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How to Homeschool in 4 Days a Week, 2 Hours or Less Per Day, Year Round- During the Elementary Years
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How to Homeschool in 4 Days a Week, 2 Hours or Less Per Day, Year Round- During the Elementary Years
Hey everyone! A few questions I have gotten often, and that I have previously asked- all pertain to the “homeschool schedule”.
How many days a week do you need to homeschool?
How long does your homeschool day really need to be?
Should we homeschool the traditional school year, or year round?
Truly, the answers to those questions highly depend on you and your family. It will take some trial and error- and definitely a lot of ‘switching up schedules/rhythms’ to find the balance that is truly right for your family! But, for those of you who want to know how we do it- this post is for you!
Choosing a Schedule or Rhythm
First of all, let’s discuss the differences between a SCHEDULE and a RHYTHM/ROUTINE.
We use a mixture of both. I personally work better with a schedule- which is essentially, at this time we do this, and it lasts this long- and at this time we do this, and it lasts this long.
BUT my kids, and most kids, thrive better with a rhythm/routine- which is less about what time to do something, and how long to do it- and more of the order that you do it in.
Schedule: “a plan for carrying out a process or procedure, giving lists of intended events and times; arrange or plan (an event) to take place at a particular time. (Oxford dictionary)
Rhythm: a regularly recurring sequence of events, actions, or processes. Routine: a sequence of actions regularly followed. (Oxford dictionary)
We try to start school at 8am (sometimes its 9, sometimes its 10- it depends on the season). Then, we follow a rhythm for actual school- no time limits, just a sequence that we complete our studies in. (Generally: Devotional, Read Aloud, Student Notebooks, Copywork, Reading/Sight Words, Math or Science.)
After school is free play! Until 11am when quiet time begins. We follow a schedule for quiet time, because this is the time that I work. So 11-12 is a read aloud that the kids listen to (audiobook); and 12-1 they get to choose a show. (We alternate days on who’s choice it is). During this time I have my own schedule that I follow for work.
After quiet time is more free play/ unstructured time; and we come inside at 4:30 for chores and dinner prep.
So, the routine/schedule we have works for us but it has taken a lot of trial and error! I would recommend picking a day, writing down what you need to get done that day, and then just doing it. Then, at the end of the day; write down where you need to stick to a time or schedule, and where you can have more of a routine!
That brings us to the next point- which is really 3 different points, intertwined.
Schooling 4 Days a Week, 2 Hours or Less per day, Year Round.
We don’t do formal schooling on Friday. Sometimes we do Tea Time, sometimes we do Art projects, (or if we had to take another day off during the week for some reason, Friday will be make up day). Friday is also our errands, and appointments day- and usually the day we let rhythm guide the day.
SO- because there is a whole day that we don’t do any formal schooling- you would think that we would have to fit in a whole other day’s worth of work within the other 4 days right? WRONG. (At least for us!) Truly, we take Fridays off because we can! How do we do this? Let me introduce you to our daily/weekly homeschool rhythm/schedule.
(This is also our Summer session, which would normally be our Autumn session- but I am having a baby in August, so Autumn is going to be a lot more relaxed).
Daily- Devotional, Read Aloud and Accompanying Student Notebook, Copywork, Reading Choice (2nd grader) or Sight Words (Kindergartener); then our Language Arts choice.
Monday/Wednesday: Math day! (If we have something we are really working hard on, we will do a little of it on Tuesday/Thursday as well)
Tuesday/Thursday: Science day!
This is during the warm weather months.
During this coming Fall/Winter we will be doing History M-W, and Math will be daily, with a heavy day on Thursday.
Because we spread it out this way, school lasts less than 2 hours! Even though we do a rhythm/routine, we do have what we do down to sort of a consistent amount of time.
Devotional: 5 minutes
Read Aloud and Student Notebooks: (We read 2 chapters of Chronicles of Narnia each day) 20-40 minutes
Copywork: 5-10 minutes
Reading/Sight Words: 5-10 minutes
Language Arts choice: 10-25 minutes
Math: 10-20 minutes
Science: 15-30 minutes
Total: 70-120 minutes
Now, because we school year round we are able to divide up science and history into different parts of the year- and that keeps our schedule short as well. It also gives us more time to work on math competencies, language arts goals, and reading. It also means that we get to take breaks when we want! Usually we take off 3 months out of the year (have a very very reduced school schedule)- and they are spaced out so it works really well for us. This year, 2021, those months are:
April, August, and December.
I hope this was helpful for you! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment and ask below.
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