Second Year Homeschool Schedule
As a first year homeschooler my husband and I were talking to our vetrinarian who informed us that he and his wife homeschooled their kids. I was telling him about the schedule I had planned for our kids. I didn’t want them to sleep all day and develop bad habits. I had a crazy precise schedule of when and how we were going to do everything. He laughed at me and said you’ll see. He told us that all my plans would change. Homeschooling would effect our marriage, our family, and change everything about our lives. Indeed he was right. The biggest thing I can look back and laugh at from this conversation is how much he was right with my rigorous homeschool schedule which, by the way, worked for about 5 minutes. It seems I’ve heard lots of stories how mom’s like me pull their children our of school and try to do public school at home. Our schedule is nothing like a year ago. A friend taught me to focus on what to do next instead of times. This is how we kind of do things now.
- 8-11ish am Wake up to-End of Circle Time
- 10:30 or 11am Break to get ready for day, short recess, farm chores
- Individual subjects (math, english, and spelling)
- 12:30pm or when Dad gets home Lunch and recess
- Finish individual subjects
- 5-7 pm Play and other farm chores
- Around 8pm Dinner
- 9pm Scriptures and bedtime
Priorities
There’s so much give in our schedule now. With the help of books like Ainslee Arments book The call of the Wild and Free and others I’m trying to give my kids more recess and more time to explore their interests and just be kids. I’m also trying to learn that relationships are more important than getting lessons done. It’s still a struggle for me coming from public school. It’s odd I expect holes in public school education, but I am not tolerant that my children have gaps in their education.
Prayer
Another vital part of creating a schedule that works is praying to our Father in Heaven to guide us to figure out what is best for us. The most important part of this is daily prayer. As we pray, Father will help the important things to fit into our schedule. This includes asking for His wisdom to know what we actually have time to do. Yes, Father will help us make good use of our time, but we can overschedule ourselves if not careful.
Seeing clearly
As our veterinarian told us a year ago that we would see, I definetely see what he was talking about. I have learned to relax. I’ve learned to slow down and let my kids sleep when they are tired. I’ve learned to let them be kids and that they truly are learning when they are playing. Not everything at home needs to look like school. Indeed it should not look like school. Hopefully for all those first time homeschool Mom year’s my schedule can give you an excuse to chill and focus on connection and a rhythm at first and not so much a schedule.