The years that I had the opportunity to homeschool our children were some of the best memories I have as a momma. With so many families turning to homeschool as a safe alternative to traditional schooling right now in 2020, I thought it may be helpful to share the basic schedule we used.
I am not an expert, I am merely sharing what I did and some of the helpful resources I used. I will have all of the links to the products below.
For the Preschool through kindergarten program, I have followed my Montessori background. Ideally, you would have one room designated with the opportunity for your child to chose these subjects on their own. The child from 3-6 does not need a rigid schedule but more an opportunity for exploration in reading, math, sensorial, practical life, science, language, and writing.
For the elementary years, I would recommend a fixed schedule. So use mine loosely to set what works best for your individual family.
And finally, the best advice I ever received from a fellow homeschool parent was, “If things are going badly, put everything away and make cookies with the kids, they will be fine without one day of learning academics.”
Pre k-K: Subjects and Schedule
- For Pre K-K, this will vary on your personal preference with each child, but here is what I would recommend as a Montessori teacher.
Practical Life Experiences: 1-2 hours a day. Cleaning, polishing, making snack, washing dishes, sorting, classifying, helping around the home, self-care, and care of the environment (pet or plant care).
Reading: 60 minutes a day: this includes you reading to them and free time with books.
Writing: 5-15 minutes a day. Tracing, metal insets, cursive, chalkboard work, moveable alphabet.
Science: 15 minutes, 2 times a week. Find experiments for them at home, visits to science centers, or online programming. There is plenty free online to do with science.
Art and music: 15 minutes, 5 days a week. This includes instrumental lesson times and allowing opportunities for your children to be creative with art.
Sensorial: 15-30 minutes, 5 days a week: geometric shapes, smell, texture, color, weight, size, sound.
Math: 15-30 minutes a day: allowing them to explore numbers, what they physically look like, and the decimal system.
1-3 Grade: Subjects and Schedule
Math 30-40 minutes, 5 days a week: Textbook or online service.
Reading 30 minutes, 5 days a week: structured reading 1 hour of fun reading on their own.
Writing 5-20 minutes, 5 days a week: Writing letters or lists, or consider a textbook.
Grammar 15 mins a day, 5 days a week: Textbook.
Spelling 15 minutes, 5 days a week: Textbook.
History 30 minutes, 3 days a week: Read easy history books to your children and then start a binder or folder and consider following online programming.
Science 30 minutes, 2 times a week.
Religion 10 minutes, 5 days a week: Do some fun family time with activities.
Art, Music 15 minutes, 5 days a week. Lessons or exploration.
Foreign language 15 minutes, 2-3 times a week: textbook or online program.
4-6 Grade: Subjects and Schedule
Math 1 hour, 5 days a week: Textbook or online service
Reading 30 minutes, 5 days a week: structured reading and 1 hour of fun reading on their own
Writing 20 minutes, 5 days a week: Writing letters or lists, or consider a textbook.
Grammar 20 mins a day, 5 days a week: Textbook.
Spelling 15 minutes, 5 days a week: Textbook.
History 30 minutes, 4 days a week: Read easy history books to your children and then start a binder or folder and consider following online programming.
Science 1 hour, 2 times a week: Lessons or experiments.
Religion 10 minutes, 5 days a week: Do some fun family time with activities.
Art, Music 15 minutes, 5 days a week. Lessons or exploration. Consider increasing music practice time.
Foreign language 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week: textbook or online program.
https://welltrainedmind.com/?v=7516fd43adaa
https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-at-home-for-kids-and-families
https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/explore/redbird.html
http://www.clcawards.org/Best-Children-s-Literature-of-All-Time.html
https://www.milestonebooks.com/list/Building_Christian_English_Series/
I love this! I’ll be referring back to this schedule as I plan out our fall schooling schedule. Your blog is beautiful!
Thank you Cassie! OX