Looking for a functional daily homeschooling schedule? Look no further! Today I’m sharing our basic daily routine with you!
While each day can bring on a chaos of its own, we do have a basic routine that we try to stick to. Obviously things don’t always run smoothly around here, and some days are crazier than others. But I like to at least have a basic guideline to get me through the day. Hopefully it will help you out as well.
- Download the BLANK Printable Homeschool Schedule here
- Download the PRE-FILLED Printable Homeschool Schedule here
Did you know I have FREE HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULES for each grade too?
- Kindergarten Daily Schedule
- 1st Grade Daily Schedule
- 2nd Grade Daily Schedule
- 3rd Grade Daily Schedule
- 4th Grade Daily Schedule
- 5th Grade Daily Schedule
- 6th Grade Daily Schedule
- 7th Grade Daily Schedule
- 8th Grade Daily Schedule
- 9th Grade Daily Schedule
- 10th Grade Daily Schedule
- 11th Grade Daily Schedule
- 12th Grade Daily Schedule Coming Soon!
Help by Grade Level
Stop by my “Help by Grade Level” page for more information on your specific grade!
Here is our schedule in a little more detail….basically…provided nothing unexpected happens…like life.
- 8:00 am – Devotion/shower/get dressed
- 8:30 am – Breakfast & Kitchen clean up
- 9:00 am – SCHOOL STARTS! We usually break for lunch around noon-ish, then finish our group studies like history, geography, art, etc. after lunch.
- 2:00-3:00 pm – SCHOOL ENDS! (Well you know, technically it ends…realistically my kids are subject to my constant pop quizzes all day long.) At the end of each day I re-fill workboxes while the kiddos clean up their areas and make sure the school room is all nice and pretty like it was when we started.
- 3:30 pm – Chore time: Everyone does what they can from their chore chart assignments or whatever I ask them to do. We all take turns doing daily chores like folding laundry, emptying the dishwasher, taking out trash, etc.
- 4:00 pm – I usually work a little bit, check email, blog, etc. The kids get some free time.
- 4:30-6:30 pm – Dinner Prep, Eat, and kitchen clean up. Some nights we have sports and extra-curricular activities, so we work our dinner around those.
- 6:00pm – Dad enters & asks “So, what did you do all day?” I say “Not much, just lounged around and ate bon-bons.” Dad quizzes kids to make sure I’m kidding.
- 7:00 pm – I usually try to exercise or go on a walk during the calm between dinner and bedtime. I find that it helps my mental state tremendously to get out and get some fresh air! When it’s too cold, I hit our elliptical trainer, however I usually get bored on that, so I prefer outside I whenever I can.
- 8:00 pm – 10 Minute Tidy & Bed Time! – This is where I set a timer and everyone runs around like maniacs cleaning up anything can they find so mom doesn’t blow a gasket at the mess we’ve created in just one day. Oh, and since our laundry room is upstairs now, I toss in a load of laundry, then swap it to the dryer when ready. Then yes, I let it sit overnight until we do chores the following day. Crazy I know, but that’s just how we’re rolling this year. A little bit wrinkly
- 8:15 pm – Bedtime Prep (Clean up rooms, put away laundry, take baths, brush teeth) Yes, our older kids go to bed around this time as well. They usually read, take showers etc. If they have any homework to do, this is the time to get that done too!
- 9:00 pm: Free time for mom and dad….sit down for first time today and sigh…blog…make cool printables to share…check emails etc. and praise God we made it through another homeschool day without burning down the house!
Hopefully after seeing our daily schedule you’ll be gracious with me. If you’ve emailed me during the day, you probably won’t hear back until the evening! Please be patient with me, I really do try to get back to everyone by the end of the day, but there are a lot of you and one of me ;o)
Some of the tools I use to help keep me organized:
- Chore Chart
- Monthly Meal Plans
- Homeschool Tracker
- 10 Days of Homeschooling Enrichment (A 10 day series of how I get started, pick curriculum, and get organized!)
More Resources
If you are new to my website, I offer a ton of free resources, help by grade level, and tips on how to get started homeschooling. I also have a very helpful Homeschooling 101 book and several eCourses on homeschooling. I also have a store where my book and many other useful resources can be found.
Hi Erica,
I just wanted to say that I love reading your blog. Next year will be our 4th year homeschooling. I’ll have one starting high school, one in middle and one in elementary. I feel confident I can manage and do well. I was looking for a new schedule. This year life was upside down. I was diagnosed with cancer last summer and have taken treatments the whole year, just finished. I had to rest so much that our kids were on their own a lot. I’m ready to take control of the wheel again. I like your schedule. It is similar to the one we used before I got sick. I wrote up a similar one for next year. I have the curricula ready, so I’m excited about a new me and a new year, a fresh beginning. I like that you do most of your chores in the evening. I’ve always had chores first thing in the morning, but it’s not working to well, so I’m going to try changing it up. Thanks again for sharing what works for you.
Blessings!
Was looking at your schedule as a guideline for day. Wondering if you are keeping this same schedule from last for this year. So glad to see that I can get all the subjects in that I need too from 8:30-2:30, relatively speaking. See this really helps me gauge my time and how much time I am spending on each subject. I don’t want to go too fast or too slow. Thanks again.
Do you have a template of your family schedule? I would love to make my own!
Thanks a lot for your blog , iI need to start with my daughter and I don’t know from where to start.
Please if you can help me.
Thank you for this wonderful resource and sharing your ideas with us! Just wondering if you set a homeschool budget? I know every family is different and using different sources and styles – but what is a good general idea on operation cost — mostly for the daily and ongoing cost *(paper, binders,supplies, toner etc.) not really books or curriculum. I want to begin to add similar things and more visuals but don’t want to run into problems trying to maintain it. Do you generally set a limit at the beginning of the school year for this. Also, any tips on how to not feel overwhelmed? I always feel there are so many choices and I want to do so much but don’t get to it. Thank s so much.
At the risk of sounding ignorant, I have to ask. When do you schedule in errands and doctors appointments etc?
Hi,
It’s not a dumb question! We schedule doctors appt.’s in the afternoons after school usually. As far as errands, we also run those together after school. So yes, that means I’m carting four kiddos with me to run errands. If it’s something I really don’t want to take them to, I’ll go when my husband gets home from work, on a weekend, or I’ll see if a friend or neighbor can help watch them for an hour or so. My mom also comes up and helps some days, so if I know she’s coming then I’ll schedule a hair or doctor appointment and other things like that for me.
Where do you get the PDF to create your schedule? I would certainly like to create one like yours, that you can add color and everything. Looks so nice and neat. Is it through the Adobe?
This is great! My schedule looks very similar, but we use the Love My Schedule system. It’s a magnetic wet erase schedule that I keep on the fridge. That way I don’t have to print out a new schedule when I want to change it. I also have the chore charts so I can check off their chores as they get done. Their website is LoveMySchedule.com if anyone wants to check it out 🙂
What if your a single mother of 4, 1 graduated this last year, 1 potentially this year, 1 sophomore , these 2 are homeschooled, and a freshman that attends the public high school? Do i include the youngest in my schedule with the other 2?
I’m not sure I understand your question. It sounds like you’re homeschooling a sophomore and one other student. And your youngest is attending public high school. So I’m not sure how you would include your youngest if they’ll be in public school.
All great advice! Our family uses the Love My Schedule system. It’s a magnetic wet erase schedule that I keep on the fridge. That way I don’t have to print out a new schedule when I want to change it. I do 10 minute tidy! I also have the chore charts so each kid can have ideas on what area to pick-up. Their website is LoveMySchedule.com if anyone wants to check it out.