Homeschool Schedule How to Make a Year Round Schedule

Find out how I make a year-round homeschool schedule work for us. You’ll find out how to make it work for you!

Let me start by saying that my state’s homeschool regulations are very lax. I joke that I could teach my kids to pick their boogers and call it school…(Totally kidding, they have their masters in that one.)Here in Indiana, I am required to keep a record of the number of days I have been homeschooling that year. I have to homeschool for 180 days, keep records of the days we have homeschooled, and keep to the general subjects taught in the public schools. However, there are no guidelines on what this includes. If the superintendent requests my records, I would be required to provide them. But that is pretty much it.

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Where to Get Additional Homeschool Schedule Information

Before following any advice on homeschooling schedules be sure to know your state’s regulations. I made a simple list in a previous blog post. You can also visit HSLDA.org.

We have been homeschooling now for three and a half years, and this year has been the best so far. This happens to be the first year we have tried a year-round homeschool schedule. I do things a little bit odd…that’s just my way. I have never read anyone who does their year-round homeschool schedule quite like me. That’s ok. That is what homeschooling is all about. Find what works best for you!

You only have to fit 180 or so days into 365 days…so the way you split it up can be endless. My family does not take time out for holidays, so my schedule may not work for you, but read on if you want to find a new way to do things.

How I Count My Days

As I stated, Indiana’s homeschool requirements are very laid-back. I need to count 180 days of school, however, I can choose what qualifies for school. I don’t want to confuse you too much. But I do have two different ways I count them. I have a 180-day chart, and I mark off 1 day when we do bookwork. I also mark off 1 day for any other activities I deem to be learning.

Say we do not do bookwork one day, but we do volunteer work that day. Then I mark that as 1 day on the 180-day chart. However, if we do both on the same day, I only count 1 day. Clear as mud? Maybe this isn’t so odd, I am not sure how others do it. It’s new to me this year. On my 180-day chart right now I am on the 108th day. However, on our actual bookwork days, I am only on day 85.

Now that I have confused you, let’s move on.

My Personal Homeschool Schedule

There are different types of homeschool schedules.

• Block
• Loop
• Checklist
• Relaxed
• And others that I haven’t looked into as much

We have found a good mix between a Loop, Checklist, and Relaxed schedule. If you are not sure what those schedules entail, I break it down in a separate post. It took me a while to be able to mesh them all together, so don’t be in a rush to do the same. Try each one out, or just do your own thing, maybe you will find your own style.

Relaxed Homeschool Schedule

We relax when it comes to what time we start school. I do know we have to start in the morning. If we start after lunch, forget it. I prefer to start early, however, our day could start anywhere from 7 am to 10 am. Lately, we have been working through a noon lunchtime, but we have snacks to get us through. Oftentimes, I see that we’re almost done, and I refuse to come back after lunch for one book. (But I am also hangry by then…)

We do school Monday-Friday, with the flexibility to skip a day if we need to. This is something I am working on. I am learning that if we have a bad day, it may just be best to quit and save it for another day. This is where a loop or checklist schedule comes in handy.

Loop Homeschool Schedule

I have our extra studies such as science and history on a loop schedule. I am not super specific with it though, so maybe it’s a relaxed loop…? (Is that a thing? I am making it a thing.) I have found that I need to relax about what days we do something. For example, if I have planned that every Tuesday we are going to study history, and that doesn’t happen, I tend to get stressed about it. So I just know that at least once or more a week we need to do history. The same goes for science.

I do, however, make sure that everyday language arts, math, reading, and writing are done in some form.

Checklist Homeschool Schedule

I have been doing a checklist schedule for pretty much the entire time I have been homeschooling. It has evolved a bit to become more relaxed. (I am beginning to think maybe I am more relaxed than I thought…) That being said, it’s more of a relaxed checklist. (Again, is that a thing?) As in, sometimes, I find myself erasing things that didn’t get done, and just not worrying about it. I have come a long way, believe me. I wouldn’t have erased things off my list when I started homeschooling.

Notice I did not mention anything about a block schedule. I do not like fitting my time into tiny boxes. Mainly because I know my life doesn’t work that way, and I would stress more about it. But if you already work great with a block schedule, you do you.

Now let me break it down into what a day in our homeschool looks like.

A Week in Our Homeschool

I will show an example of what our week could look like. We are on the verge of a schedule change right now. So this is how it could look for us.

Busier Homeschool Days

Monday

• Up at 7-7:30
• Start school by 8
• Work from 8-9:30. We would work on just basics in that time. Math, Reading, LA. Possibly we would just study history or science and get it done for the week.
• Leave the house by 9:30 and be done with schoolwork for the day. These days we do other activities that I qualify as learning.

Tuesday

• Up between 7-8 am
• Start school by 8-8:30
• We cover at least math, reading, and LA
• Finish school by 11:30
• Head out the door by 11:30-11:45
• When we are out, we are doing activities I qualify as learning.
• My kindergartener has piano lessons in the afternoons.

More Relaxed Homeschool Days

Wednesday

• Somewhere between 9-11 am, we start school
• We cover math, LA, reading, writing
• Usually were done by the early afternoon
• The rest of the day is open for errands, chilling, or visiting our friends

Thursdays

• Somewhere between 9-11 am, we start school
• We cover math, LA, reading, and writing
• I try to finish in the early afternoon
• The rest of the day is used for Bible study and relaxing

Fridays

• Somewhere between 9-11 am, we start school
• We cover math, LA, reading, writing and history, and science if not yet done
• Hopefully, again, we can be done early afternoon
• The rest of the day is up to us to enjoy.

Daily Homeschool Schedule

That pretty much summed it up as far as the days go, too. However, during the summer and warm months, we like to get outside. I found a fabulous picnic blanket that we use and love.

Side note, this blanket has been awesome. It is easy to handle, and wipeable. The 5×10 size is big enough for me, two boys, and all our books. We still have plenty of room to stretch out. I can’t wait for warmer weather, to take this blanket to the parks, and just enjoy the warmth! (Seriously, I have been just too cold lately!)

Anyway, our daily schedule is generally something like this…My boys are generally awake before me. I wake up and get my coffee. I finish my coffee while cleaning up the office, or preparing our books for the day. If we need any supplies, I make sure we have them out.

Then we play a fun game, run around the house, and just generally try to get in a good mood for the day. (Sometimes this is very hard for me. I try to be playful, but I have a hard time being a kid.) Sign up for my newsletter to get details on how we do this, and why we do it…You’ll get a free Preschool Activities Checklist as well! 

What About Summer?

This schedule gives me plenty of time during the day to get everything done. I am currently on a week off, and I will say we do get bored quickly. It is hard right now with winter in full swing.

 During the summer months, we are able to get out to the pool, park, or friends’ houses. Most of our friends are homeschooled as well, so we don’t have a hard time getting together with others. 

Monthly Schedule

Here is where it gets a bit different from what I have seen from other homeschooled families. I try to average 15 days a month. I happen to split that by three weeks on, and one week off. So that means I get a week off every month! Now, I do not worry about taking off time for holidays. However, a year-round schedule can still give you all the time off you need for these and other vacations.

I have tried doing longer stretches, say 6 weeks on with a week or two off. However, I feel we need more frequent breaks. So far this year has been the smoothest, most stress-free year. I owe that to the three weeks on, one week off method.

Make It Work For You

You could average 18 days a month for 10 months and still have off two months in the summer. This year, we have not yet gotten to our summer to see how it will go. However, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am already ahead of my schedule. I have only a couple of books I want to finish in this grade before moving on. Since I can count other activities, such as volunteer work, as a school day, I am ahead of schedule.

I am also thinking about not worrying so much about “grade” levels, and just getting in the work that needs to be done, and moving on to the next “year”.

No matter what you decide to do, a year-round schedule can work great for you! There is so much flexibility there! Get your children’s input. Ask them how they would like to split it up. You are in control, make it work for you, and you may find out that this is just what your homeschool needs!

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