Guess what! You DO NOT have to be a morning person to be a successful homeschooler! I know someone just breathed a sigh of relief!

There is no rule that says school must start at 8:30AM and wrap up by 3:00PM. Unless you want it to, that is. 

One of the beauties of homeschooling is that you get to set your own schedule. You get to decide what works best for your family. Actually, you can decide what works for each child individually.

If you are a morning person and you have a child who is, as well, then by all means start your school day early. If you have a teenager who likes to sleep in, you can allow them to start school after lunch {if that works for you, too}. 

 Creating A Homeschool Schedule

1} Consult your calendar. 

It’s very important to consult your calendar before you start working on your homeschool schedule. Do you need a day out each week for co-op? Do you have regular doctor or therapy appointments? Do you have after school activities that will factor in to your end time? 

My kiddo will be attending co-op once a week this year. Not only will I not schedule lessons on that day, but I have to have her set an alarm to be out the door on time. 

What do you need to consider when scheduling your days? 

2} Set a start time.

Many of you will feel most comfortable setting a start time for your homeschool days. You’ll want your kids up, fed, and ready to start school at a certain time. 

However, others of you, may work best with a more relaxed rhythm to your day. As my kids reach their teen years, they need more sleep. They are most productive when they get up on their own schedule. Therefore, my expectation is that they will be dressed and ready to start their school day within an hour of waking up. 

Whatever your expectation is, be sure to clearly communicate that to your children. There’s nothing worse than starting the day off with a battle because everyone isn’t on the same page. 

When will you start your homeschool each day?

3} Take breaks. 

Don’t forget to take breaks. Kids of all ages (and probably you, too) need to get up and move periodically throughout the day. This will help keep kids focused. 

Take a snack break in the morning. Take an extended lunch break so everyone has a little time to relax and regroup. When the kids get restless…take a break. When you get a little stressed…take a break. 

I promise that even a five minute break will do your homeschool good!

Do you have a break or two planned in your day?

4} Stay flexible!

No matter what your schedule looks like on the first day of school, stay flexible. You will need to ebb and flow with the changes of day-to-day life. 

Sick days will happen and throw off your schedule. A child will dawdle and your lesson may not end on time. Dad may surprise everyone by coming home for lunch. 

Go with the flow!

Are you flexible? Or will this be a challenge for you?

Do what works best for your family. Know that what works best today may change as schedules change, babies are born, opportunities arise, and so on. Create a schedule that has a bit of fluidity built in so that it can ebb and flow to meet your needs. 

If you aren’t a morning person, homeschool in the afternoons. If you don’t have outside commitments, you could homeschool in the evenings or on the weekends. If Dad is off on Tuesdays, you may want to do school on Saturday or Sunday so you can have family time on Tuesdays. 

What suggestions do you have for making your homeschool schedule work for you?

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