Homeschool "Tip" #1 - "Scheduling"

A fairly new homeschooler (getting ready to start her 3rd year) asked me to try to put down on paper (aka blog) an explanation of what I have shown her that works for us for scheduling subjects for the year.  Note:  This is NOT a formula that works for many, maybe not even for a few, but since three different Moms have said they have implemented this (or their version of it) and benefited, I thought I would try to describe how it works for anyone that might find it useful.

The way I do scheduling makes it really easy to not stress over missed days, half days, days when we got only two subjects done because Grandma was in the hospital - you know - life happens and our philosophy is that school should not dictate life.  You know exactly when your 180 days are done - every subject is done.  It might actually be 207 days where some of those are 1/2 or 1/3 days, but you have done not only the equivalent of 180 days, but you will finish every subject (contrary to counting hours on the clock, this counts work done - sort of like the real world?!).

Before each year begins, I determine a "Daily Schedule" for each child.  I determine at that time which subjects they will cover, decide how often each week we will do that subject, and for how long each day (estimated).  Now part of it is from teacher's books (recommendation), part of it is from what I have learned works best for our family (taking into account extracurricular, social and farm activities), and part is just what we prefer to do (we work longer M-Th and only do half-day Fridays).  So, Step 1 is to make a "Daily Schedule" (see picture example).  You can find samples online for how long each subject should take your child each day to count as a "credit hour" (for High School).  This Daily Schedule is more like "Suggested Schedule" for us, since some days Math might only take 15 minutes and another day might be a test that takes an hour and a half.



[For older students I do a "High School Plan" when the student is 7th or 8th to try to determine what I think they will cover each year to be ready for any major college (yes, that's in bold because it is a working plan and what I think versus what I end up doing is pretty fluid, allowing me to plug into coops, free classes, free/cheap curriculum, different or more extracurricular as they develop special interests, etc. as the opportunity arises).  If they can do Biology in 8th instead of 10th (they are ready and it is available), mark that subject off your list as "done" and that will allow them more time for other things in 10th!]

After you determine which subjects your student will take that year, the next steps are easy.  Assuming you do a 180-day school year (doesn't matter if it's traditional or year-round or some other form such as "Farm-Comes-First-School-Comes-After" ) you then just need to determine how many days of the 180 you will do each subject.  For instance, we do a full year of Math in 144 days (giving us one "Math Free" day per week, which we chose to be on Fridays).    I look at the book(s) and determine how many Lessons/Tests, etc. there are to finish that subject (be sure to include in your count days for tests, quizzes, labs, etc.).  Then schedule that number of days (e.g. Days 1- 144 then you're done for Math).  If for some reason your child is sick, or you have to take an emergency day off and they all fall on Tuesdays, then yes, you might have more Math to finish at the end of the year than say Science, if the latter is only done on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  No sweat.  "School" or "This Year" is only "done" when all the days for all the subjects are done.  Is it as clear as muddy water yet? (My Dad used to love to say that - - !)

So, for example, you do Science (the whole book including labs, quizzes and tests) for 108 days a year (I like to use multiples of 36 to keep the subjects somewhat easier to schedule), which is three days a week, you just take the whole of your year, and divide it into 108 days.  Yes, some days your student will do Science for 30 minutes and some days it will be 2 hours, even though your "Daily Schedule" plans for 1 hour each of the three days, but it's amazing how it so often evens out overall for the day (one subject longer than usual, two others a bit shorter, etc.).  And our focus again is not on hours in school but actual work accomplished (guess by now you've figured out that I am a big proponent for people earning what they accomplish, not in putting in hours - how great we can teach our children this lesson from an early age!)  Just take each subject, schedule it out into the number of days you want.

One other note - be sure to include a realistic time for non-academic things (chores, extracurricular, travel time, etc.) and of course take into account practical aspects such as subjects that require more attention from Mom being done during baby's nap time, middle school son being at his best during mid-morning to tackle his least-liked subjects, Dad working night shift and needing to sleep on Thursday and Friday mornings, etc. when scheduling specific subjects and times.  The key is - do what is best for YOUR family.  Your schedule will look different than anyone else's and the only time you need to be strict about exactly when something is scheduled and done is when it involves other families, coops, outside classes, etc.
It's a tricky balancing act to level out flexibility and discipline, academics and spiritual growth, social activities and family time, but it is worth every effort to read, revise, rework and reward what works best for your family situation.  Don't compare or compete with others, just enjoy this special blessing of the time spent with your children.  In other words, just find what works for you.

Lastly, never forget that character is more important than academics.  If you teach them diligence, stewardship, honesty and respect they will learn academically whatever they need to when they need it (i.e. it doesn't matter if you spent "too much" time on Ancient History and "too little" time on American History), and more importantly they will carry that character with them throughout every aspect of their lives, as well as through the years.  I always remind others that Character trumps Academics because I need to hear the reminder myself.  Constantly. Continually. Carefully.  Most of all, prayerfully.

Have fun scheduling!  I wish I enjoyed grading assignments as much as I enjoy planning them!