Managing A Homeschool Schedule in Two Simple Steps

Throughout my years of homeschooling, I’ve come to realize the importance of managing my time. The following tips have helped me to streamline my schedule and put systems into place that keep my family running more smoothly than we would otherwise.

1. Set Priorities

Homeschooling is a hodgepodge of ideas, theories, practices, tools, and resources. How you go about using resources and putting those theories into place is dependent upon your family priorities. That’s why it’s so important to know in the beginning what your homeschooling priorities are.

One idea that works for me is to sit down with my children and spouse and take into account everyone’s opinion. Planning family priorities works better when all family members are involved. After I hear everyone’s opinion and we’ve brainstormed, I like to write out a master priority plan.

This priority plan consists of anything we consider highly important for our family the upcoming school year — anything from field trips to subjects studied or volunteer opportunities and community involvement. It’s also a good idea to talk about the types of extracurricular activities you plan to be involved in and how many of those activities you’ll be willing to take on each week.

2. Arrange Your Schedule

Equally important as setting your priorities is arranging your schedule to fit them. Remember, it’s the schedule and routines that work best for your family each year that will determine a positive homeschooling experience.

Arrange your schedule to reflect your latest priorities. Take away activities that no longer define your new priorities and start with a clean slate. For this, you’ll need a calendar and a list of every class or activity your kids will be involved in.Whether you use a digital calendar like Google Calendar or a print planner doesn't matter. The point is to get everything down in writing.

Don’t forget to add in doctor appointments. And if you’re super organized, you might even add in your household routines such as housework and meal plans.

Add each of your kids’ subjects that you plan to cover over the week. Don’t get too caught up initially in making them fit nicely into daily structured times and hours. Just keep an eye on your general routine the first few weeks of school and use this as your template for the rest of the school year.

Knowing what’s on the calendar helps a bunch. Go with the flow. Last, but not least, when in doubt, relax. Sometimes managing a schedule can seem overwhelming. It’s not all about calendars and schedules. Many times it’s just about forming daily routines that work for your kids and for you. So, wake up each morning knowing that you’ll watch your kids learn whether you have a perfect schedule or not. Simply go with the flow, and watch your homeschool schedule management unfold on its own. Have fun!

About the Author

Demetria is a homeschooling mompreneur and tech enthusiast who lives in the Silicon Valley with her husband, two daughters, and a dog named Shaggy. She currently runs the Christian Homeschool Moms Podcast, blogs, writes music, and spends lots of time at coffee shops.