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The Big List of Unit Study Hands-on (and Hands-off) Curriculum

March 29, 2017 | 6 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Switching from a strictly classical approach to a homeschool unit study curriculum wasn’t a quick decision, but it was the best choice for our family. Besides learning how to homeschool means making the best choice for your family

Homeschool unit studies allow us to work on a mastery-based level on topics that fascinated us instead of learning in small bites.

The Big List of Unit Study Hands-on (and Hands-off) Curriculum

Two things I quickly learned was that prepared homeschool unit study curriculum was not as readily available as curriculum for other homeschool approaches and that not all of my boys wanted to do hands-on activities.

Although there may not seem as many choices for curriculum using the unit study approach, there is still a variety.

Listing some of the ones I’ve used and which ones have more hands-on ideas, I’m hoping one or two here will help you to make the switch to unit studies easier, ease your planning time or just let somebody else take the teaching reins for a while.

Homeschool Unit Study curriculum

Also, where possible if there is a discount available, I’ll point that out because I like to save money too.

Beautiful Feet Books.

Beautiful Feet Books is based on history centered literature and I’ve used it for my boys at the middle and high school level.

Be sure to grab the coupon at my article Medieval History for Homeschool Middle School and read about using Beautiful Feet Books.

You can add hands-on ideas here, but it’s not required.

Before Five in a Row

Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row are literature based unit studies based on living books and I used them when the boys were young.

It’s one of my top choices for the younger years and lot of hands-on ideas are sprinkled throughout which I feel is a valuable component for younger grades.

BookShark.

BookShark is the secular version of Sonlight and I classify it as a unit study because of the literature based focused. I love their 4-day a week schedule and this is an all-in-one program or boxed curriculum because it comes with everything you need for a year.

I like BookShark because it allows me to add my own Christian view. Too, hands-on ideas are not required but I love the fact you can add your own activities.

GeoMatters.

Combining our love for geography, history, living books with a Charlotte Mason twist, makes GeoMatters a fun unit study. We loved doing their Trail Guide to Learning.

HomeschoolLegacy. 

This is an all-in-one unit study provider where the planning is laid out for you.

I’ve tried one of the history ones and enjoyed how easy it made lesson planning. And it has a nice balance of both laid out planning and hands-on ideas.

Home School In the Woods.

If you love history like we do and build a lot of your unit studies around it, then you’ll love the approach taken by Home School in the Woods which is through timelines, lapbooks and hands-on activities.

I love how many ideas are given for hands-on projects, but also a good amount of information is given for background information. If you’re looking for long-term hands-on projects, this is a great option.

In the Hands of a Child.

Then this is a lapbook approach to unit studies. The best part besides the fun lapbook is that they can span many ages.

Intellego Unit Studies.

I love these unit studies though they are light on hands-on ideas and are secular.

I’ve used several of these studies when I first started because I didn’t want to have to research all the information. I like them because the background information is well laid out.

Unit Study Curriculum

I normally end up adding my own Biblical content anyway and have ideas for hands-on.

There is very little hands-on required.

KONOS.

Yes, it’s true they are the absolute granddaddy of unit studies and I used them when I first got started. It is a very comprehensive unit study and you can buy just what you want or buy a laid out curriculum. They have more fun hands-on ideas than most other unit studies.

I love the amount of hands-on ideas for each age given, but again it’s not required because there is a sufficient amount of information given without having to do the hands-on activities.

Learning Adventures.

This is one I’ve been eyeballing and would love to try because it includes all my favorites. It’s for upper grades or 4th to 8th grade, it’s based on living books which I try to always use in our unit studies and our passion for history is what is at the center of the themes.

The Big List of Unit Study Hands-on (and Hands-off) Curriculum

I’ll let you know about the hands-on ideas after I use it, but wanted to be sure you knew about it.

Moving Beyond the Page.

This is a favorite when I need a literature based all-in-one unit study.

They have rigorous academics and when you need a more rounded out unit study, they are a great choice.

My Father’s World.

Incorporating classical education and hands-on, this is a very comprehensive unit study approach.

NaturExplorers.

My favorite curriculum for science always uses a living book approach and is hands-on which is why we love NaturExplorers.

From Beautiful Birds to the Fungus Among Us, you’ll find a title your kids will love.

There are a good amount of hands-on ideas which I love because science should be about doing and not just reading.

Nia Unit Studies.


Though a much smaller company, I love that the unit studies take a notebooking approach and are downloadable as e-books. This is a great choice if you want to get started quickly and inexpensively.

I’m hoping to see more titles, but I love mom-and-pop shops.

Homeschool Unit Studies

TRISMS

Having used TRISMS as well, I love the history approach to unit studies. However, it is very comprehensive because it adds in all other subjects.

I love the research aspect of it and there are several activity ideas to include for each theme.

This was challenging for my middle school boys when we started and I loved that aspect of it. I could make it as challenging as I wanted it to be for them.

Hands-on ideas are offered but don’t have to be done.

Weaver Unit Studies.


Weaver has been around for years too and gently covers multiple subjects with a Christian view. If you want to take a more gentle approach, add in more information and want more of a Christian view, then you’ll love this one.

WinterPromise.

This is another wonderful all-in-one program where the themes are based on history using a Charlotte Mason approach.

Also, I’ve rounded up some other curriculum help below.

  • Big Ol’ List of All-In-One Homeschool Curriculum (a.k.a Boxed)
  • 50 Free History Unit Studies –History Lover’s Round Up.

Whether you’re new to the unit study approach or if you’re like me and your needs change each year, I know you’ll like having this list at your fingertips.

Switching from a strictly classical approach to a unit study curriculum wasn’t a quick decision, but it was the best choice for our family. Homeschool unit studies allow us to work on a mastery-based level on topics that fascinated us instead of learning in small bites. Two things I quickly learned were that prepared homeschool unit study curriculum was not as readily available as curriculum for other homeschool approaches and that not all of my boys wanted to do hands-on activities. Grab this Big List of Homeschool Unit Studies to get some ideas!

6 CommentsFiled Under: Geography, Hands-On Activities, History Resources, Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Homeschool Simply, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschool, Other Unit Studies, Science Tagged With: curriculum, hands-on activities, handson, handsonhomeschooling, multiple children, unit studies

Foolproof Tips To Homeschool Friends Co-oping (And Staying Friends)

March 1, 2017 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Foolproof Tips to Homeschool Friends Co-oping (And Staying Friends). You want to stay friends when you decide to teach your kids together. Check out these tried and true tips @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I love getting your questions and this next question is a very common one because if we have a close friend, we have all thought about it at one time or another. Look at this question I recently got. I have been taking inspiration from your blog for years in my own homeschool journey and wondered if you could help me now with some advice. We would like to combine schooling our kids to see if it will benefit them. Do you have any suggestions of how the mother and I could teach subjects together? Look at these foolproof tips for getting along when you homeschool co-op with a friend and how to stay friends afterwards.

One/Communication.

I cannot stress communication enough beforehand.

Try to resist the knee jerk reaction to decide one week to co-op together and jump into starting the next week.

It’s easier to address potential pitfalls when you’re not in the heat of the moment when it comes to a disagreement. Try to avoid them by communicating well ahead of time. There are so many topics to discuss and it’s best done when everybody is still excited about the meet up.

For example, how will you handle interruptions?

Do you expect the kids to raise their hands? I know this because it happened to me.

When teaching with another mom, I had a more relaxed way of wanting my kids to address their questions while discussing a topic and didn’t want hand raising when I was teaching. I didn’t have 32 kids so I wanted a natural conversation.

However, my friend thought they should raise their hands. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a control freak and certainly wouldn’t let the interruptions get out of hand, but my friend didn’t know that. In other words, I wanted to bring my style of teaching to the co-op.

Another big issue to address is how to handle acting up by a child. I’m not just talking about young kids, but middle and high school kids have mood swings and believe me they can be way more stressing than a 5 year old.

So if you’re teaching with a friend who has kids similar to your children’s age this could be a good thing because she is experienced.

However, too that can make for some preconceived ideas.

Homeschool Comes and Goes, but Lifelong Friends Don’t

For example, with my kids I’ve always expected obedience regardless of their age. I always allowed room for hormones and mood swings because I want allowances for me when I feel bad. Balance is what I strive for and I won’t embarrass my kids or take away their dignity in public even if they deserve it. It just has not been a good parenting skill that ever worked.

So how is a perceived snippy remark going to be handled? For us, we decided that the parent of the child should address their child instead of the one teaching the group calling down the child. This is why it’s so important to decide carefully ahead of time whether you want to co-op with your friend.

As you can see I use the word perceived because a mom who is inexperienced with an older child may have a hard time finding the balance between hormones and flat out disrespect.

I know that two of my best friends Kelly and Cynthia had teens similar to my boys’ ages and would not be offended by some snippy remark. They have big shoulders and can graciously overlook it as I take my son aside and speak to whoever happens to be the offender at the time. I treat their kids with the same respect.

This doesn’t mean anything ugly will happen, it just means you want to be prepared for the ugly side of your child if it comes out.

In a way when you decide to co-op together it’s like co-parenting. You have to set some ground rules and then trust each other when something happens you haven’t discussed.

Two/ Grade level expectations.

Another thing that could negatively affect your fun is when you have two or more kids who are in the same grade level, but it seems like one child is ahead or behind in a subject. Ouch. That can be a sensitive situation to be in.

First, try to remember something very important so that you are not overly critical or judge harshly another homeschool family.

Remember that just because your child has mastered one concept you believe is grade level doesn’t mean he has mastered all of them. Each family approaches subjects differently and focuses on content that is important to their family.

For example, when my boys were young they were less informed about public school grade level geography and history, which most of the time is American geography and history.  I didn’t focus first on American geography and history; I focused first on ancient civilization.

When we met with another family, my kids were more informed about ancient civilization than the other homeschool family. But the other kids, which had been in public school had a more comprehensive foundation in American geography and history than my kids.

This was something I knew ahead and we had to discuss which subjects and topics we would cover and at what grade level. It took some time but we came up with a plan that would fit both families.

Three/Length of class, topics and curriculum.

Again, don’t assume you and your friend on are on the same page when you begin your co-op. Remember, you are bringing your style of how you teach your children and we have many different teaching styles in homeschool.

And just like when you manage a large homeschool co-op where you need an agenda or format for the day, a small co-op is no different. Communicating expectations avoids hard feelings and the best part is that all the kids make memories and benefit from another teaching style.

I highly suggest you format your day with a schedule so that everybody has the same expectations. I don’t mean plan every minute and hour, but do plan a flow to the day. What to expect each day should be part of your plan.

Our plan or flow was to start by 9:00 a.m. and study together for about an hour. We had a quick break while we set up for a hands-on activity. We did a hands-on project every time we met and we tried to get it done by lunch.

The afternoon was for play time because our co-op was just as much about our kids making friends as it was learning together. Later on, we would have a snack appropriate to our theme made ahead of time. For example, we studied history and our snack was some themed history food.

Believe me when I say time flies. You don’t need as much planned time as you think and we never covered as much as I thought we would. Working with a group, just like public school can slow you down. But you also gain many advantages when one child’s strengths can help another child’s weakness.

I need to talk about that for a minute because you may realize that though children are on the same grade level they vary widely in ability. I didn’t want my friend’s children to think I was cross-examining them so I chose to not teach the skill subjects.

If you are not sure what the skill subjects are versus content subjects look at my post Skill Subjects vs. Content Subjects: What’s the Difference?

Also, we decided that any type of writing where we wanted our kids to read aloud what they wrote was to be done privately and on our own time. Then the next school day when we met together we opened our lesson by having each child share their writing.

I preferred to work with my sons on skill subjects like the 3 Rs on our own time. I wanted our time to meet together to be about enrichment.

You have to decide if this will be a homeschool co-op or are you meeting to tutor your friend’s kids?

Unintentionally, a homeschool co-op can turn out where you’re tutoring another homeschool mom’s child.

That is okay, if you agree to exchange your skill set for her kids and she does the same for your kids.

But again, this goes back to the whole foundation for you getting together. Just be sure your purpose is clear.

How to Combine Collective Co-op Strengths and Not Highlight Slip-ups

4/ My tried and true teaching tips.

I have done a co-op with a friend and managed a really large co-op.  My tip is be clear what your expectations are. I didn’t need another mom tutoring my children. If I needed help as a teacher, I could ask another homeschool mom.

My purpose was absolutely clear that I was meeting for enrichment, socialization and for my kids to be sharpened by another homeschool mom’s style of teaching.

I knew I wanted a clearly defined scheduled in case the kids get bored and I knew I wanted to cover fun subjects like art, geography, history, cooking, photography, literature unit study or any other kind of unit study, crafts or any enriching subject.

I wanted a beginning and end to each class and to the time the co-op lasted. This was just in case it wasn’t a good fit for my family. If I agreed to 6 weeks, I did 6 weeks and then evaluated if it worked for us and I didn’t have to give any explanation if we decided to not do it again. We stayed friends.

Also, I wasn’t going to a co-op for another mom to teach my kids Latin, sight words or algebra. By the way, been there done that and it wasn’t that fun.

The skill subjects were ones I wanted to teach at home so I could be sure my kids were grasping important concepts.

This doesn’t mean though that you can’t incorporate skill subjects into your study. We studied the Vikings and added in a hands-on math project by learning how to measure a boat. This is something all the grades could do while not focused on one child’s weakness in a skill subject.

It’s just the way I roll.

Again, you may have another idea for how to run your co-op but I’ve learned that skill subjects can pit friends against friends when one family is ahead in one area and the other family is not.

Subjects that multiple ages can do together work best to keep homeschooling friends true friends long past the formal homeschooling years.

I hope these few tips help you as I could write a book on this subject but will stop with just this post.

Have you encountered any similar problems and what worked for you?

Also, grab some more tips from Homeschool Co-op: The 5 BIG Questions You Need to Ask (before you join), 10 Homeschool Co-op Subjects That Are Better Learned With a Group and Homeschool Co-ops Turned Private Schools.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

4 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Homeschool Simply, Teach Unit Studies Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschool lifestyle, homeschoolco-op, multiple children

Top 5 Tips for Homeschooling Parents

January 15, 2016 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Best Parenting Tips @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool PlusLet’s face it. Parenting is hard enough, but then you decide to homeschool. Knowing which hat to wear, the teacher hat or parent hat seems more like a juggling act than educating a child.

By the way, this blog hop is organized by The Jenny Evolution, where bloggers have connected to share their top parenting tips of the year. Be sure to click the image above to visit all the other articles shared on each blog.

Look at these top 5 tips for homeschooling parents that I rounded up from 2015 that I hope will help to smooth the homeschool path for you.

3 Wrong Ways to Homeschool a Hotheaded Child @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

My article, 3 Wrong Ways to Homeschool a Hotheaded Child really resonated with you. Avoid my same parenting mistake.

Here is my excerpt from my article that you need to scoot by and read:

When I started homeschooling my first son, Mr. Senior 2013, he was the perfect child to school or least I thought so.  Along came Mr. Awesome and I was humbled because all of the sudden I had a hotheaded and stubborn child on my hands or least I thought so.

Then this next article goes directly to the decision you have to make to homeschool your children as the homeschooling parent.

But the Little Dear Doesn't Want to Homeschool

You’d be surprised at how homeschooling parents feel with this article, But the Little Dear Doesn’t Want to Homeschool.

Fake It Til You Make It

Here is my excerpt from my article that you need to scoot by and read:

“In my workshop, I hear the statement often “but the little dear doesn’t want to homeschool”. Okay, maybe not quite like that, but you get the idea. And it’s not from just parents of preteens and teens, but from parents who have very young children, as young as 5 years old.”

What is the alarming truth behind who makes the decision to homeschool? It goes directly to parenting!

Treasure-the-Moments-of-Homeschooling-Testosterone-Armed-Teen-Boys.png

Then, I received a lot of emails and feedback about this next article, which is Treasure the Moments of Homeschooling Testosterone Armed Teen Boys.

It’s tough to  homeschool boys, who can think completely different than I do much less parent them.

Geography BundleThey learn differently, handle their emotions differently than girls and you have to be ready to teach and parent outside the box.

Real Life Parenting Tips

Here is my excerpt from my article that you need to scoot by and read:

“I don’t want to sound cliché, but I treasure the moments of homeschooling testosterone armed teen boys.  Thinking back when all the boys were real young, my sis came over to my house one day with her girls, which are about the same age as my boys to discuss how we could join forces to homeschool our kids together. 

When we looked up, my boys were outside in the yard with tree branches fighting and her girls were inside coloring pages, inside the lines no doubt.”

Patience, Confidence, Knowing all the Answers – NOT Required to Homeschool @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Then many things are required of us as homeschooling parents, but Patience, Confidence, Knowing ALL the Right Answers is NOT Required to Homeschool.

Here is my excerpt from my article that you need to scoot by and read:

“If somebody had told me that prior to starting homeschooling I needed patience, confidence and all the answers to every subject, I would not have plunged into homeschooling.”

3-homeschooling-myths-debunked.png

Then, this next post, 3 Homeschooling Myths Debunked, you loved because it goes directly to facing head on some of the critics of homeschooling because we do spend a lot of time together as a family.

“Taking time to debunk popular homeschooling myths helps to avoid mommy guilt.  Confronting head-on homeschooling myths that I have both encountered and that I hear from homeschoolers that I’ve helped through my New Bee program also deepens my dedication to homeschooling.  It gives me a chance to ponder, because I know there is always room for improvement in both my parenting and homeschooling skills.”

Also, don’t forget to go through our New Bee Homeschool Program for more great homeschooling parent tips!

New-Bee-Homeschooler-Program-Tinas-Dynamic-Homeschool-Plus.jpg

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Be sure to follow BOTH of my Pinterest Accounts to grab more homeschooling parenting tips!

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

 

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

2 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Homeschool Simply Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschool joy, homeschool joys, homeschool lifestyle, homeschool mistakes, homeschoolmultiplechildren, multiple children, teachingmultiplechildren

Homeschool Co-ops, Support Groups and Regional Groups. How Does It All Fit?

August 12, 2015 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

There is nothing more confusing when you are new to the homeschooling world than to hear veteran homeschoolers use strange and never before heard terms like homeschool co-ops, support groups and regional groups.

The focus can be so much on curriculum gathering that help for you can get lost.

Knowing which groups are which will help you to decide if one is right for you.

A Look Inside

If a focus of a support group could be narrowed down to a few words it would be socialization (yes we do believe in it as homeschoolers) for the kids and support for mom.

Groups serve a very defined purpose even if they don’t intentionally advertise their purpose.

If homeschool co-ops are more academic than fun, the emphasis is still on camaraderie.

That too is a concern for a lot of new and experienced homeschoolers alike. Will my child know how to socialize in a group? Will he receive cultural experiences that I believe will enhance his love of learning?

These are valid concerns and can be successfully met if you are actively involved in support groups.

Take a look at these definitions so you can understand how each one is used in the homeschooling world.

Regional Group – This is perhaps the biggest and largest of support groups. Just like it says, it is regional.

It could be county wide, most of the state or just a portion of the state or even country.

In some larger states, regional groups may host annual homeschool conventions. In some states where local groups are limited, a regional group may host Bible Bees, Spelling Bees as well as Graduation Ceremonies. There is normally a fee to be a member.

The emphasis for most regional groups is to focus on support for the whole family. Though they most host activities, unlike a local support group, their emphasis normally is on preserving homeschooling rights and giving you support through your whole journey.

Tip: Ask the Regional Group what is their mission. There usually is a Board of Directors and some method to their communication whether it’s email, private e-loop, online newsletter and yes even some groups still prefer snail mail of newsletters. Find out and get that communication.

If a group can define their mission and the way it seeks to accomplish that mission, then prospective new members can see if it is a fit for their family.

Homeschool Co-ops, Support Groups and Regional Groups How Does It All Fit @Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Support Group – This term is perhaps the most general.

A support group can be anything from a private e-loop on yahoo or google plus groups that plans field trips to a meeting at the park each week by a few families.

It can have fees or no fees. Some groups may want you to sign a statement of faith or may indicate that religion is not a factor in their membership.

Some support groups act more like a group that hosts field trips and part like a larger regional group. Again, support group is a very general term, but it too has a defined purpose.

So find out what it is.

Look at some of these general questions to ask any support group:

  • What is the age group preferred?

Some groups plan activities for young and old alike and the whole family is involved.

Some groups are formed specifically for tweens, others for highschoolers or preschoolers.

  • What is the group preference?

For example, is it for gifted children, a specific religion or just Christians or secular?

  • What are the activities hosted?

Some host field trips. Are the field trips set at regular schedules or just when the members plan them?

Examples: Are there activities to focus on a special skill like Lego building or character development or are the activities varied?

  • Do they have a board of directors?

This question you basically are asking here is how organized are you without being so blunt.

Let me explain here too before I go on.

Leaders or Board of Directors are not door mats and don’t get paid normally for their service.

They render these services to the homeschooling community for a love of people.

Most Leaders I know spend countless hours planning and hosting activities (all to the exclusion of spending time with their family on weekends or weeknights).

Some Board of Directors may have been lulled into inactivity. So be sure you see a schedule of events coming up or speak to them to see what is planned.

For example some Board of Directors may be slanted by only meeting the needs of one particular group of their members.

For example, are they meeting the needs of the new homeschoolers and not just the veterans?

Are they meeting the needs of the mom with preschoolers and not just highschoolers or vice versa? It is no easy task .

A group may not possibly be meeting all of these criteria as it takes man power or like most groups woman power to do that. That is fine. As long as they meet your needs, it may be a good fit for you.

One group may not be a fit now in your journey while it may in another couple of years.

Homeschool Co-ops, Support Groups and Regional Groups

Co-op.  A co-op is a class on ANY subject.

It is a group of families that get together for a purpose. Co-ops are as varied as support groups.

They can be informal and just for fun or serious and supervised more like private schools.

They can be on any topic and can form and dissolve each year based on the needs of the area and those that are willing to lead them.

They can be held once a week, once a month, or every day.

Look at some of these specific questions to ask a homeschool co-op group:

  • What is your focus?

The emphasis is on fun and socialization on the co-op I was lead.

We have so many members we feel they each prefer their own method of schooling or academics. So when we meet, we spend more time doing games, listening to speakers about certain topics, learning to square dance or even learning to draw.

Some groups are more academic focus and this can be a huge advantage to a mom that is overwhelmed or feeling unprepared on a subject.

For example, the co-op can meet for preparing for the SAT. It can meet to help homeschoolers with math. Too, for science you may dissect an animal.

  • What is the cost?
  • How long do they meet?
  • Do you want parents involved?

The co-op we lead is not a drop off service. We require parents to be involved. Some co-ops are more like private schools and parents are not required to be present.

You can navigate these groups better by defining what you want too from each group.

Remember there is not a limit on how many groups you can join.

Which groups will you belong to this year?

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Check out some more tips!
5 Days of a Homeschooling Co-op Convert

1 CommentFiled Under: Begin Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool, homeschoolco-op, homeschoolmultiplechildren, multiple children, new homeschool year, new homeschooler, newbeehomeschooler

Should You Switch to a 4-Day Homeschool Schedule?

May 27, 2015 | 17 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Switching to a 4-day homeschool schedule for a majority of my journey is not only one of the best homeschooling tips I can share, but it saved my sanity when many things about home and school collided. Addressing some of your concerns first and then sharing the numerous reasons why the advantages of homeschooling a 4-day week outweighed a 5 day schedule, I hope these tidbits will help you too.

One of the greatest factors for those hesitant to switch to a 4-day homeschool schedule has to do with the amount of weeks or hours needed to meet state requirements.

4-Day Homeschool Schedule

While it’s true that you need 45 weeks instead of 36 weeks, you can still homeschool a 4-day schedule if you stretched out your homeschool year.

It doesn’t even mean you have to school year round, though I am here to tell you flat out that the advantages of homeschooling year round blew away an abrupt stop and start each year.

Should You Switch to a 4-Day Homeschool Schedule?

Schooling year round doesn’t mean all work and no play, but that is another topic. You can check out How to Plan for & Homeschool Year Round here.

Also, be sure you look at my YouTube video How to Create a Homeschool Schedule You Can Stick to

.

The second concern I have seen is a mindset that unless we school 5 days we are not really schooling or that we could get behind.  Maybe this idea stems from the fact that we are pressured to conform to the schedule the workforce is keeping.

Clearing my mind of how I thought school was suppose to happen, I set out to do what was best for my family.I do want to mention too that the ages of your children makes a difference in shaping your viewpoint on adopting a homeschool schedule. Having homeschooled from the beginning when all of my kids were little and having no help with the housework gave me the power to move against the norm.

Balancing the weeks we needed to school with the needs of my family took priority.

Advantage of 4-day Homeschool Schedule

Look at some of the advantages of a 4-day homeschool schedule.

When I switched, I maintained more consistency.

Nothing sets back a homeschool year more or builds resistance quickly in a child then to constantly start and stop because you get behind on housework or are just worn out from the constant grind.

When we started a 4-day homeschool schedule, the days were more full and my weeks more consistent because I didn’t start my week depleted of physical energy.

The quality of my teaching went up.

If you are the kind of person that can proceed forward with the house somewhat messed up (I promise I tried hard to do this year after year), I am still learning to follow your relaxed manner.

This is something that can’t be ignored when you are homeschooling.

Either you are more relaxed about your surroundings not as tidy or you are not as forgiving about a messy atmosphere. There is no right or wrong on this because as moms we are wired differently. It is just what is right for your personality.

I realized right away that I could not function when I felt chaos existed in my home. The measuring point is if it hampers and paralyzes you from giving your children 100 percent for the day then it needs to be addressed.

When my mind was heavy with thinking about things I have to still do in the house, it did not make me the kind of teacher I wanted to be.

Instead of thinking it wasn’t important to have my mind relatively free of stress, I embraced my need to have things organized before I started my day.

I used Mondays for cleaning, to have a slower start to my week, to get some of my cooking done, and to look over my lesson plans for the week.

Your week ends or begins on a positive note each month and that triggers a sticking power to homeschooling.

Homeschooling Tuesday through Friday like I did for many, many years or homeschooling Monday through Thursday gave me more control over my time.

It propelled me through each year because I took time on the front end of the week to prepare for school. It ended up being a power booster to keep on homeschooling.

There was a plan for the unexpected.

Another surprising advantage was that I planned for the unexpected.

I find this ironic because I love to plan, but I never gave myself an option for the unexpected in my life.

If I was running a public school classroom this would make no difference, but I am not.

Being at home where life happens, I was more organized because I didn’t have every moment of my life planned.

Feelings of being behind and stressed out that we were not covering what we needed to started to fade.

The bottom line was I had wiggle room in my schedule each week.

Dad’s schedule and support is important.

Though a majority of the teaching was always done by me, it was important to me that when my husband’s scheduled changed that we could spend more time together.

For a good part of our homeschooling journey, he had a set work schedule.  But there were many times during the years that our business was slow and he took advantage of spending that time with us.

Having a 4-day week lesson plan always ready, it didn’t matter which day we took off.  We always had a day to spend with dad because our week did not have every day planned.

Dos and Don’ts of a 4-Day Homeschool Schedule

Look at some of these dos and don’ts when switching to a 4-day homeschool schedule.

Don’t cram 5 days into 4 days. 

Avoiding stress is my goal and so cramming 5 days of lessons into 4 days of school is not a doable plan to keep you homeschooling for years.

This may be good for one or two years if you need it, but it is a recipe for exhaustion if you implement it for many years.

Schooling year round made my 4-day homeschool schedule doable.

Just relax and plod along and remember that schooling year round doesn’t mean you can’t have off weeks or months. They are just spread out during the year so that the time off fits your family.

Do decide how to use the day off.

Deciding to switch to a 4-day homeschool schedule only works if you value the reason you are switching.

For me, because all the children were little and I had very little help with the housework and in running our business, I knew I needed a day at the beginning of the work week to unwind when the Mr. was back at work.

I wanted a slower start to the week and doing that gave me momentum for during the week.

Though I say it was a day off, it ended up turning into a day of relaxed housework and savoring my lesson planning time.

As the kids grew and got older, I had them cleaning the house after school.  We still kept a 4-day schedule but started taking off Fridays.

We used that day for field trips, shopping, swimming or just enjoying the slow days of summer or beautiful weather in fall.

Again, I find it amusing how life and homeschool has turned out now as I look back.

Though I say I followed a 4-day homeschool schedule, my kids still did many educational activities, though unplanned by me on our day off.

They ended up watching educational movies, doing a project, or even if it was just playing outside and in the dirt, they were still investigating, exploring and learning.

A lot of weeks, I counted our day off as homeschooling because of some of the projects the kids would find to do.

Do write our your schedule and study it.

I am a huge advocate of writing it all out because seeing where your homeschool year starts and ends keeps your goals clear in mind.

Too, you are not bothered with the hype of homeschool schedules because you have set a pace that works for your family.

Don’t worry that your stress free schedule seems effortless. Do you really need complicated homeschooling?

Homeschooling is complicated enough. There is no need to constantly question ourselves because we don’t have all the struggles everybody else is having.

Finding your groove to homeschooling can be not only fulfilling, but painless.

Managing your time means to make your time more meaningful while maintaining spontaneity.

A 4-day homeschool schedule was key to not only maintaining my house suitable for us to live in, but advancing to more rigorous academics.

Sitting down to begin our week, we were armed with a full day of activities, rested, and ready to learn!

What about you? Are you still struggling with a schedule that works for your family?

Should You Switch to a 4-Day Homeschool Schedule?

You also love these other tips:

  • Homeschool Day: 3 Smart Strategies to Fitting It All In
  • The Sticking Power of a Homeschool Schedule 
  • How To Create a Homeschool Schedule That You Can Stick To
  • 7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer

Hugs and love ya,

Should You Switch to a 4-day Homeschool Schedule @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

17 CommentsFiled Under: Schedule/Balance Home & School Tagged With: homeschool schedules, homeschoolmultiplechildren, multiple children, organizedhomeschool, schedules

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