I love seeing happy, productive homeschooling moms in action! Could part of their happiness and peace be because they are accomplishing what they know they need to do each day? A key to being successful with homeschooling is having a homeschool schedule that lets you be a dynamo managing your time. Your homeschool schedule helps guarantee that everything is done that needs to be done whether it is the school work, meals, housework, or laundry.
Where to Start Planning Your Homeschool Schedule
Exactly how does one put together a homeschool schedule? Begin by figuring out what time you think is a reasonable start time for school, and then work backwards and forwards from that. Most homeschoolers start school at 8:30 or 9:00 each morning.
Begin With Your Morning Time
Let’s say you want to start school at 9:00 a.m. Now make a list of what needs to be accomplished before school and how long each activity will take. That might look something like this:
Personal Bible time – 1/2 hour
Exercise – 1/2 hour
Shower – 1/4 hour
Help little children dress – 1/2 hour
Make breakfast – 1/4 hour
Eat breakfast – 1/2 hour
Breakfast cleanup and chores – 1/2 hour
If you total up this time, it is 3 hours. That means you need to get up and be on your feet ready for your first scheduled activity, at 6:00 a.m. To write up your schedule, put each of those activities in a time block beside the time that you want it to start. Simple!
Work with your Afternoon
Most homeschools take a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:00, and then head back to school for another hour or two as needed to complete their curriculum requirements.
Often mid to late afternoon is unproductive time, but it doesn’t have to be. Put activities in the late afternoon schedule that are important to you, but might otherwise be neglected. This could be time to plan for school or meals, individual time with your children, ironing, or cleaning. What about teaching a daughter to sew or doing craft projects with the children? Maybe you need to run errands one or two afternoons a week after school. Incorporate those activities in your after-school schedule.
Then make sure you slot a time very late in the afternoon to do dinner preparations. When it is on the schedule, you have the delight of a hot, home-cooked meal for your family to enjoy together early enough to have special family time each evening.
End Your Homeschool Day Successful
If you want to get up in the morning to start your productive homeschool day, you must make sure you go to bed early enough to get the sleep you need before the alarm goes off. A tired homeschool mommy is headed for discouragement quickly!
In our example, if you need 8 hours sleep, then lights out at 9:45 p.m. It will take a few minutes to wake up and get dressed before your first early morning activity starts at 6:00.
To be in bed, ready for sleep at 9:45, you want to have your focus on that goal and manage your evening time accordingly. That means putting the children to bed early enough so that you have some personal down time and also time with your husband.
Follow Your Homeschool Schedule
The schedule keeps you on track, but only if you follow it! There will be a dozen or more things a day trying to pull you off schedule, from your own laziness to your best friend wanting to have a playdate. Seldom, if ever, should laziness win over your schedule. There may be times that the playdate does, though. This depends on whether you have been faithfully keeping your schedule and doing what needs to be done. If you have, you just might be able to give a resounding “yes” to the invitation. That’s part of the joy of a schedule—letting you do extras because you are keeping up with your priorities.
God wants you to use your time for His glory: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).
If you want more help with homeschool scheduling, Managers of Their Homes is a practical, proven resource for you.