Wondering how to create a weekly schedule for home school? Here's step by step approach.
Here's what you'll learn in this article:
- How to create a weekly home school schedule that fits your needs and is easy to maintain.
- Four steps to put together a weekly home school that suits your home school needs.
- Answers to common questions about creating and maintaining a weekly home school schedule.
- Key takeaways to start creating or improving your weekly home school schedule today.
- Resources to support you in preparing for other aspects of home school.
A Weekly Home School Schedule is a Valuable Tool for Crushing Home School
You will typically have multiple schedules when you home school, from your child's yearly academic calendar to your day-to-day routine. You should also have a weekly home school schedule that gives you an overview of each week’s anchor activities, from lessons to special topics and field trips.
The key to using all these schedules effectively is to remember that they are tools to support what you want to experience from homeschooling. They are not meant to distract you from doing you should be doing or mire you in unnecessary details.
The weekly home school schedule is your go-to for daily reference. Compared to your annual or monthly calendar, it should include more details to accomplish yearly and monthly home school goals. As you implement a weekly schedule, you will want to consider when you want to dedicate time each week to plan and whether there are other activities into which you can incorporate this planning. For example, I will plan the next school week throughout the current week when I have a few moments or when an idea comes to me, and then I will review the week ahead on Saturday or Sunday evening when I do my personal planning for the week ahead. You can experiment with different approaches to maintaining your weekly home school schedule until you find an approach that works well for you.
Four Steps to Create a Weekly Schedule that Streamlines Your Home School Experience
Having a weekly schedule gives you the peace of mind that you are covering the right learning activities each week. It also gives you the space to expand the learning experiences you offer your child. Imagine incorporating calligraphy practice to send holiday cards or weekly teas to practice debate. Here are the steps you need to take to start using a weekly home school schedule:
1. Choose Digital or Paper
Having the right tools makes all the difference. Planning your home school experience is no different. When getting started with a weekly home school schedule, ask yourself if you prefer digital or paper. If you already have a preference, then make it easy on yourself and stick with what you prefer.
If you go digital, you will always have your schedule with you, and this means that you can add to or adjust your weekly schedule whenever it is convenient to do so. On the other hand, a paper schedule has the advantage of giving you a comprehensive view that is easy to flip through. A hybrid approach that gives you a digital outlet for immediate thoughts and a paper version for final plans is also an option. When you are starting out, pick an option that has worked in the past.
2. Know Your Home School Year
Creating an effective weekly schedule starts with knowing where you want to go. If you don’t have an overall plan for the year, then it will be hard to be intentional about what you plan for each week.
For example, if you don’t know all of the lessons you need to cover across subjects, then you might do too many math lessons because that is your child’s favorite subject. Similarly, the year also includes holidays and days off--and these might get lost if you are only planning a week at a time. In order to plan each week, you’ll want to know your child's (and your family's) yearly needs so you can include them as required.
3. Know Your Home School Day
As with knowing your home school year, you’ll want to have a routine for each day too. If you don’t have a daily home school schedule, then it will be difficult to know what to expect for each week (e.g., how many lessons fit into each day).
It’s also important to know your regular daily activities. For example, if you read to your child each day, then each week you know you’ll need to have reading material available. Taking it a step further: If there is a holiday in the week, then you may want to plan ahead to include a special book. Knowing the desired flow of your home school day will help you be intentional with your weekly home school scheduling, and this will allow you to build continuity and include thoughtful experiences.
4. Prioritize Planning
You should prioritize planning your weekly home school schedule--as this is critical to both your ability to stay organized and to your child's success. This doesn’t mean that planning your home school week has to take hours. Rather, it means that you have to be effective and efficient in how you plan.
When you first start, the process will feel new. But, it will quickly start to feel natural as you get used to including scheduling as part of your regular routine. Start with the requirements for the week (e.g., lessons), then add learning experiences that fit. Use your daily schedule as a guide to avoid planning too much. Planning is a skill that becomes more effective with practice, so choose a consistent time each week to sketch out your home school week.
FAQs: Using a Weekly Home School Schedule as a Tool to Craft an Intentional Home School Experience
What if I Don’t Know My Yearly Home School Plan or Have a Daily Home School Schedule?
Planning is best thought about in layers. This helps you plan to the right level of detail. It becomes too overwhelming to think about a year in hours. It also doesn’t account for unknowns outside of our control. If you are trying to plan your home school week but you don’t have your year or day planned, then start with identifying your goals at the yearly level and work backward. Take broad strokes and focus on what is important to you that year--like covering the curriculum--and think about what that means must be done each week of home school.
What if Having a Weekly Schedule Feels Like Too Much to Manage?
A well-designed weekly schedule gives you the space to consider and reflect on how you want the week to feel for your child and how you want to engage their curiosity. If thinking a week in advance feels too stressful, then start with daily routines. Consider what is taking your mental energy each day. If you are running from task to task each day, then start making a list the night before with critical items first. Alternatively, if you feel present in your daily routine, then save planning your weekly schedule for a specific evening or morning, and only spend what time you need so you don’t feel bogged down.
Key Takeaways
- Create a weekly schedule. A weekly home school schedule gives allows you to be intentional with your home school experience.
- Pick your medium. Decide whether to take a digital, paper, or hybrid approach to maintaining your schedule. Opt for what feels comfortable to you.
- Know where you want to go. Understand your yearly goals so you know what needs to be included in each week.
- Know what’s feasible for each day. Following a daily routine will help you plan realistic weeks that aren’t overly ambitious.
Where to Learn More
If you would like more tips and resources for managing home school with intention, 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.