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How to Make a Year-Round Homeschool Schedule Work For You!

I know what you may be thinking. “Ew, doing homeschool year-round…yuck.” (maybe that was more the three-year-old in me talking) Or maybe you have thought of something similar. Such as “Homeschooling year round, sounds like too much work.” “My kids wouldn’t get a summer break.” “I wouldn’t get a summer break….gasp!” The list can go on and on about why a year-round homeschool schedule sounds intimidating. Why do I know your thoughts so well? 

Because I felt the same way. That is, until, I realized how freeing a year-round homeschool can be. 

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I could earn a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase from these links.*

Different Year-Round Homeschool Schedules Work for Different Families

 

I’ve always read that it takes many homeschooled families three years to find their groove. I hated this! I wanted to find my groove right away! No way did I want to wait three years! However, three years seems to be the sweet spot for me. The good news is that this year is year three and a half for me, and we are finally getting somewhere. Do not let this intimidate you. Those first two years are crucial to finding yourself. You will find your groove too, whether it is with a year-round homeschool schedule, or not.

Homeschooling year-round does not mean you are doing school constantly. It simply means you and your children are learning year-round. You are taking breaks more frequently, and spreading out your school year over 12 months. We have tried a more traditional schedule, sticking with the public school, and it was a lot more stressful, looking back. Like I said before, this year has been the best, by far!

How I Planned Out Our Homeschool

I thought about what I wanted homeschooling to look like for us. We had tried several ways, and I was finding my homeschool groove. This year I wanted to explore more outdoors, take more picnics, and examine nature more. I didn’t want to be constrained by a schedule, or too many plans. I am learning this throughout the year, as I do struggle when I do not have plans or a schedule.

How I have been able to make several different schedule types mesh together into my own style? We use a variety of loop, relaxed, and checklist schedules in our homeschool routine. I’ve written a post about these types of schedules, you can find it here.

Year-Round Homeschool Schedule

Here is how this year has been going for me. We started in August of 2022 and I plan to be done by July of 2023. Every month I need to average at least 15 days of school. This would get me the 180 days I need to be in compliance with my state’s homeschooling regulations.

Let me add an important note. I do things weird. Lol. I make it work for me. (Take this with a grain of salt, and know that we have not yet reached our “summer schedule”. So I am not sure how our summer will go.) That being said, I am also ahead of schedule and will likely be able to finish before July 2023. I would love to break it down for you more in another post.

Make it Work for You!

Here are a couple of options on how a 15-day-a-month schedule could work for you.

5 days a week for 3 weeks THEN A WHOLE WEEK OFF EVERY MONTH! (This is what I do, and I love it.)

4 days a week for 3 weeks, then on the 5th day you can do extra activities, whatever fits your schedule or lifestyle.

4 days a week for 3 weeks, then add in your extra 3 days you will need whenever!

3 days a week for 4 weeks then add in your extra 3 days you will need whenever!

Go even further, and think about splitting up your days during the week. 4 days a week can be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or any variation that works. Or Monday-Thursday and a long weekend.

Realize too that you can split the year up in a huge variety of ways. My family does not celebrate holidays so I do not worry about scheduling those.

You can also do “part-time” in the summer.

See if doing 18 days a month for 10 months works for you. This would give you 2 months for summer! Winning!

3 days a week for 4 weeks can be done in a variety of ways too. Monday-Wednesday, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday… it’s all up to you! It can change weekly too! Don’t be afraid to test out different ways. See how you and your children react to it. The options are almost literally endless!

What If My Kids Resist?

Kick Boredom in the Butt

Children who are used to a regular routine, tend to get bored quickly, when outside their routine. My boys get bored quickly on our week off. However, I prefer this over 3 long months of boredom in the summer.

What About Your Summers?

It may take a bit of time for your children to realize that they are getting more breaks throughout the year…but not so much a long summer break. Be willing to cancel school one day if you get an invite to the pool. Make plans to make it up the next day. (This is where a loop or checklist schedule can really help you.)

Don’t allow yourself to skip too often, and keep good records. (Most states require this anyway) It can be easy to skip too many days. You don’t want to get to the end of your month and realize you only did 10 days. That may be ok occasionally, but this wouldn’t be a good habit to get into.

Make a Year-Round Homeschool Work for You!

The bottom line is, you can make it work! Get your calendar out, and see when you can start. It absolutely does not have to be summer to summer. You can start any time you want, winter to winter, fall to fall. That is what is so amazing! It gives you so much more flexibility than traditional school schedules!

Why not at least give it a try? Keep an open mind, get your kids involved, and you may just find yourself telling others why you love it so much!

Your homeschool room does not need to be Pinterest-worthy to be worthy of you. My homeschool room has taken years to get where it is now. I am always looking for ways to improve. After it became clear we were going to keep homeschooling, I knew I needed a few mainstays for my homeschool room.

Embrace the Changes to Your Homeschool Room

The room we use has gone through many changes. First, it was a nursery, then an office, and then it was easily transformed into a homeschool room when the need came up. We spend a lot of our day here, and school is only a small bit of that. However, everyone is different. You may find something else that works great for you. But, that is what it’s all about! Take your time and find out what is best for you and your homeschool style.

The items I recommend are things that I have found I can’t do without in my homeschool. I have been using them for years with no issues. Before I get started on my list, I will tell you the size of my homeschool room, so that you can understand a little about what I am working with here. My room is 10.5 ft (this is including a “closet office” where I have my desk and computer) by 9.5 ft. I wouldn’t say it’s a super small room, but it’s not big either.

*This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase from my links, I will earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you!*

# 1 Homeschool Room Table

When we first started, we used some classic school desks that we found on Marketplace. They worked great when we were first starting out. However, as time passed, it was inconvenient for me to lean over the desk to help my son, or I found myself sitting on top of the other desk we had at the time. Because this caused a lot of back strain, I had to make a change.

My table from Amazon has been a game-changer! Before deciding on my table, I laid tape down on the floor in the two styles and sizes I was looking at online. This helped me get a good visual of where the table would come out to, and also how much room we would have to walk around. 

Something to think about is the number of children you will be schooling over the years, and where you will fit into that seating arrangement. My boys can both sit comfortably on a bench that fits under the table, while I sit on the opposite side in a chair. Most people probably prefer to sit next to their child, but early on I got used to sitting across from him. And bonus…I learned to read upside down! (Is that a skill? Asking for a friend.)

Additionally, think about how your children will sit at the table. Will your children be willing to give up their chairs, will you want them playing musical chairs? Sometimes when the seating arrangement is set up, it’s set in stone. (At least in the minds of the children.) The table we use does have grooves in the top, as you can see. Nevertheless, this has never bothered us. We use clipboards when we have loose papers.

IT WILL SERVE MANY PURPOSES

We use our homeschool room more than any other room. The table we have is used as a board game table, arts and crafts table, and also a drawing table, just to name a few. This is where they hang out a lot with their friends, too. This table has taken a beating, literally (we have our days), and has endured scribbles with marker, and kids jumping off of it. I don’t expect it to be perfect, and for the price, I am not worried about it getting worn…it’s still standing, and I am still happy with my purchase.

#2 Shelving in Your Homeschool Room

Of course, homeschooling can come with a lot of books. I love to find books in the library’s “free” bin, Goodwill, or book sales. I have learned that quality is better than quantity. So don’t be afraid to purge if you need to make more room. The bookshelf I have in my homeschool room has done us well. However, I will link the one I like better, which is in my sons’ room.

This shelving system is sturdy and customizable. The shelves can be adjusted, something you will really need in your homeschool room. We use this shelving in our son’s closet, and not my homeschool room. I wish I had this one in my homeschool room, however. 

#3 Rolling Cart

Have you ever wondered why rolling carts (such as the IKEA RASKOG cart) are in almost every homeschooling picture you see on Pinterest? I will tell you why…because they are amazing. They are no longer only from IKEA, though. We have two in our homeschool room, and I would certainly like more if I could fit them. In fact, I use one as my nightstand, and it’s perfect! They provide great space for more books, crafts, office utilities…the list goes on. I have seen some moms use a cart for each child to sort their books. The child just grabs a book from the cart next to them, and off they go!

Right now we have one cart with our globe on top, a paper cutter, a stapler, and other utilities we may need. The other cart holds all the books we need for each child on the top tier. The second tier holds all the history and science books we use, and the third is storage.

The ways to use a rolling cart in your homeschool room are endless! I will link two separate ones from Amazon (because one has an option for four and five tiers…whaaaat?) Another idea is to spray paint the cart, if this would fit better with your room decor.

#4 White Board For Your Homeschool Room

Although I am probably the only homeschool mom that I know of that uses a whiteboard, I use it daily. Usually, I write my 3rd grader’s assignments on it so he knows what he will be doing every day. I have written sight words, spelling words, math facts, and basically anything I want them to be reminded of. My now kindergartener uses it almost daily, too. They love getting creative on it and just drawing. Although you can find whiteboards just about anywhere, I love my whiteboard from Walmart. The size (35in x 23in), and price are just right!

I also can’t live without my colorful EXPO markers (also from Walmart) I like to use different colors to highlight new concepts in math, or to show a reading concept in Language Arts.

#5 The Home Edit Bins in My Homeschool Room

Ok, guys. This is a big one for me. I have been married for 12 years, a mom for 8 years, and have been homeschooling for 3.5 years. We’ve gone through countless, I repeat, countless types of storage bins and containers. However, I have never been able to find the perfect ones that fit every room and every situation.

That is until THE HOME EDIT came out with their system. I swear by these babies. Whether you like to sort things by the color of the rainbow or not, these things are great! I cannot live without them in my home now.

Why Am I So Obsessed?

The one thing I am always looking for in a storage bin is nesting. No, I am not talking about pregnancy nesting here. I am talking about bins that fit on top of one another, and then inside those bins are more bins, and those bins fit inside other bins. Guys. I. Love. Them.

Too much? Sorry…organizing is my passion. I have used them in my bathroom closet, and love them. What else do I love about these bins? They can be found at my local Walmart!

How Do I Use Them in My Homeschool Room?

And why do I have so many headings about these bins? I personally like to organize by subject. I currently have (looks behind her to check all the beautiful bins sitting on the shelf) a “Play-Doh”, “Arts and Crafts”, “Math“, “Reading“, “Games”, and “School” bin. Inside these cute little bins, I have more cute little containers. I have a bin that has markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, and Sharpies in just one bin.

This may sound like a lot, but it’s really not.

Within my Math bin, I have money, counting blocks, and math flash cards. I have letter tiles, flashcards, reading games, and a rhyming puzzle in my Reading bin. In my school bin, I have just general things that are used for school.

These bins are used daily and have helped me keep my sanity. I can’t gush anymore about storage, I need to save that for another post.

#6 Learning Clock

I have not always had a learning clock in my homeschool room, but it has been an invaluable tool. We love THIS ONE from Amazon.

I have been very happy with this clock. It is bright and colorful, and even my kindergartener has been able to understand it. The clock has worked great for my 3rd grader, who has been learning time in greater detail. We love that it has everything labeled and the seconds/minutes are easy to read. The bright colors make it fun, as well!

Love Your Homeschool Room

Things change every year, here in my homeschool room. But no matter what I have done, and no matter how my schoolroom has looked, my kids were learning. That’s what is important. Have fun with your babies, and your homeschool room will take shape over time!

What is your homeschool room “Must Haves”? Tell me in the comments below!

Need some encouragement that you have what it takes to homeschool? Check out my WHAT IT TAKES post to find out more.