Every mum wants to know how to create a better homeschool routine. I would go so far as to say every homeschool mum has grappled with their homeschool routine at some point.

• Do I do it like a school day?
• How do I begin my mornings?
• Should we be doing morning baskets?
• Individual work or work as a family?

The questions are endless, and it is so easy to feel like you are failing your children when your homeschool day looks like it is all over the place. Don’t worry Mama I have been there! And after 7 years of homeschool, I can boldly tell you, your homeschool routine will always be changing! Why? Because your family change and you have to change with them.

In this post 

1. I will give you the best tips for creating a homeschool routine, so as your children grow and change, you can continue to grow and change your family’s routine. 
2. Show you how to work out how long your homeschool day should be
3. Share how to stay sane whilst homeschooling

How to set up a homeschool schedule

There are a number of ways you can set up your routine schedule. Before you start there are a few things to think about

1. Identify your reasons for homeschooling

Yes, I know, this isn’t the schedule, but it is great to know and remember why you are homeschooling and your goals for homeschooling because this stops you from following everyone else and adding things to your homeschool routine that has no place being there. Your why will keep you grounded and hold your routine together.

E.g if you want to have a less structured homeschool, you may decide to start your day with everyone reading snuggled up on the sofa, some fun exercises followed by Maths or English.

I discuss this further in the homeschool course

2. When is the best time you all work?

There is no set time for homeschool either. I recommend you have a look at what time would be best for your children to do their work. Do they begin to lose concentration in the afternoon? If that is the case, then starting early so you can finish early may work better for your family.

Find out how this works in practice in the routine course. 

3. Do you want to block schedule or loop schedule?

Don’t try and do all the subjects every day. Remember though we call it homeschool, it doesn’t mean that you have to work like a school. Schools are set up in a particular way in order to manage the number of students they have.

Homeschooling gives you a chance to really focus and allow your children to grasp each subject. Block scheduling is when you spend your time each doing focusing on one subject. E.g Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for 2 hours a day on Maths.

Loop scheduling is when you pick a subject to do a day, then the next week you start again. Eg Monday is maths, Tuesday is Science, Wednesday is Art 

4. Make a list of the subjects you want to study

If you know me, you know I love a master list. Before putting together any schedule, I make a master list of everything I want to include.

Write down on a piece of paper all the subjects you want to do for the year, then ask your children what they would like to study. Then decide if it is realistic. Remember, you are homeschooling, so you don’t have to do all 14 subjects, you can choose which subjects you want to focus on or maybe you would prefer to do homeschool topics that include all the core subjects in it.

You may find you have to take some subjects out or you have space for more subjects. It requires a bit of tweaking, and that is ok!

5. Now put your homeschool routine together

You now have all the information you need to put together your own personalised homeschool schedule. You also have the best times, how long you will be doing your focused activity for, and on which days.

How long is a typical day?

Honestly, there are no set times for your homeschool day. It is what works for you. In order to distinguish the day for my children we call the work we do “our focused activity”, but I am constantly reminding them that they are always learning, even if we are not sitting down at the kitchen temple.

The rule of thumb is you do 45mins to 1 hour of work for each school year your child is in. E.g Year 1 is 45mins – 1 hour of focused activity.

Remember that your homeschool isn’t just doing worksheets, but the learning that takes place. Your children cooking dinner with you or sorting out the laundry is as much learning as is doing a maths worksheet. 

How can I homeschool without losing my mind?

It’s so easy to feel like you are going crazy when you are homeschooling. Constantly on the go, ideas floating around your head, feeling like a failure when you have a bad day. Know what I am talking about?

Here are 5 ways to not lose your mind whilst homeschooling.

1. Find another homeschooling family

Homeschooling can be really lonely at times. Try finding a homeschool coop or another homeschooling family to meet up with. Also, you can get ideas from other homeschooling mums. Don’t use this as an opportunity to compare, but instead learn from others.  Try what you think will work for your family, and leave the rest.

2. Make sure your homeschool is fun

It is so easy to stay in teacher mode and become so worried, focused, and stressed out about ensuring your children will learn, that you forget to have fun.

Believe it or not, the more relaxed you are and the homeschooling atmosphere is, the more likely your children are to learn.

Make laughter and fun an everyday occurrence in your homeschool day.

3. Tell yourself well done for the things that are going well, and amend the things that aren’t working

Don’t be so hard on yourself Mama! I needed to tell you that because I know how easy it is to focus on everything that is going wrong and everything that you are ”failing at”

It is always a good idea to do a quick evaluation at the end of the day. Ask yourself these simple questions

• What went well today in our homeschool day?
• Why did this/ that not go well?
• Are there areas I should change/adapt?
• What should I keep?

Then make a game plan to adapt the things that need changing and give yourself some praise for the things you are doing well!

4. Give yourself some grace – homeschoooling is a journey

Stop telling yourself how bad you are! You are doing great. 

“Rome wasn’t built in a day” is the saying.

This can be the same for your homeschooling journey. 

“Your homeschooling day isn’t developed in one day.”

Like a new business or a new skill, your homeschooling day will take time before it is just right. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Some days will be great and others not so much.

Remember those “bad days” don’t mean you are a bad mum!

5. Include self-care into your daily routine

More than ever, you need to remember to take time out for yourself! It can be challenging being with your children 24/7. Include quiet time into your routine so that you can have a moment to breathe, read, rest or just do something you enjoy.

This will give you the energy you need to keep going.

Remember this when planning your homeschool routine

Remember Mama, that routines take time, consistency, and effort. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen in time!

If you need support book a 15-minute coaching session with me, to see how we can work together to get your routine working.

Do you have a homeschool routine? 

Let me know in the comments below, what your homeschool routine looks like.