Sample Homeschool Routine
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The first organizational tool is to establish a routine.  Determine when, where, and how learning experiences will take place in your home.  In the Heart Essentials section, we recommended a routine of three “meals” or story times a day.  We believe that this frequent exposure to quality stories will provide the constant nourishment required for a heart-based education.  Establishing a routine of three story periods a day is the first step. We encourage families to add variety to family story time by incorporating the five elements of a heart-based education.  (See Heart Essentials page for more information).   Along with these three story times, may we also suggest for your consideration the following ideas:
Advice for New Home Schoolers:  Here is a great article from TJEd!

http://www.tjed.org/2015/01/advice-homeschoolers/

Morning​

  • Children rise early (a reasonable time established by family needs).
  • Family members prepare for the day with personal hygiene needs, tidy up their beds and bedrooms, and join the family for breakfast.
  • Prepare, eat, and clean up a nutritious breakfast.
  • Morning devotional with prayer, religious stories and other elements of an enriched story time as described in the heart-based learning chapter.  If you are starting this routine with preschool children, remember their attention span is shorter.  Your morning devotional may be as simple as a short nursery rhyme, religious poem, or a children's song.  
 
This is a time of day when children are most awake.  Family may consider holding chore time to a minimum during the early morning hours on weekdays to allow children time to engage in learning activities while their minds are clear and refreshed. 
 
Mid-morning until noon:
  • Individual study time
  • For younger children this is free play time.  Parents may plan ahead by having toys and items for learning activities ready and available for the child’s exploration.
  • For older children who have begun a systematic approach to learning a specific topic, this time can be used to work on Language Arts, Math, Science or History.
  • Parents may choose a structured lesson about one of the “life skills” during this time.
  • Field trips and science experiments may be conducted during this time.  Many families will reserve two days a week for science activities and field trips and the other three days a week to study math, language arts, and history.

Afternoon

  • Lunch preparations may be delegated to different family members on different days of the week.
  • Mothers and older children can plan ahead and choose quick lunch menus that can be served on the weekdays to minimize prep time during the school day.
  • Story time:  This may happen immediately before, during, or after lunch.  A picnic in the park with a story can be a fun family outing over lunchtime.  Families may choose between stories of history, stories of nature, or other family favorites during this time.   We encourage an enriched story time that includes some of the five elements of a heart-based education.
 
Mid-afternoon 
  • Very young children may need to take a nap during this time
  • When children are old enough to create their own notebooks, this time can be used for journaling activities.  (My Family Journal, My Beautiful World Journal, Memory Gems, Literature Gems, Science and History textbooks)
  • Senior children should be allowed quiet time for in-depth study.
  • Families may designate a time for “school work” to be done for the day.

Evening

  • Family dinner hour is a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to discuss their experiences of the day and to explore specific topics together. 
  • Dinner preparation, serving, and clean-up duties may be delegated to family members to reduce the burden on the mother.
 
Bedtime Routine
  • Establish a time for the bedtime routine to begin.  The youngest child will have an influence on this timing as younger children may have an earlier bedtime than older children.
  • Establish an evening routine for personal hygiene and simple tasks to tidy up the home before bedtime.
  • Story time:  Encourage the whole family to participate in the family story hour that includes stories of faith, stories of history, stories of nature, or other family favorites.   Parents will find that spending 20-30 minutes  or more in family story time in the evening is a lot more pleasant than helping several different children with their “homework” that has been assigned by a multitude of teachers in the public school system.
 
This simple routine can be used on the weekdays and Saturday morning may be used as a time for family members to work together for more in-depth cleaning of the home.  Weekday cleaning activities can be limited to simple tasks to keep things tidy and orderly without interfering with other learning activities of the day.  From time to time, families may choose to schedule a full week to de-junk and participate in spring cleaning, fall clean-up, or other time-consuming tasks that are needed for home organization.  During these weeks, the school books can be put away, and the family works together on these bigger projects. ​