Let’s talk schedules. Daily schedules are a major piece in keeping your homeschool organized. It would be so nice if everything fell into place each day. You know little people and big people completed all their assignments without you telling them to do so. Meals just appear hot and ready on the table just as tummies were empty. Clear sunny skies, rainbows, butterflies..all that jazz.
I’d love to have a homeschool that works like that, but I don’t. I have to create a plan or at least create a framework that structures our time throughout the day. I have set up an hourly schedule in the past, but I could never consistently follow them. Everytime I tried to implement these hourly schedules, something happened to throw a wrench in the plan and our day was completely decimated.
It is disheartening to create a schedule and as soon as you try to use it..failure. I got to the point where I was done with schedules. Scheduling by hour, half hour, or fifteen minute increments just did not work. I thought I would just be doomed to have no structure in our day.
I always say we don’t follow a schedule. We have a routine. So I took that idea of having a routine and found a schedule that gives us structure to our day, but it also gives us flexibility in case my toddlers and preschoolers just happened to act like toddlers and preschoolers.
It’s block scheduling. Most people have heard of it and some have used it. I am loving it for our family. I find it helps me to stay productive during the day, but it also gives me room to switch things up if necessary.
I first heard of block scheduling in high school. Our high school followed a traditional schedule, but all the other high schools in our district switched to block schedules. Essentially, students would have fewer classes per day with longer blocks of time for those classes. In terms of your home/homeschool, block scheduling would be setting aside blocks of time during the day for specific activities. Just type in block scheduling into your search engine to find out more. I also found great info here.
My schedule is set in two hour blocks. However, you can use one-hour blocks, six-hour blocks, or a mix. It is more effective if you keep the blocks manageable (2-3 hour increments) however. I love that you can set aside a chunk of time to do whatever you need to do. You don’t have to feel pressured to rush through a subject or assignment because you have something else scheduled in 15 minutes. You are free to use the time in that block however you choose.
Here’s an example from our schedule. We use two hour blocks in our schedule. From 10 am-12 pm, we do our early lessons. Those early lessons include Reading, Math, Writing, and Fine Arts. Most days Reading takes a large portion of that time. We use about 30 minutes for reading. Some days it may take 45 minutes. Other days it may be 20 minutes. Block scheduling gives use the freedom to use the allotted time in that block however we need it. See my block schedule below.
His Harvest Spring Block Schedule 2019-2020
I like that block scheduling keeps us conscience of the things we have to do each day, but it also gives us the freedom to change and use our time however we need it. It keeps me productive without making me feel stressed when events happen that are out of our control.
So does anyone use block scheduling in your homeschool? What type of schedule do you keep? How does it work for you and your family? I love to know.
Naja Coles
I’m most importantly a follower of Christ by who’s blood we believe there is salvation. We believe in biblical Truth only. Being led by the Spirit of God, we seek to raise our family by that Truth. I am a wife of 7 years, and mom to 8 wonderful children ages 6-7 months. We have been homeschooling for 2 years officially (6 if you include preschool). I enjoy music, gardening, and learning to live a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle.
Matthew 4:17