Hours in a homeschool day
How many hours did you homeschool is another question I hear. However many hours it takes to get through the lessons for the day was how I did it. Some days were longer than others. Some shorter. It’s not about how much time you spend. It’s about how well the children learn. Some subjects just take longer to understand. Sometimes you have to take a break from a lesson and try again another day. Trust your instincts. If everyone is getting frustrated, it’s time to quit that lesson and switch gears.
I heard some families say they only schooled for a few hours each day. Maybe when their children were younger, but that is impossible when they hit middle school, in my opinion. There is just too much material to cover and harder lessons with longer assignments. Yes, we break them into bite sizes, but it’s true that the longer you spend on something, the better you learn it. Don’t rush through it. Once the student understands it, move on to something more challenging, build on it.
Perhaps they didn’t do each subject every day. That might change dynamics too. But for me, we covered the core subjects each school day.
Number of kids or babies affects hours
The more children you teach, the longer the day goes also.
If you have babies and toddlers, your day is longer due to caring for the younger children as you educate the older children. It’s tricky at first, but eventually, you find what works for you. Often I carried a baby on my hip, or one sat on my lap playing while I helped a sibling. If you need breaks throughout the day for the baby, plan activities for the older kids during that time or let them read on their own. Use nap time to tackle the harder subjects.
Homeschooling is way of life
Homeschooling is your chosen way of life. You’re the teacher. It’s your job to teach the kids, so invest in them by blocking off the hours needed for them to learn.
In Wisconsin, homeschoolers are required to complete 875 hours. If you have five hours of school for 178 days, that is 890 hours. I always exceeded the required 875 hours. Five hours blocked out will allow some leverage within it and include a lunch break. Don’t answer the telephone or get distracted by other work or people unless you plan to do so ahead of time. (Okay, stuff happens, I know, but I’m talking about every day. You shouldn’t have major interruptions every day. Once I had to leave to assist a neighbor with her baby car seat. Emergencies or calls for help are rare occurrences.)
Start times vary by home
Some families start school later in the day because they are night owls. Some families have four-day weeks. Some parents share teaching, while others rely on one parent. Sometimes parents work and school fits in at different hours of the day. The main thing is to determine your school hours and stick to them because education lapses without a plan.
Set a block of time or two blocks of time within the day, Monday through Friday. Your dedication is required for your children to be educated. It’s your job to prepare them for life, and you don’t want to let them down.
Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.
How does your day play out now?
Hourglass photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.
4 Replies to “Hours in a homeschool day”
Even though my husband and I are officially retired, we regularly question/examine how we are spending our hours. We want to be in line with where God wants us and doing the projects or work that He has called us to. I’ve learned to be flexible and trust God to lead.
Learning to be flexible and trusting God to lead is great advice, Gretchen! Thanks for sharing. We do need to hold our plans loosely and learn to discern when God is asking us to go a new direction. He works all things out. Some days I’m better at this than others. LOL
I always get so incredibly aggravated by the homeschool moms who tell me my school takes too long. Moms will say kindergarten shouldn’t take more than 30 min TOTAL and 1st grade shouldn’t be more than an hour! I don’t know how they give a quality education like that—because each reading lesson takes at minimum 20 min, then we started spelling in kindergarten and that’s 10, and our math is play-based with lots of manipulatives so that takes 30-45 min just due to the “play” factor—the games can take forever! Sometimes even an hour! But it’s fun, but still so time consuming. Then handwriting…10-15 min depending on how much they want to do (they always ask for more), and social studies and Bible and science which is their favorite subject. With the littles interrupting and the 16 million snacks they all think they need in a day, and lunch…we frequently are schooling someone right up to dinner. I do not understand at all how anyone can do it in less time and still give a good quality education.
I don’t see how you can complete all those lessons in 30-60 minutes either. My experience reflects yours. For me, everything always took longer. Try not to get stressed by how long others take. It isn’t a race, and learning takes time, in my opinion. Relationships take time too! Rushing only hurts our efforts, I think. I suppose it depends on what curriculum a family chooses. There are always interruptions of some sort, so we have to learn to go with the flow.