Homeschool Schedule with Multiple Kids
Homeschool Schedule with Multiple Kids (with free printable planner)
Having a homeschool schedule is like having a meal plan. It takes a bit of work to create one but once it's done you have that mental load off your head.
You know exactly what you're doing and don't need to decide on the spot.
A well planned homeschool schedule with multiple kids can help families achieve both their learning and personal goals by turning plans into action.
Having a homeschool schedule looks very different for everyone.
I know there are many people who like to go with the flow, and that’s great if it works for you.
But I’ve found that, for us, in order to get the most out of our days, we need to have a schedule.
Having some sort of homeschool schedule can take so much off your plate.
Not only does everyone know what they’re doing. They can get on with it without having to ask you and without you having to ask them.
Remember habits aren’t formed in a day so this needs some consistency from you.
We usually work together to create our timetable. This gets the kids excited but also gives them an idea of what is expected of them.
I would recommend this for older kids since it shows them how much spare time they actually have.
Homeschool schedules include Time to play!
Schedules are great, but make them too rigid and they don’t work.
Children need plenty of play/down time. So it’s important to keep a schedule that’s productive but loose enough to allow some down time.
Having downtime can give kids something to look forward to after a day of homeschooling. It’s easy to keep going all day but not exactly ideal.
And honestly it’s not just the kids that need a break. You need (and deserve) a break too!
Remember: If your homeschool schedule is too full, you leave little time for household chores/cooking/errands and family time.
Also it is important to note that flexibility is your friend! If something comes up which needs your attention it’s good to have a little leeway in your schedule will allows you to be able to tend to it.
Set realistic goals!
When creating your schedule it’s exciting thinking about how much you can get done. But theory and practice are 2 very different things!
Start off with something really realistic, leaning more towards less than you can handle rather than being too ambitious. That way, your family are likely to get used to the new schedule with ease. And then over time you can start incorporating more as you please.
But how can I homeschool multiple children?
My BIGGEST challenge when it came to our homeschool schedule was how can I be everywhere at once! I have 6 kids who are all at different levels, so how can I manage?
I’ll admit, this took me toooo long to figure out!
I think mainly because up to the point where I was homeschooling 3 kids, I was still able to manage somewhat comfortably so I didn’t feel a need to adjust my routine much.
However over the years as the younger kids have been joining our homeschool mornings, it started becoming a lot to juggle. So I needed a new plan!
Also I kinda assumed that by the time the youngest is old enough, the older ones would be doing their own thing. And they are to some extent but there are definitely times or subjects where I need to work with them.
So how do I work my homeschool schedule around this?
First:
- I make a list of any things that can’t be moved around. Like tuition or any sports clubs or library trips with friends etc (Obviously library trips with friends can be moved around, but sometimes it’s hard to find a time where both the friends and yourselves are free. So we found a time and have now set it in stone - to an extent- that way we don’t keep chasing each other for a meet up)
Once these are added in the time table, we can then see what times we have available for anything else we want to add.
Next:
- We make a list of what subjects we want to cover and how many times a week we would like to do them.
Our mornings are usually a whirlwind of everyone taking turns doing online tuition. So this is where I grab that opportunity to work with my 6 year old. That way she knows she has the rest of the day to play. I only do a very maximum of 20 mins per subject with her so an hour is more than enough time for me to work with her one on one. We manage to get through maths and English during this time. She also joins her 8 year old brother later on the days we do science so, at the moment that’s plenty for her. This allows her plenty of free time where she can get creative with her play.
- I add everyones subjects in making sure I allocate myself to work with one child at a time (unless we are doing project work or unit studies, then I’m happy to pair similar aged children up). So when making our homeschool schedule I highlight what I’m going to be teaching in pink, so that we can all see who is working with mum and who is working independently.
Keep a simple schedule
Then:
- Once I’ve allocated everyones subjects to them, I go ahead and highlight where I need to work with the children. All other work they are able to do mostly independently. If at any point they need help while I’m working with other children, they can first try asking an older sibling for help. Failing that they can try to find a solution online. If they are still not successful then I can stop to help them.
I don’t actually use a planner, I’ve not looked at too many but the ones I did look at, weren’t really suitable for our large family.
So I just created my own and printed it out. Once our schedule was set up, I printed out each day and laminated them.
The night before, we stick one of them whiteboard so when everyone comes down, they know what they need to do and because its laminated they can mark it off once they’re done.
Planning your Homeschool Schedule
One of the most important parts of creating a schedule is planning and prepping the work.
It’s all fun and exciting to create a schedule but come Monday morning and it’s time for Maths, if I haven’t got a clue what we will be doing, not only will it waste a lot of time trying to figure it out. It will also disrupt the flow of the day. Everything starts falling behind.
Planning exactly what the children will do doing each day is SUPER important. You knowing what your child will be doing in advance gives you the opportunity to understand and go over everything ahead of time.
Prepare the books, print any necessary papers and have all stationary/scissors/glue etc to hand. It makes the WORLD of difference! Especially with a large family.
Just imagine; it’s Monday morning, you haven’t had your coffee yet let alone breakfast and you have 6 kids coming up to you. One is asking where her papers are. Another looking for the scissors and glue. The third wondering what subject to start with and what she will need to get started. A fourth trying to slowly slip away so he doesn’t have to do any work. You get the idea right? Absolute chaos! I’m getting anxiety just thinking about it! Haha
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”
- Benjamin Franklin
Either way you’re preparing, what will you be preparing for?
Although the idea of having to do planning & prep every week (or month if you have enough time) can seem a little overwhelming and even unrealistic, soon you will see the benefits and realise that it’s not only saving you so much time but also a lot of anxiety of doing things last minute as well as reducing the worry that you’re “not doing enough” and the kids are “falling behind”.
Over time you’ll get the hang of it and it will no longer take you as long as it did when you first started.
So what are you preparing exactly? How do you go about it?
Both very valid questions.
So first get your schedule sorted.
Now take a look. On Monday morning if you’ve written maths for each child, you need to ask yourself, exactly what will each child be doing?
So child 1, when they sit at the table what will they be doing?
We use workbooks which are awesome. If there’s a section that my child is struggling with e.g. problem solving, when I’m doing my prepping I want to go over that section more thoroughly so I can find some additional worksheets online (using platforms like twinkl) which explain it a little better. I can even find a video or game that may help them with this.
I write all this down in my notebook so when they start I know exactly what they’re doing.
Now do this with each child for each subject.
Remember not every subject will need additional worksheets. For some subjects I’m just noting down which section or how many pages they will be working through.
If we are doing a project then I’ll make sure I have enough supplies for the specific activity we will be doing.
So glue, scissors, paints etc
One way to keep yourself on top of things, is to do a quick review of your week (or month) to see how everyone got on, and what you would need to do differently (if anything) next time.
