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How many hours per day should I homeschool? That’s quite a question, and the answer varies depending on the situation. Each state in the U.S. has different requirements that need to be adhered to. Also, some homeschool days have more that needs to be accomplished and some have less. It all depends. So, no matter the situation, let’s focus on how to maximize your homeschool hours per day. Here are 3 ways to do just that!
I’m beyond thrilled to be partnering with Sonlight Curriculum for the 2018-2019 school year as a Sonlight Ambassador. After using Sonlight from the beginning of our children’s formal education (6 years & counting!) and loving it, Sonlight has provided me with HBL E, Science E, LA E (including optional supplements & handwriting), and an art elective, for our school year. I look forward to sharing with you as we learn throughout the year. All opinions are 100% my own.
Get Up & Get Going
I know, I know. Homeschooling is flexible. Homeschooling doesn’t necessarily have a set timeline. I realize this, and I love this. I also know, however, that time can easily get away from us in the mornings, if we don’t get going at a “decent” time. I am not (repeat, not) an early riser. Most days, I need to get school going earlier than I “think” I need to. For our family, if our school day isn’t finished by early/mid-afternoon, we’re in trouble. After 2:30 p.m. or so, our focus wanes big time. Thus, “get up & get going” is something that helps to maximize our homeschool hours per day.
Difficult or Lengthy Subjects First
For us, language arts would be the last thing on the list each day. It wasn’t necessarily a difficult subject for us. We just naturally take to math and science more. As such, it was a struggle to get language arts done on a daily basis. I decided to move it to the top of our schedule, and the change was amazing and immediate.
We also moved our read-alouds up in the schedule, when we’re more fresh and can more easily listen for longer stretches of time.
These two changes led to smoother homeschool days in our home, which, in turn, helped maximize our homeschool hours per day.
“Magical” Mini Whiteboards
Speaking of “get up & get going” and scheduling certain subjects at the top of the list…a couple years ago, I realized that we had some untapped potential in the earlier morning hours around here. Our children were up and running, while I was still trying to rouse myself from dreaming of where our semi-budget travels might take us next.
Over time, our kids had become fairly independent in some subjects, such as math, handwriting, Explode the Code workbooks (Younger Daughter), and copywork, as well as their Sonlight readers and some science. So, I bought two small whiteboards and began prepping their independent work each night for the next day. Here’s Older Daughter’s whiteboard from the first day of school this year.
This way, they can wake up (before me!) and get going on their school work, to help maximize our homeschool hours per day! It has worked marvelously! It’s a win-win for our family.
Our children actually look forward to this each morning. If I forget to set out their work the night before or don’t set it out on purpose, they are usually pretty bummed!
Another plus for using the whiteboards is that it gives each child a little bit of freedom to decide what they want to work on first. Math first or last? Copywork? Reading?
Maybe a writing assignment?
Here’s a science experiment being done independently!
Bonus Tip! Combine When Possible
Sonlight provides one of the most amazing solutions for maximizing your homeschool hours per day…combining your “Couch Subjects,” such as history, Bible, literature, and science. If your children are close in age, combining these subjects can save a lot of time.
Homeschooling one child takes time. Homeschooling more than one child takes time. Ya know…homeschooling any number of children, and homeschooling them to the best of your ability, takes time. Combining some subjects can save some time. Brilliant!
Find out how we used Sonlight to keep our homeschool going while visiting Iceland!
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How do you maximize your homeschool hours per day? Please share in the comments below!