Before we think about the many activities that we would like to add and apply to our child's homeschooling, we need a homeschool timetable that can work for our household. And some of you are just working at home temporarily because of the pandemic, or the homeschool life might be a permanent lifestyle for you. Either way, edit, discard, and amend any tips that you may find useful to your current situation.
It is always good to have a structure in your home school schedule, as I highlighted in my last blog post: https://www.chamatuition.com/post/homeschool-survival-tips-for-beginners
Before we start getting the planner, pens, and highlighters out, ask your self the following questions:
Useful Questions To Ask Before You Set Up Your Schedule
When is your wake up time?
Choose a time that would suit you and your child's routine, it is always best to do a time that is at least three hours before your lunchtime, so you have enough time to have a nutritious breakfast and complete your morning activity.
When do you want to start having breakfast?
Breakfast is crucial, because it can set you up for the day ahead, so make sure it is not too close to lunchtime.
When do you want to have lunch?
It is important to stop all activities when having lunch and not skip it because you may feel that you are lagging behind in your activities for the day. As I said in my last blog post - you can be flexible wherever necessary.
How many breaks do you want to add during the day?
It all depends on your child's attention span, but if you need to add more than two breaks in the day, ensure that they are short breaks between 15 mins and one break that is much longer. Or if your child has an SEN need, maybe you can offer one long break and short 5-10min breaks when they feel overwhelmed with the activities.
Of course, think about yourself also and make sure you give yourself a break too!
Do you want to add any vocational activities in between your child's academic schedule?
Your child needs to focus on core subjects such as English, Maths, and Science. But what about vocational subjects that are more practical? Homeschool learning can allow you to tap into vocational subjects that your child is stronger at and enjoy. Like Art, PE (Exercise), Coding, etc.
When do you want to end the home learning day?
Try to end at a time that can allow some reflective time in the day for you and your child. Also, you don't want to burn yourself or your child out and have an activity overload.
Finish at a time that can be aligned with their school timetable or even earlier if that suits your routine better.
Do you want to add a reflective plenary at the end of the day?
A plenary is like my last question based on questions that they can reflect and answer at the end of a busy day. This can help you to monitor which activities they might be stronger at, which activities they need to develop, or which activities you need to discard altogether.
You can do this as a discussion and get them to write it down. Or have general questions that they answer so you can have a record of their answers. This can help you monitor their feedback.
Step by Step To Creating A Successful Schedule
Yearly Schedules:
I found this home school annual planner that includes - student yearly, weekly reflections, goal-setting charts, and questionnaires - all at a great price as well.
Go to the following link to access this great bundle:
If you are a permanent home school parent, then each country has different rules on how many homeschool hours you have to meet for the annual year. So I advised that you double-check your country to see what are the requirements.
If you are a temporary home school parent, especially during the pandemic, you can do an annual schedule as a worst-case scenario because we are unsure of when we will go back to school. Also, you are preparing yourself way ahead and it will give you and your child that an organised contingency plan.
Weekly Schedules:
When you have a rough overview of the year, you can focus on your weekly schedule. And the great thing is you can adapt your weekly home school activities around your work and other duties you usually commit to in the week.
So it is designed to work with your routine, not against it. This gives you the freedom to not just focus on the regular Mon - Fri school schedule if that doesn't work for you.
Sample Daily Schedules:
For permanent homeschoolers, try and factor in the appropriate amount of hours by law that you need to include depending on your country.
But whether you are a permanent or temporary homeschool parent, it's always good to have a timetable that is easy to digest and not too demanding throughout the day.
For example,
8:30 – Literacy
9:15 – Maths
9:45 – Snack/break
10:15 - Reading
11:00 – Science
11:45 – Lunch
12:45 – History
1:30 – Art, Music, Drama
Block Schedules:
Block schedules would allow you to work on a subject for a longer period of time and for a few days a week.
For example, if you feel your child needs more focus on English or Maths, you might have a double period of this subject for three days a week.
Loop Schedules:
Loop schedules will allow you to work on subjects, not every day, but whenever you may have time.
For example, if you would like to focus on music or art once or twice a week, then you can add it in when you feel it is suitable.
This is great for all vocational subjects, as it will give your child more downtime, so they don't end up getting mentally exhausted.
So to conclude,
Useful Questions To Ask Before You Set Up Your Schedule
- When is your wake-up time?
- When do you want to start having breakfast?
- When do you want to have lunch?
- How many breaks do you want to add during the day?
- Do you want to add any vocational activities in between your child's academic schedule?
- When do you want to end the home learning day?
- Do you want to add a reflective plenary at the end of the day?
Step by Step To Creating A Successful Schedule
- Yearly Schedules
- Weekly Schedules
- Sample Daily Schedules
- Block Schedules
- Loop Schedules
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