need this one is because there are a thousand correct ways to organize a homeschool day,
not just one. It's important not to be led down the wrong path about what works for
someone that may not work for you at all. The Good and the Beautiful team helped me
put this video together and I truly think it is the most helpful video you will ever watch
on organizing a homeschool day. I want to talk about principles and steps that apply to every
single homeschool family and their homeschool schedules. At the end of this video, I'll
also give you example homeschool schedules that work well for many people. I'm Ashley Nielsen,
a Vice-President with The Good and the Beautiful. In my work, I've connected with hundreds of
homeschool families and I've seen so many cases of schedules working really well, and so many
cases of schedules not working at all. I've also helped many families as they have began their
homeschool journey, and have seen how important it is to have an idea of what a plan for your
homeschool looks like. I'm excited to share with you what we here at The Good and the Beautiful
have learned about organizing a homeschool day. The first principle I want you to remember when
thinking about how to organize your homeschool day is stated in Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is
no vision, the people perish." You do need a plan. Opposites of the word plan are accident, chance,
gamble, luck, fluke, disorganize. Progress and success are not results of accident or chance.
If we don't have some consistent organization in our homeschool, homeschooling will not be
as effective or as enjoyable as it could be. We need to organize our homeschool days and
then allow for flexibility. Another principle to remember is that you should have a plan that is
tailored specifically to you and your family. So how do you create a plan that will work for
you? Let's go over the steps to developing a plan that works for your unique family.
Step number one to create your plan: Plan how many days you will homeschool each week and if you will
homeschool for a traditional year or year-round. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can tailor
every detail around your family. Parental work schedules, family dynamics, personal interests,
co-ops, other activities, and more can often make a large difference in how many days you homeschool
per week and whether you follow a traditional school year or year-round schedule. In a survey
we did of homeschool mothers, 65% d four days a week, and 35% homeschooled five days a week.
Within the same group of mothers, 26% school year-round while the remaining 74% follow more
of a traditional school year schedule. A four-day per week schedule allows for flexibility for a
co-op activity or break day during the week. Learning is often happening on that fifth day,
but may not be traditional schoolwork. Homeschooling 5 days per week for some means
that they don't have to homeschool as many hours each day. For others, it means they can fit more
in. Some people like doing just math, language arts, and reading 4 days a week, and history,
science, and electives one day a week. Year-round school allows people to homeschool
fewer days each week or fewer hours each day, or to extend breaks more often. It also helps
children not to forget a lot of principles learned with a really long summer break. Maggie Felsch,
the other Vice-President of The Good and the Beautiful said, "We love not following
a traditional public school schedule. We usually take time off when public school is in session
so that we have quiet parks, museums, national parks, camping spots, fishing spots, aquariums,
restaurants, and so on." Choosing to follow a traditional school year will allow for a larger
summer break that can work well for people who travel to visit family or need an extended break.
It can also be helpful in coordinating sports and activities with friends who public school
or follow the same schedule. Now that you have thought about the frequency and yearly schedule
that may work best for your family, let's look at step number 2: plan a start time. Your plan for
a start time may not be an exact time, but you should have a plan about when to start
homeschooling each day. Let's talk first about having a consistent start time, and then not
having a consistent start time. Some families find, at certain points in their homeschool
journey, that a specific and consistent start time is most effective. This may help families get in
a steady routine which is needed when a mother has to work part of the day, or if a family just
isn't having time to fit everything in. Having a specific start time that children can count
on may help children complain less about getting started. It can also help avoid anxiety. However,
for some people, a specific start time actually creates anxiety. How do you feel about having a
specific start time? Does it give you a sense of steadiness that helps you and your family,
or does it stress you out? Do you need it to keep you on track? Do your children respond
better to having a certain schedule and knowing when they are expected to start? What time do
most families start their homeschool day? We did a survey of homeschool families and found that the
most frequent start time was between 9:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Other families reported a 9:30 to
10:00 o'clock start time was preferred, and just a few reported starting times before 9:00 a.m. or
after 10:00 a.m. Now let's talk about not having a specific start time. Some families find that it
works best for them to not worry about starting school until they are ready. They do chores,
eat breakfast, and get ready at their own pace, and some even get the house all cleaned and
organized and then start. But this is the thing: that is a plan. Your plan is to start when X,
Y, & Z happen because homeschool can happen in a shorter time than public school. Some families
find that there's plenty of time to get the day going without stressing about a certain time.
Here are questions to ask yourself to evaluate if it is right for you to not have a specific
start time. Do I struggle to keep a peaceful atmosphere if I feel rushed or behind? Are my
children still focused and well-behaved with an unpredictable schedule and willing to begin work
when we are ready? Do I feel most comfortable with just doing the next thing rather than following
a more strict schedule? Are we able to accomplish most of what we would like to in a day even if we
don't begin at a certain time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to explore
a more relaxed schedule based on tasks to complete rather than a specific time to begin or end each
activity. We found that 36% of homeschool moms we surveyed had a specific and consistent start time,
while 64% did not. Regardless of your adherence to a start time, we highly recommend you have a
morning routine. Children respond and behave better with structure. While staying in your
pajamas can be really nice, especially on hard days, getting dressed and grooming yourself,
and teaching your children to do the same helps you feel better physically and mentally. Save
pajama day for special occasions. Consider starting your day together with a prayer and
a beautiful wholesome read-aloud book. Although morning baskets and other types of organization
may work for some families, don't feel that you need anything fancy. I have noted in my own home
that our morning routine sets the entire tone for our day. Whichever choice you make for your start
time, know that your own family needs and days will be most consistent if you carefully think
through the plans for your day. After you have planned out the when of homeschooling,
you'll want to start working on what to teach. Step number 3 in planning your homeschool day is
to choose what subjects to do. Understand what your state requirements are, what subjects you
have to cover, and how much. Outside of those state requirements, enjoy the freedom to decide
which subjects to cover or not cover. Keep in mind that Language Arts and Math are crucial
to a child's developing brain, which is making critical language and number connections during
that time in their life. If a child can gain a strong foundation in Language Arts,
Reading, and Math at a young age, things such as Science and History can be gained quickly by
older children. However, learning can be forever difficult for children if they don't make the
language and math connections at a young age. If you don't have to meet certain state requirements,
consider that you don't want to pack too much into your day. If you are feeling overwhelmed,
consider making Math and Language Arts the most consistent subjects, and always make sure your
children read, read, read good literature. Moving Science or History to just one day a
week may be something that will benefit your family. It's better that you are consistent
with the most important subjects than that you are just so overwhelmed you have no consistency
at all. At the same time, too much downtime without the means of creative or nature play
can make homeschooling difficult. Consider if you are overwhelmed or if your children are
overwhelmed. If you are overwhelmed but feel that your children can be learning more, look for ways
your children can learn independently and add those activities to your schedule. For example,
if you can't fit everything in and you don't have state requirements, you could skip official
history lessons for a while and have your children read history and historical fiction books from The
Good and the Beautiful Book List. Older children could read to younger children, or the children
could listen to audio versions of Good and Beautiful books that will help them gain knowledge
of history. At goodandbeautiful.com, we have a helpful age and level guide that will show you
the subjects we suggest for each grade level. This simple overview can serve as a wonderful starting
point and it is linked in the description below. Now that you know what you are going to teach,
let's take a look at step number four. Plan when you will do each subject. Your plan may not be a
consistent order. For example, here's one way to plan the subjects you need to do each day. Have a
chart that shows which subjects you need to get done each day. This will help you organize your
days in a very simple way. One idea is to have a master list of every subject in a dry-erase pouch,
and then each day you can cross them off with a dry erase marker as you do them. Your subjects may
be different on different days. For example, you may do Language Arts and Math each day, but only
do History and Science on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You may choose to have a different sheet for each
day, or one master list, or even one for each child that you use and mark off the subjects she
won't be completing that day. Either you or your children decide each day what order you will go
in. This might be nice if your children thrive on change. Alternatively, you could just follow
the list in the same order every day. It often works better to do challenging subjects first,
but sometimes it does not. Experiment to see what works best for you and your children. The
last principle I want to remind you of is to be flexible in your plan. This can be applied to all
of the previously mentioned steps to planning your day. Your plan should always allow for
flexibility. Being flexible allows you to keep a peaceful, yet forward moving plan in each school
day, even amongst all the interruptions and distractions of life and schooling.
I'll be chatting with you about interruptions and distractions in an upcoming video, so don't forget
to subscribe to our channel so you don't miss it! The final step in planning your homeschool day is
step number five: use a curriculum that's open-and-go. We truly feel that this is a
critical homeschool organizational principle. This is one of the main reasons that The Good
and the Beautiful was created. We feel strongly that if you are trying to teach your children,
take care of your home, and take care of yourself, along with a myriad of other commitments you're
involved in, and spending time preparing lessons, that you will burn out or neglect some areas of
your life: mental, social, spiritual, or physical. That precious time after you finish your teaching
each day should be spent with your children as well as keeping your home and your own health
and marriage in order. Teaching children to be as self-directed as possible really helps as
well. Be sure to check out our upcoming video where we teach how to get your children to be
self-directed and self-motivated. Having a child with special needs may require extra prep work,
but overall, finding a homeschool curriculum that is academically sound and open-and-go will help
you and your children feel excited to dive into learning each new day. Now that we have discussed
the five steps of planning your homeschool day, we would like to offer just a few sample schedules
to get you started. Keep in mind that the needs and schedule for every family will vary. My own
homeschool schedule looks a little like this. I homeschool my two sons, age eleven and seven. My
daughter, who is three, is just starting some Pre-K work. We school Monday through Thursday.
Fridays are filled with nature group and other fun or educational activities. We also follow a
traditional school year schedule so that we can have the summer off along with our homeschool
friends. We have tried year-round school but friends and playtime during the summer were too
hard to say no to for our family. Our day begins with morning chores, breakfast, basic hygiene,
and scripture study. Although we don't have a set start time, we try to begin school at 9:00
a.m. and are typically finished in two to three hours. We complete Language Arts, Handwriting,
and Math every day, but I have my children choose in which order they would like to complete their
subjects. Typically each child is completing independent work or a chore while I'm working
with the other child. My husband teaches our children their family-style History and Science
lessons every Wednesday and Thursday. Electives such as Typing are scheduled throughout the week
as well. I really am a do-the-next-thing type of planner, so instead of set times which make me
always feel really behind, I use a checklist-type of plan for our day. The checklist my family
utilizes includes each individual item we need to do each day right down to brushing our teeth. We
also try to block schedule our day instead of having set times for every task. In our house,
that means we do our household chores and hygiene in the morning, along with breakfast. Then we
complete school. Then we finish any additional chores before having leisure and playtime. It's
taken us six years of trial and error, and every year our schedule changes. But for now, that's
what's working for our family. Maggie's family, who I mentioned earlier, homeschools year-round.
They start school in the morning with a prayer and scripture memorization. Then they get their
core work done first thing: Math, Language Arts, Handwriting, and Typing. After that, they dive
right into either Science or History depending on the day. Jenny Phillips usually home schools
with a small co-op of close friends, but when she doesn't, she needs great flexibility and every day
is different. Her husband teaches Math four days a week consistently during the school year, and
Jenny makes sure to get two History lessons and two Science lessons in a week. For Language Arts,
Typing, and Handwriting, sometimes they do them every day, or on crazy weeks they do it only two
to three times a week. To make up for not doing these subjects at least four times every week,
they do these subjects and not other subjects in the summer too. Now that you have started
forming a plan for your homeschool day, enjoy with your family. Remember that every family
should be homeschooling differently. There's no one way and no one organization. Now,
I want to from you! Comment below whether you homeschool year-round or take summers off,
and how often you use certain subjects. Please remember to subscribe to our channel. We have
so much to share with you that we hope will improve your lives and bless your families.