Having trouble sticking to a consistent schedule? Here are some simple tips to help you and your kids get started on time every day.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
- The importance of maintaining a consistent schedule when homeschooling, including making sure you get started on time every day.
- Tips for building a morning routine that ensures you and your kids will start home school on time.
- Answers to common questions about how to avoid delays and distractions that can disrupt morning home school lessons and work cycles.
- Key takeaways that parent-educators can use to start managing their morning schedules more effectively.
- How to learn more about scheduling your home school routine and receive resources you can use to keep everyone on track.
Starting Home School On Time Can Be Hard
Starting home school on time can be hard. Let’s acknowledge that up front. Many parent-educators not only struggle to get their children ready to start home school at 8:00 am (or whenever their home school day typically starts), but they struggle to get themselves ready to start on time, too.
So, what can you do?
Starting the day on time essentially comes down to commitment. If sticking to a schedule isn’t your forte, you will need to ensure that both you and your kids have a plan that you can follow—and you will need to commit yourself to following it every single day. While it might be easier to let your timeline slip, starting on time helps set the tone for the day, and it also helps ensure that the day is as productive as possible.
5 Tips for Starting Home School On Time Every Day
If you struggle to start home school on time every day (or if you are thinking about homeschooling and have concerns about your ability to stick to a regular schedule), here are five tips to follow:
1. Set a Specific Start Time
First, set a specific start time. Our home school days start at 8:00 am—without exception. This doesn’t mean that we plan to get started “around 8:00” or that we give ourselves a 15-minute grace period. It means that we get started at 8:00 am every day.
What time should your home school days start? This is up to you. But, generally, we find that an efficient pre-school morning routine is best. Every one gets up, has a bit of time to ease into the morning before eating breakfast, and then gets ready to start school. Your morning routine doesn’t have to be militant, but there shouldn’t be loads of time to get into non-school activities that are hard to set aside, either. Your morning routine should be relaxed enough that it isn’t stressful, but it shouldn’t be so relaxed that it starts the school day on the wrong foot.
2. Make Sure Everyone Has Time to Get Ready
If your home school day starts at 8:00 am, what time does everyone need to start getting ready? Once you set the start time for your morning session, you should work backward to figure out when everyone needs to start getting dressed and brushing their teeth. Then, you can work backward from this to figure out when everyone needs to eat breakfast—and you can work backward from this to figure out when everyone needs to wake up.
To make your chosen start time work, your daily routine needs to begin before the time you have chosen. People often struggle with timeliness because they haven’t thought about what they need to do in advance in order to get where they need to be on time. By making sure everyone has time to get ready (including yourself), you will reduce everyone’s stress level and set everyone up for success.
3. Set a Good Example
If you are going to expect your kids to be ready for home school on time, you need to expect the same of yourself. In other words, set a good example. If you show your kids that it’s possible to get ready on time and to hold yourself accountable, this will help them see that they can start holding themselves accountable, too.
4. Plan the Morning Lesson and Work Cycle In Advance
When your chosen start time arrives, this is when you should begin the morning lesson and work cycle. This is not when you should be figuring out what you are going to do that day. If your kids have to wait around for you to figure out what they should be doing, this is going to make them wonder why they had to get ready so early—and understandably so.
Whether you prefer to plan your weeks in advance or you plan each day the night before, you should be ready to start homeschooling—not to start planning to home school—when it’s time for the day to begin. Here too, by putting in the effort and holding yourself accountable, you will be setting an example for your children to follow.
5. Be Consistent
Finally, when it comes to starting home school on time, consistency is key. Start at the same time every day, without exception. Don’t let excuses get in the way, and don’t let 8:00 gradually creep to 8:05 and then to 8:10. While establishing a consistent routine can be challenging at first, it gets easier—and it makes the rest of the day easier as well.
FAQs: Maintaining a Consistent Morning Routine When Homeschooling
Can You Start Home School At Any Time?
Technically, yes. When you decide to home school your children, you can decide to start your school days at any time. With that said, you don’t want to start too late in the day, as this can make it more difficult to get everyone focused on the morning lesson and work cycle while also leaving less time for extracurriculars and non-school activities later in the day.
What Time Should You Start Home School?
There is no “right” time to start a day of home school. With that said, starting somewhere in the range of 8:00 am to 8:30 am seems to be fairly typical. Again, the key is to choose a specific time that is doable without delaying the start of the school day unnecessarily.
What If We’re Constantly Struggling to Start Home School On Time?
If you are constantly struggling to start home school on time, we have two suggestions. First, try to figure out why you are starting late. Do people need more time to get ready in the morning? Are you lacking a designated start time that brings everyone together when it’s time to begin?
Second, figure out how much more time (if any) you need. If you can make the morning pre-school routine more efficient and more organized, then try this first using the tips we provided above. If you truly need more time, consider how much time is needed. It might not be as much as you think; and, if pushing your start time back five or ten minutes makes the day run more smoothly, this isn’t necessarily a bad option.
Key Takeaways
- Consistency is key. The more consistent you are, the easier it will be to start on time every day. This is true for you and your kids.
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Work backward from your start time. Once you know when you want to start your home school days, work backward to figure out when to start the morning pre-school routine.
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Set a good example. By leading your morning pre-school routine by example, you can show your kids that they can do it, too.
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Reevaluate, if necessary. As with all aspects of homeschooling, if your morning routine isn't working, don't be afraid to ask "Why?" and then adjust accordingly.
Where to Learn More
If you would like more tips and resources for starting your home school days on time (and for managing your homeschooling schedule generally), consider becoming a member of Crush Home School. With our membership plan, you get monthly guidance delivered to your inbox with downloadable resources and much more. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.