I am sharing 3 reasons you need a homeschool routine. Notice that I didn’t say homeschool schedule, I’m not a schedule person. But I love a good rhythm or routine.
A Homeschool Routine Provides Freedom
It sounds strange to say that a routine provides freedom, but I have found that to be true in my life. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed by all the tasks that need to be done in a day and I hardly even know where to start. Without a routine, I often feel paralyzed by my to do list and that is no way to start my day.
I’m not a schedule person. I don’t like writing out the timeframes for reading my bible, then breakfast and so on. That kind of thing just adds more stress. If you are a schedule person, I think it’s fantastic – I wish I could handle a schedule like that, but I can’t and that’s okay.
I have found that rhythms or routines are a much better fit for me and my family.
Routines Provide Predictability
Research has shown that children do better when they know what to expect. Getting your children into a nice routine provides stability, predictability and security for your children. I find that when our routine gets thrown off, the day tends to be a little bumpier for me and the kids.
We are definitely not super strict on these homeschool routines, they are very fluid and we change them as we need. But they have been a huge blessing to me and my kids. When you spend so much time at home, it’s nice to have a predictable rhythm to follow.
Homeschool Routine Provides Structure
As a stay at home, work at home and homeschooling mom, it’s easy to look at the day ahead and all the tasks and become overwhelmed. But having a general flow to the day provides a structure that we all need. It helps me to see more clearly how everything will get done and it also helps me feel accomplished throughout the day.
Again, children thrive on routine and structure. It’s a gift you can give your children that will give them structure and security, knowing what’s next and what to expect.
The “Perfect” Homeschool Routine
Here is an example of how I would love for our days to go. They do not always go this way and that is okay. But I like to keep this ideal in my mind to strive for. Yet I don’t beat myself up about it if things don’t go this way. Everyday is different and presents different challenges. We just have to learn to roll with it. Also, at the time of writing this, I have 4 kids ages 7, 5, 5 and 2.
- We wake up and have a family breakfast around the table.
- After breakfast is done, we immediately move into chore time. The personal tasks to be done are: get dressed, tidy room, make beds and brush teeth. Then they come downstairs and the downstairs chores are: clear the table, wash the table and benches, sweep the floors, tidy the living room, tidy the entry way, vacuum and wipe down the bathroom.
- While the kids are doing their chores my husband usually makes his coffee and I will begin unloading the dishwasher from the night before and filling it with the breakfast dishes. I like to wipe the counters and get everything tidied before moving onto our morning time.
Academics
- After everything is tidy and the chores are done, we move right into our morning time. If you are unfamiliar with morning time or our morning basket, I have 2 videos sharing all about it, you can find my first one here and my more recent one here. Depending on how the kids are doing and how my toddler is holding up, morning time takes anywhere from 20-50 minutes.
- Immediately following morning time, I release two of my kids to go play(usually my twins) and I have focused one on one time with my oldest. We will do math and language arts, then she moves to handwriting on her own.
- Next I’ll grab one twin at a time and do math and language arts, then they will complete their handwriting on their own.
- Depending on what time it is, I will go ahead and do science and history with my oldest, but if it’s getting late in the morning, we will call it and the kids will go play while I start making lunch.
- My husband is home with us for lunch instead of dinner, so I make our big meal for lunch. So I usually need to start that by 11 or 11:15 to have it ready by 12:00
After Lunch
- After lunch we often go outside to play before rest time. Sometimes I will read to them before
- My youngest usually naps for 2 hours and my big kids take “rest time” during those 2 hours. The rules for rest time are that they have to be quiet and stay in the separate rooms I put them in. They can read, color, look at books etc. Giving the kids alone time keeps quarreling to a minimum.
- During this time is when I film my youtube videos, edit videos, write blog posts, check emails and respond to comments.
- After rest time we usually play outside and if we didn’t complete the history and science earlier for my daughter, we will knock that out while the 3 younger kids play.
- Then it’s dinner time, more play time and more read aloud time.
Routines Are There To Serve You
Keep in mind that the routine is there to serve you. You don’t have to be a slave to it and don’t beat yourself up when things don’t go as planned. The amazing freedom and flexibility that homeschooling offers shouldn’t be ruined by rigid schedules.
And on the days when things don’t go as planned, just let it go. You can always double up on that missed math lesson tomorrow 😉
I really hope this homeschool routine was helpful for you! I would love to hear what a typical day in your homeschool looks like. Happy homeschooling!