As shocking as it is, I am writing about a relaxed homeschool schedule. We started our homeschool journey almost four years ago. I would not have imagined I could become as relaxed as I have become. Now, I am not saying I am drinking wine in the middle of the day, allowing my kids to do as they please, never picking up a book, and calling it school…(I will not lie the thought has totally crossed my mind…)We thrive on structure. However, I have allowed myself to relax a great deal in my four-year homeschool career.
The Evolution of My Relaxed Homeschool Schedule
I am pretty uptight when it comes to plans, schedules, and wanting things to go my way. While I still enjoy planning things out, I am not as strict as I once was. I knew what I wanted my homeschool style to look like, but it was a process to get here.
Previously I used a strict checklist style. If it wasn’t on the list, it didn’t get done, and there was no room for anything else. This caused a lot of tension in the room though. This strict schedule did not allow for additional subjects or interests to be explored. I was so worried about what had to be done that I didn’t consider my boys were not interested in some of the subjects.
With time, a lot of tears, and some thought I have been able to find my homeschool groove.
What I Wanted My Homeschool Schedule to Look Like
Before we started this current year, I knew what I wanted to achieve. More freedom, more time spent in nature, less stress, less yelling, and way less crying. (And it wasn’t only my boys who were doing the crying, trust me.)
Mid-year this year is when I feel we started to finally hit our stride! What changed? Overall this year we started a year-round homeschool schedule. A three-week on, one week off every month schedule has worked wonders for us!
A few months ago we switched over to The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts (we have been using their math all year.) This switch has greatly reduced the number of books we have each day, increasing the relaxation of our schedule. (read the review linked above to find out why I love this curriculum.)
Gradually I ditched the strict checklist and naturally gravitated toward the “reverse checklist”. Oddly enough, I didn’t even know this was a thing. One day I read a homeschool mom talking about how she “reverse schedules”. I asked her what this was, thinking it may have been what I was doing, and sure enough it was!
What Is “Reverse Scheduling”?
Instead of having every page, book, and subject planned out to a T, now I go in reverse. My planner for the day starts out blank! As we progress through our day I write down what we have done, instead of what I want to get done! It’s amazing! Guess what? This has proven to be more effective for our learning too! Instead of writing what I think we should learn, I am writing down what I know we have learned!
I still plan out extra subjects, such as nature studies. However, even here I have become more relaxed. I had planned to learn about insects next week. But after seeing a snake eating a frog on our nature walk the other day, my son now wants to learn about snakes! I am glad to change the plans. However, I would not have been willing to do this years ago.
I have noticed myself including minor details as learning. Perhaps my son noticed an ant crawling on the ground, while we were outdoors doing school. And he tells me a bit about what he knows about ants…This is something I hadn’t planned for, but it goes on the reverse schedule, as I can see he has learned something from a previous conversation. Tree climbing finds itself on the schedule more lately, as my boys are learning from this experience too.
Quite naturally, and by accident, I stumbled upon reverse scheduling. Perhaps you can make it work for you too.
Homeschool Schedule Planners
Check out these other options for homeschool planners! Tested and created by me! I have been using my 180-day chart for a few years now since it has worked great for me, I created one for you! Check it out here!
How Can You Make a Relaxed Schedule Work for You?
Follow Your Own Schedule
I had to allow myself to come out of the fog that the public school system had it all figured out. You do not need to copy public school at home. This actually works against you. When we first started homeschooling, we went weeks upon weeks without a break. I was also trying to copy what they were doing in public school, here at home. This was not going to work for us long term. So allowing yourself to relax, and not worry about anyone else’s schedule or method, but your own, will work wonders for you to relax.
Fall Into a Groove
We have fallen into several different grooves over the course of four years. Lately, with other schedules needing to mesh together, we have fallen into a new groove. Currently, our schedule is Tuesday-Friday, with Mondays being our community volunteer day. Tuesday-Friday we are starting around 10 and working through a lunchtime, and finishing in the early afternoon. Doing things this way gives me time to slowly start our day. Certainly, this may not work for others, but as I do not work secularly out of the home, it works fine for us. Our afternoons and evenings are then free for family time.
Know That Learning is Constant
Additionally, I have come to see that learning is being done at all times. Learning is not restricted to the hours you are sitting around the homeschool table reading a history book. My five-year-old was climbing a tree the other day. He was having a particularly hard time with one branch…He said something interesting after climbing down, and back up again…”I am smarter now than I was before.” This really struck me. He had learned what not to do, and what steps to try next. And guess what? He succeeded! Our children are learning all the time! Most of what they are learning is not coming from books. (However, I am a huge advocate of books and children reading, don’t get me wrong!)
Relaxing Takes Time
In a previous post, I talked about how I did not like hearing that finding my homeschool groove could take a while. Generally, it is said it can take about three years to find where you want to be. Do not despair! You will get there…(Hey, that rhymed.)It’s kinda like when your children were infants…you just did what you had to do to survive. You will be just surviving for a little while when you start out. That is ok, that is where you find yourself, and what you do and do not want to do! This is necessary to the process.
Relaxed Schedule, It May Not Be For You
A relaxed homeschool schedule may not be for you. And that is ok. That is what makes the world go round as they say. I would have said a relaxed homeschool schedule wasn’t for me either when we started.
However, almost four years in I am so happy I have found my place. My children are happier, my homeschool is more peaceful, and I owe that all to a relaxed homeschool schedule.
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