Home Schooling Schedule
by Mimi Rothschild
You have made the leap from public school to home school. Now what? For you and your child to be successful you need to create a schedule that works for you, keeping your child’s personality and abilities in mind. For example, try scheduling the more intense activities in the afternoon if your child is not a “morning person”. Write the schedule down and post it for you and your child to see. Make a serious commitment to follow your home school schedule for at least one week. If you find it is not working, make another schedule. There is nothing wrong with a little trial and error to figure out what works best. It might be fun to include your child in making the home school schedule. Also, if you know other parents who are home schooling, ask them how they manage their schedule, or browse the internet for home schooling schedule samples.
In general, setting up a workable schedule means, first of all, deciding on a daily start time. Either set up specific times for subjects like Math at 9:00 am or simply decide that all academic subjects will be from 9:00 am in the morning to 12 noon. Perhaps you will want to break for lunch at noon and work on a fun project after lunch. Your goal is to suit the home school schedule to your child’s academic level. An elementary child’s schedule may need more structure, while most middle school children enjoy a more relaxed, flexible schedule. Some parents with children in high school simply give their child a list of assignments to be completed for the week. For all grade levels it is a good idea to schedule educational field trips. Leave time for everyone to adjust to this new way of doing things.
A lot of new home schoolers are hard on themselves if the schedule is not working exactly as it is written. Take a deep breath, because it is okay. The great thing about home schooling is the flexibility and the one-on-one support you can give your child. If you have scheduled Math from 10:00 am until 10:40 am and they are still having a hard time, let them keep working at it or give them a short break. However, don’t stray from the schedule too much. It is important to be consistent and follow a fairly firm schedule with some flexibility. Be sure to inform friends and family of your schedule to avoid unnecessary interruptions during your school day.
The goal is to have fun, make your child’s education an event to remember, and stay relaxed about things that do not go perfectly the way you had planned. Remember why you decided to home school; to give your child individual support in a nurturing and flexible atmosphere, free from the daily stresses of traditional school life. Congratulate yourself on having taken this step. You’re doing it! Now go have some fun!
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