A homeschool daily schedule does not need to include every subject, every book, and every ideal routine to count. Most homeschool days do not go exactly according to plan.
The better question is: what essentials make the day faithful and fruitful even when the full plan does not happen? For our homeschool, five pieces anchor the day: chores, Morning Time, math, reading, and language.
What, out of everything in the plan, is essential to make our homeschool day count?
More often than not, at least at my house, the entire plan doesn’t get checked off. So what does need to happen, without fail? Here’s my version.
5 Essential Pieces of Our Homeschool Day
- Chores. This includes both morning chores and afternoon EHAP. It is essential that we work together to keep the chaos under at least a semblance of control. It’s amazing how quickly the house can explode during a busy day, and so we need to address the basics every day or it becomes quickly overwhelming for everyone.
- Morning Time. This is the bedrock of our homeschool. We pray; sing; and memorize Scripture, catechism, and poetry.
- Math. We use Math-U-See, Calculadder, and xtramath.org. With the mastery approach and the plenty of practice for each concept, we aren’t unwittingly shuffled onto the next lesson when the previous has not been understood or mastered.
- Reading. Whether it’s audio books, reading silently, picture books on the couch, or reading aloud the history book together, our days will contain reading. And reading is a foundation of knowing.
- Language. This encompasses writing, grammar, and Latin. At least one of these will be accomplished in a school day, even if they don’t all get hit (though Latin always includes grammar, so it’s a double-whammy). I would like for this fifth to be Latin alone, but alas, that is last before lunch, and that means it’s most likely to get the short shrift.
You’ll notice these are more categories than specifics. It’s not “finish a math lesson” or “read 3 chapters of the history text.” In fact, I could also make the list this way:
- Working
- Reciting
- Figuring
- Reading
- Thinking
I kinda like it stated that way.
Make This List Useful For You
Do you have a list of what makes a homeschool day “count”? This is my list of 5, but honestly, even a day where only 3 get hit still “count” in my mind.
I do not live in a state where we have to keep track of attendance or school days, so “counting” is only a matter of how I rate our day and not a technical or even relevant question.
But how we, as the homeschool moms, rate our days, does matter. It’s much too easy to fall into the habit of giving ourselves Fs on our own daily report card because we don’t meet false or unreasonable expectations that we place on ourselves.
A simplified homeschool day schedule helps us judge the day by faithfulness instead of fantasy. The full plan might not happen, but the day can still include work, recitation, figuring, reading, and thinking.
Make a simplified list that allows room for you to give yourself grace in the midst of the crazy days of homeschooling a houseful of children.