Our school routine has taken many shapes from year to year, sometimes adjusting mid-year to meet the current needs of our family. That can mean an unexpected pause for a military homecoming/leave period, lengthening a break for family travel, or even a move! We are currently doing 4-day school weeks and taking a year-round approach. We do school M-Th, and run errands/handle appointments on Friday to ensure Saturday and Sunday are restful!
What our days look like:
7:45-8:30 Wake up/morning routine
8:30-10:00 School
10:00-10:10 Snack time
10:10-11:30 School
11:30-12:00 Lunch
12:00-2:00 School
From 8:30-11:30 I hang closely in the school area. I do my quiet time during their first lesson of the day, Bible class, which lasts about 30 minutes. All kids start with Bible, and then they do Math/Language/Reading. We put these lessons on the front half of the day because these are the lessons that they most commonly have questions with and require the attention of the on-site teacher (me!). As they are moving through these lessons, I pull them aside one by one (they just pause their lesson wherever they are when it’s their turn) to do 15 minutes of one-on-one reading time. After everyone’s reading time is complete, I begin working from home on my iPad, remaining in the school area to answer questions, help the younger kids find the correct pages in their books, and navigate their lesson dashboard/hit play.
Lunchtime is 11:30-12:00. To keep our day moving, we stick to leftovers or easy-to-prep items.
12:00-2:00 The younger kids are either done with school at this point or very close to being done. I get them wrapped up, and they head up to the game room to play until everyone is done. The big girls move into their independent lessons, and I begin daily home chores like laundry that are outside of our normal “school” space, as well as dishes and dinner prep. If there are worksheets for these lessons, they leave the book out and open on the kitchen bar after they’ve completed them so I can check them at the end of the day. The kids finish at slightly different times, depending on how much time is spent on their seatwork and if extra instruction is needed. The oldest ones finish around 2:00, and as they finish up, they join the younger ones playing upstairs until everyone is done.
2:00 to dinner time is free time. They can play outside, go for a walk/run, meet up with friends, read a book, swim, etc.
We’ve done years with later start/finish times, 5-day weeks, longer summers…you name it! What I’ve found IS necessary for us is a firm school start time and mapping out the school year before the year begins. I mark our school days on a calendar and leave 1-2 weeks built in for sick days/unexpected off days. As you’re planning out your school year, keep in mind there is so much room for flexibility in homeschooling, and so many ways to map it out to best fit your family’s needs for the season you’re in!
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