A few years ago, I posted our simple daily homeschool schedule. It was based on the needs of my family at the time when I wasn’t a working mom. One of the most beautiful facets was that it relied on chunks of time during the day. So if the baby didn’t nap like he should have or if someone needed to go to the doctor, the entire day wasn’t wasted. We could easily get back on schedule, even with disruptions.
As my kids have grown, so has the schedule. I’ve found that we needed to have a little more structure, mostly due to my work schedule. I’ve also found that with a little less flexibility, my children can get more accomplished, as they are certain what they should be doing at any given moment. I’ve been testing it out and growing into it for several months now. The overall family consensus is that it works very well for us. So we thought we would share it with you!
Simple Homeschool Schedule for Working Moms
In a sense, the schedule is still in chunks. Although I haven’t outlined it as such on the schedule. It still follows a similar regimen to the old one: morning chunk, lunch chunk, afternoon chunk, and evening chunk. The difference really is in the detail that we follow in that chunk. Instead of a loose list of things to accomplish, I’ve assigned more structured time frames.
Morning Chunk
This is the part of the day BEFORE we start school. It starts with me getting up and starting my day off right with God’s word, and then utilizing a fresh mind to work on upcoming projects. When the kids get up, the start with the morning checklist to help them accomplish a morning devotion time, breakfast, and morning chores.
School Chunk
I’ve done the school chunk many different ways. But in this stage of life, it’s working best as a concentrated chunk in the morning. (Remember to do what is right for you! It doesn’t have to be done in the morning.)
I start the day off by teaching our worldview curriculum to everyone. They work in the accompanying notebooks as I read. Then I have a little time with Luke (pre-k). We will do a few pages in his books and read together. Meanwhile, Nathan (2nd grade) is reading his story to himself. Once I am done with Luke, Nathan will read the story to me.
Teaching tip—> It’s really helpful to have your child practice reading the text at least once before reading with you. It builds fluency and accuracy!
By this point, everyone is usually settled in with their school work. I work at the table with them answering questions as they arise. During this time, I keep my work schedule light. I want the children to be able to interrupt me if they get stuck on something.
Do I teach them every single subject directly? No way! I’ve worked really hard to teach them to love to learn. I’ve taught them that they can learn anything by teaching themselves. I do help as needed and somedays that is a lot. But my older children (4th and 5th grade) do not need me to micromanage their lessons. See more about the specific curriculum and methods I use here.
Lunchtime Chunk
At noon, I check their weekly checklists by grading the day’s work. Occasionally my 5th grader is not done with her assignments at this point in the day, but not too often.
Next we prepare lunch and I read aloud something to everyone while they eat. We love missionary stories like Hudson Taylor.
For a closer look at our schedule, click here.
Afternoon Chunk
This part of the day actually varies, but you won’t find that listed above.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, my kids have an “after-school” sitter that comes. She works through the schedule with them, meets their needs, and keeps the out of my office. Haha.
When she is here, I work in my bedroom with my laptop (that’s what I call my office). It gives me concentrated time to make business phone calls, work with companies on campaigns, and create new project ideas.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are reserved for appointments, if at all possible. The 3 oldest have piano on Tuesday and Leah (5th grade) volunteers at a ranch on Thursday afternoons. If we are home during a particular time in the afternoon, we revert to the schedule.
Fridays during the school year are co-op days. The children enjoy PE, music, art, and the girls even take a writing class (IEW).
Evening Chunk
At 5pm, the official work day ends and we head into the kitchen. Each day of the week, one child is assigned to help me prepare dinner. I’m so glad that I started this last year. The girls can make most anything for dinner now. During this time someone is assigned to help Luke and the others are to clean their room and work on chores.
From 6-7:30 we have family time. This time can be anything really…except work and school. Most nights we go on a walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes we go grocery shopping or to run an errand. Other times we just read together or play games. I’ll be honest. I’m still working on this part. Sometimes there is just so much to do that it seeps into our family time.
Around 7:30pm we start winding down with showers, stories, prayers, and bedtime. The boys go down between 8 and 8:30pm. The girls stay up later, but must be completing a quiet activity during this time.
That’s about it. My simple homeschool schedule for working moms. How does it compare to yours? I’d love to hear your feedback!
Homeschool Planning Boot Camp
Are you needing a bit more inspiration and vision for your homeschool? I totally get it! I’m a working mom too and often need my vision refreshed.
I’d like to invite you to my FREE Homeschool Planning Boot Camp. In just 5 days you will be ready for your best homeschool year ever!
Click the image below for all the details. I hope to see you there!
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