once observed:
The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruption’s of one’s “own” or “real” life. The truth is of course that what once calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s “real life” is a phantom of one’s own imagination.
We can’t really rest in God’s care until we trust that He will indeed care for us. And that means I can’t teach from rest unless I trust Him with my kids’ education too. I am not meant to take on this task of teaching and raising my children in my own strength, and neither are you. We are however, meant to recognize every facet of our day as coming from the hand of God. It all passes through His fingers first, and He uses it to make sure we lean hard on Him.
Surrender your idea of what the ideal homeschool day is supposed to look like and take on, with both hand, the day that is. Rest begins with acceptance, with surrender. Can we accept what He is sending today?”
If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to see some of the resources I have found very helpful in regards to homeschooling and more of our homeschooling journey, check out my article All of the Reasons Why We Are a Homeschool Family and Love It. Also, be sure to check out our Best Homeschool Room Renovation Ever!
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