For many people, scheduling can be a safety net. Sure, it’s a way to create guidelines for your day and to ensure that there is a goal for accomplishment. Yet, sometimes we inadvertently create schedules that are doomed from the start – Schedules that just don’t work for us or schedules that tend to overwhelm us. If you’re living in that danger zone, stop… take a deep breath… and rethink the whole thing!
Reasons Your Homeschool Schedule Might Not Be Working
I’m sure we can all agree that there are times in our homeschooling journey when we end up being our own worst enemies. It’s true, we can easily develop unrealistic expectations that open our efforts up to failure. I see what my friends are doing, or what the perfect lives of Pinterest homeschoolers look like and I believe that my homeschool has to be perfect. Let me just tell you, those pictures you see are not the whole truth. Yes, it looks beautiful and those kids look so happy… but what you don’t see is the pile of laundry just outside of the photo or the kid that had a temper tantrum right after that glowing snapshot was taken. It’s life, and it’s real. Don’t be fooled…
I’ve seen it many times in my own life. I want to do “all the good things” but I end up with a mess! I snatch up every great curriculum, series, or opportunity and think it’ll be the best thing ever – but what I end up doing is overwhelming myself and my kiddos. This has often spiraled out of control and we’ve almost quit homeschooling because of the stress.
Finally, I’ve seen my homeschooling schedule go awry when I don’t have it aligned with my homeschooling “why.” Some people would call this their homeschool purpose statement, but if your homeschool “why” is guiding your decision in how you homeschool, what you use to homeschool, and even your schedule, things will flow more easily. If you created a schedule that is not supporting your homeschool “why” – misery is sure to follow!
A Few Scheduling Solutions
Fight those unrealistic expectations by acknowledging that no one is perfect! Every time you look at Pinterest or read a blog post that makes that homeschool scenario seem perfect, remember homeschooling is an imperfect yet beautiful work in progress. Take a deep breath and create a schedule that reflects an understanding of your children’s needs.
- Schedule time for breaks, breathers, exercise, and even the occasional daydream! Those things are an important part of a homeschool day!
- Review your schedule and remove things that are just unrealistic…even if it breaks your heart a little. Having peace is worth not getting to do all the fun things.
- Use a daily homeschool schedule template like the one in our Homeschool Sanity Saver Planner!
- Consider using an online homeschool curriculum like Time4Learning for your core classes to help manage your schedule!
Don’t let the appeal of amazing resources clutter your schedule. Yes, they are “all good things” but doing ALL of them will surely kill you and your kiddos! Choose the best resources for including in your line-up each homeschooling year. Let the kids pick one favorite and go from there! Including the kids in your decision may also be one of the best things you’ve ever done! But, whatever you do – keep homeschooling simple!
Finally, find a scheduling solution by stepping back to your beginnings and reworking your schedule so that everything supports your homeschool “why.” The key to keeping everyone satisfied and feeling fulfilled is right there. When you started homeschooling, you determined your purpose or your “why.” If your “how” and “when” both support that, you’re in good shape!
- Take a hard look at your goals again – and align your learning schedule with them!
- Make your “why” work!
No, homeschooling isn’t easy, and it isn’t perfect, but it’s a wonderful investment – a worthy effort. Each chaotic day bursting with life is another day that you’ve invested in your children. Keep on! Every minute is worth it!
One of the most difficult challenges facing many new parents is how to set a stay-at-home school schedule they can stick to in the year ahead. Take it from me, after 16 years of homeschooling I know that a schedule needs to be “comfortable.” I look at it as less a “schedule” and more a “routine.” Find what works for you and lean into it!
Tips for Setting (and Sticking to) a Homeschool Routine
With so many factors working against you, it’s important that you take the time to come up with a foolproof learning schedule or routine to help both you and your child succeed on a daily basis.
Establish Routines
Just because there isn’t a school bus coming or a teacher waiting doesn’t mean all of your daily routines should go out the window. On the contrary, it’s essential that you maintain a certain degree of structure throughout your day.
While a school schedule is obviously a part of that structure, it can be difficult to create, let alone maintain, an educational agenda if it’s surrounded by a very unstructured lifestyle.
Perhaps the most important schedule of them all has to be your morning routine. The way you wake up each morning can set the tone for the day. With that said, make sure both you and your teen establish a clear routine to start each school day. A few tips to help create a good morning routine include:
● Personalizing the routine to the individual.
● Building your routine around the activities that are essential, like brushing teeth and eating breakfast.
● Starting with a short routine and then adding in additional elements like a morning walk or prayer and meditation as you get comfortable.
Staying consistent with your routines is a crucial aspect of maintaining a good school schedule over the next nine months.
Create a Universal Family Calendar
It doesn’t matter if you’re teaching in lock-step with your local school system or you’re going for a more relaxed year-round approach, it’s essential that you maintain a good calendar if you want to stay on track over time.
With teenagers, in particular, this shouldn’t be a problem. Have everyone download a cloud-based scheduling app, like Google Calendar, and then create a “family” calendar. Make sure to emphasize the importance of everyone putting every activity into the calendar, from work meetings to local soccer practices to daily school schedules so that everyone can stay on the same page.
Have Regular “Unplugging Times”
One of the best ways to combat the tendency for technology to distract your student is by having “unplugging times” during the day. Even if they need to use a screen for school, it’s wise to help your children put down other devices and focus on their schoolwork by creating pockets of the day where things like social media, YouTube, and streaming options are turned off.
You can do this by using software like Verizon Family Safeguards & Controls to filter content on your kid’s phones, freeing them up to pay attention to their school at the same time each day.
Update Your Schedule Often
A good schedule today can be a bear to work with tomorrow — especially with so much of your regular life in flux. For instance, if you’re temporarily working from home now or your son or daughter is attending a local sports rec league every Tuesday night, that may change in the future, throwing a wrench into even the best-laid plans.
If you want a good learning schedule to hold up over time, you need to regularly revisit it to see what’s working and what isn’t. Ideally, you should plan for one week at a time and then do weekly updates to see what needs to change.
In addition, make sure to avoid overscheduling each week. Teenagers, in particular, need their free time to develop and grow on their own. So, as you revisit and make adjustments, always look out to ensure that your schedule isn’t becoming overwhelming.
Homeschool Scheduling with a Teenager
Homeschooling at any age presents its challenges. However, several major factors can make maintaining a healthy homeschool schedule particularly difficult with a teenager:
● Distractions: Teenagers are self-aware, fledgling adults that are often easily distracted by an endless myriad of new factors in their rapidly changing lives.
● Technology: Modern teenagers are very comfortable with a slew of different, extremely distracting, technological gadgets that are typically much more appealing than schoolwork.
● Independence: With adulthood right around the corner, teenagers can often struggle with being given boundaries, even when they pertain to their education.
Include Your Teenager in the Scheduling Process
As a final suggestion, as you go about building your learning schedule, make sure to include your teenager in the decision-making process. This will help them take an interest in their schedule and ultimately allow them to benefit from it more fully.
Getting the Most Out of a Learning Schedule
From maintaining routines to using a family calendar, unplugging, and updating often, there are plenty of ways to ensure that your learning schedule is effective and remains airtight over the course of the school year.
So grab your teen, review the above list, consider your current homeschooling situation, and then start cobbling together a schedule that will help you dominate the next school year.
Listen to our podcast on Making a Mid-Year Homeschool Change!
Visit this page to download our Sanity Saver Planner for free!
