Traditional schools induce discipline and manage many students and their schedules like clockwork because they adhere to a strict timetable in a formal setup. This may be a challenge for parents who do not have firsthand experience with homeschooling or know how to go about it. Repetition is the key to instilling practice and only when we create an air of formality the student and teacher will be able to learn in a conducive environment.
A functional homeschooling schedules
Working from the house comes with its own set of disruptions, especially at a time when the doorbell is rung multiple times a day for deliveries, one has chores to run outside the house, and jobs to attend to. The homeschooling schedule must work for the family’s existing lifestyle and support it. A homeschooler’s schedule has to be adjusted around their activities, especially if they are pursuing other interests while homeschooling. Also, it is important to create the right mix of activities including physical activities, self-study, and free time between lessons. The student must be given assignments and projects and regular tests must be conducted to encapsulate their learning.
A functioning homeschooling schedule has enough buffered to not collapse or stray from the long-term plan. As parents, it is important to bear in mind that priorities shift and there must be room to readjust. After all, even in traditional schooling sometimes students are absent for a day.
Building a homeschooling schedule
Generally, homeschoolers follow three types of homeschooling schedules –
- Block schedule – Big sections of the subject are studied at a stretch
- Classroom schedule – everyday schedule of classes with a break
- Loop schedule – if a topic or subject is difficult, then with this schedule, the classes start slow, and more work is added progressively.
The course curriculum for the semester will define a large part of how the schedule will move. Planning ahead will help immensely. First, create a plan for the month about what topics you want to cover for a subject. Based on this create weekly schedules for how many portions will be covered and what activities will be done around it. Has a plan for the next day helped, but one must try not to make it very rigid.
A flexible daily schedule helps
Do not overburden the weekly schedule. Some subjects move along like a breeze, while others may take longer. The advantage of homeschooling is that a student can learn at their pace. Keeping a flexible daily schedule will help cope with any slow phases so that the student and the parent are not stressed.
Homeschooling Daily Schedule Ex. –
- 00 a.m. – Prayer/ PE
- 15 a.m. – English
- 00 a.m. – Social Studies
- 45 a.m. – Break
- 00 a.m. – Science
- 45 – Language
- 30 p.m. – Math
- 15 p.m. – Lunch
- 45 p.m. – Project/ Reading
After the daily structured schedule, the student can be allotted time for hobbies, playing or assignments.
Creating Lesson Plans
As the tutor, the parent has to create lesson plans for each month, week, and day to ensure that the class is moving at a manageable pace and that discussions do not drift. One can design lesson plans by following CBSE or NIOS curriculum as a guiding pattern. What a student learns will depend upon which board the student plans to give their 10th or 12 board exams. An advantage of following an established curriculum pattern is that one can get resources for the subject, such as books, online tuitions, question banks, test papers, and other help.
For parents who want to add some extra subjects or add something to the lesson plan, they can carve out some time each day to teach the student those subjects and test them for the same.
The greatest advantage of homeschooling is the flexibility – to schedule the day, what we learn, and how we learn.