How to make a daily planning schedule for homeschooling?
How do I make a daily schedule for homeschooling? Homeschooling is a choice many parents choose to maximize the potentials of their children and give them a learning environment that is outside the four walls of the classroom.
Not only does this setup allow children to explore and focus on their strengths, it also is an opportunity for teacher-parents to be hands on with their children’s journey towards learning. While homeschooling is all about challenging and stimulating activities for the students, it is also prone to be repetitious in a way that the schedule is always the same!
Schedule in a homeschool set up is important and it takes a lot of creativity to maintain and engage the students every single day. The main goal is to not have the “same” days go by. In truth, there is no “one-size-fit-all” formula to having the perfect schedule but proper planning is key to a fun and enjoyable learning at home. Some days could be crazy—some really exciting. It all goes down to having a good schedule!
Having a Schedule is Key to Homeschooling Success
Having a schedule is tantamount to the success of homeschooling. Why is this so? Why should schedule matter when the freedom of what to study and what to do lies on the teacher-parent and what he or she thinks is the strength of his or her child? Shouldn’t homeschooling be free of structure?
These are only some of the questions that people who venture into this kind of learning set up have.
The difference of homeschools and traditional schools is the amount of freedom–be it in time and choice of topics and activities. This is exactly where scheduling comes in. With too much sense of freedom, the danger is that just about anything happens at home! In anything, a little bit of a plan makes things more efficient and effective.
Create a Solid Concrete Plan
Having a concrete plan eliminates the overwhelming feeling of staying at home and having to do everything at once—or none at all. The plan serves as a direction for the students’ actions all throughout the day. When there is a plan and a schedule, the energy of the learners get focused in one task at a time. Imagine not having a schedule and the learners are to do whatever comes to mind! There will be chaos everywhere! Contrary to some belief, not utilizing a well-thought of schedule contradicts the very purpose of homeschooling!
Develop a Homeschooling Routine and Rhythm
More than the schedule, however, it is believed that establishing a routine is more crucial as routines reinforce an action or behavior. Let’s face it. We hate having to look at a piece of paper that reminds us of the things that we need to do. Just looking at time slots becomes a task. When a schedule is followed properly—granted that activities are laid out well and time and resources are maximized—a routine would be established. Routines provide structure in day to day endeavors of both students and parent-teachers but this structure is not the stiff “follow only this” type.
A Homeschooling Home Can Be More Efficient Than Traditional Public School Platform
In fact, a household that does homeschooling has more harmony and functionality than those without routines. Most teacher-parents follow the time structure of the regular schools just so they could make the most out of every day.
But even this could be as daunting as possible. Recognizing the fact that these eight hours should not necessarily be followed though makes a difference too. It is but right to fill any amount of hours with worthwhile activities. Bring something new to the table everyday while reinforcing routines. Sounds confusing? Don’t worry. We got you covered with these simple hacks on how to make a schedule that works for homeschooling!
Look at the entire school year’s schedule
While homeschooling is seen as a “freestyle” type of learning, most states have required number of hours to be taken by homeschoolers. Knowing this critical detail will have an effect on how you plan out the simplest things. Taking note of critical dates and requirements, you can easily squeeze in other things in between critical dates. This could also guide the way you think of weekly and daily schedules!
Think of the “start time”
While traditional schools normally start early, homeschools have more lenient timeframes especially with the time the students start their day. If the students’ start time is a bit late, the schedule could include some morning exercises, garden time, house cleaning time, and other things before going straight to the lessons.
This could serve as activities to set the students’ mood and prepare them for the day. It is also an avenue to teach some basic life skills! It is beneficial to look at the time the students’ day end too. If the kids are night owls, perhaps other activities could be incorporated too like movie or game nights to ease the day. If a parent is working, the schedule could also work around the working family member’s arrival time.
Do not overcrowd the schedule
When we think of schedules, we often see them as tasks jotted down to the very minute. This misconception could be harmful for parent-teachers become prone to crowding the schedule with unrealistic tasks.
Empty time slots must be randomly allotted to accommodate sudden changes in the schedule and rest times for the students.
The activities included in the schedule must also be realistic and goals must be tangible enough. If goals are attainable, accomplishing tasks become easier. Always remember, last minute schedule changes are perfectly fine!
Think of variations in the routine
Activities do not necessarily have to be done every day. While scheduling subjects on the same time and day make it easier to establish routines, make sure to vary the activities engaged in by the students in between these “constant” schedules. The goal is not to have the “same” activities every day. Do you want to visit local museums or zoos—perhaps go out to a barbecue party every weekend? You can interchange these trips so the students will always have something exciting to look forward to.
Respect diversity and uniqueness
This is probably the most important thing to remember in order to achieve goals. While you work as a family unit, respect everyone’s differences and tailor fit a schedule that works for everyone. Remember the “no one-size-fit-all” rule! Group works are necessary but individual tasks are just as essential.
Interpersonal and interpersonal intelligences of the students will be honed this way. To have fresh ideas all the time is difficult and so knowing each family member’s preferences, skills, capacities, and interests should follow. Identifying these could help you think of interactive activities that could be incorporated into each one’s schedule. We should look into the idea of multiple intelligences! Trying out something new is fun but gearing towards activities that sharpen the individual intelligences of the students surely has its own benefits.
Consult!
Giving the benefit of trust is crucial and this could be shown by asking the individual child of ideas for activities in the schedule. This way, the student develops pride and responsibility in his or her own learning. What better ways to promote initiative than to have the kids think for their own schedule?
Things could easily get out of hand in a homeschool set up but scheduling things and establishing routines could ease all these worries and problems away. Schedules do not necessarily have to be frowned up. Instead, in creating schedules for homeschooling, consider freedom, creativity, variations, and uniqueness as components of schedules that work for homeschoolers. The choice is yours!