The Easy Homeschool High School Schedule You Need

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Are you trying to pull together a schedule for your high school homeschool? 

A few years ago I had three high school students in the house and thought I’d share the easy homeschool high school schedule we developed after much sweat, blood, and tears.

It saved my sanity!

This homeschool high school schedule has four parts. The Friday before (when you prepare for the week), office hours, group time, and the following Friday, when you discuss the week’s history and literature studies.

Let’s just say, Fridays are packed!

The Friday Before

homeschool high school schedule tips

The Friday before is when you hand out all assignments for the upcoming week, and the schedule begins.

In my house, I posted the reading and writing assignments for history, English, and fine art on the kitchen door. The teens kept losing their reading assignment sheets, so I stopped giving each child their own sheet. Taping the sheets to the door solved the problem!

Hand your teenagers the papers they need to complete next week. These papers can include their notebooking pages, map work, questions for history or literature, and grammar sheets.

Have your high school students plan their week. In my house, I wandered around to make certain each teenager understands what is expected for each assignment and they actually did plan their assignments.

To be perfectly honest, I stood over my 6th grader as he planned. I carefully checked my 9th grader’s plans. I glanced over my 11th-grade son’s plan. I didn’t worry about my 12th-grade student.

By the end of Friday, you should have the next week planned. Tape the reading assignments to the kitchen wall (so teens don’t lose their assignment), and organize the papers to be completed.

Office Hours

Often high school students don’t need to meet with mom for 30 minutes every single day so you can explain their lessons in detail. They’re now able to read their math and science lessons, complete the practice problems or experiments, and move on to the lessons and tests independently.

However, teens do need you to be available to answer any questions that may arise.

So I decided to try office hours.

In the morning, between 9:30 and 11:30, I was available for any questions or issues they might have. The teens studied history and science while I read my Tapestry of Grace teacher’s notes, grade papers, enjoy a good book, and did anything that was easily interrupted.

The kids came to me whenever they had questions.

At the same time, the teens rotated through spending time with the preschoolers. The preschoolers got special time with their older siblings. The teens got a break. And misbehaving tots didn’t distract me!

Very handy when I was explaining algebra or chemistry to a frustrated high school student.

If you’re juggling a hundred and one different duties, add office hours to your schedule. You’ll find it simplifies your life!

Group & Quiet Time in a Homeschool high school Schedule

Once a day you should gather as a family. During this time you can study Shakespeare, art, music appreciation, grammar, and hymns. You’ll often find it referred to as morning time. But that doesn’t mean you have to meet in the morning!

I chose lunchtime that year.

While the children were eating, I read aloud to them. The preschoolers loved listening to a read-aloud as much as their older siblings did. All the kids enjoyed using chalk pastels, listening to music, and reciting poetry.

Group time turned out to be a relaxing and enjoyable time of our day.

Although the teenagers considered themselves to be comedians. A running theme of jokes and laughter made our group time just a touch longer than needed.

Group time was followed by quiet time. The younger children rested and enjoyed quiet activities in their rooms while the teens had two hours for concentrated study. This gave the teens a chance to curl up and read literature in peace and quiet. To wander off and read history under a tree. Or simply to finish off that last math problem.

I considered myself off-limits during quiet time with two hours of uninterrupted time to work.

Friday Discussions and Wrap-up

Fridays were for discussions, handing in assignments, and wrapping up the week.

We skipped the read-aloud during lunch. Instead, we held our weekly discussion for history, literature, and fine art.

First, my family covered the middle school history discussion which included a quick review of the history covered during the week. The high school discussion usually began, “Quickly review the middle school discussion…” so I insisted the high school students join or listen to the discussion I held with my 6th grader. Why do it twice?

The younger kids headed off for a quiet time after the discussion. The high school teens and I stayed at the kitchen table to discuss history and literature. This took a while, especially with comedians.

All assignments were due at this time. The kids handed me writing assignments for correction. Science tests were taken. History and literature quizzes were completed. In short, I wanted all completed work in my hands before the weekend began.

I handed out next week’s assignments after we wrapped up the previous week. And we’re back to the Friday planning session you read about at the beginning of this post.

The best two changes I made that year were to add group time and office hours.

The group time ensured that we covered the little things that are easily forgotten during a busy week.

Office hours allowed me to be available if the teens need help without the teens feeling like I was breathing down their necks or treating them like preschoolers.

This high school homeschool schedule allowed me to teach 3 high school students and a middle school student while chasing two preschoolers around the house!

Give it a try in your home to discover how it’s the easy homeschool high school schedule you need!


26 Comments

  1. We are homeschooling high school and it’s an adventure. We don’t get quiet time together but the kids take them in the morning when they wake up. Now I do have one-on-one discussion time on subjects that my kids are interested in. That has been working really well for us.

    1. Our quiet time is more a result of having preschoolers in the house than the high school teens needing down time. It’s time for them to study in peace and quiet while the little ones rest. I imagine when my youngest two are in high school, quiet time will be a thing of the past. πŸ™‚

      Isn’t one-on-one discussion time a blast? I love listening to my teenagers chat about their topics of interest!

  2. Thank you for sharing your schedule, Sara. I’m just beginning to teach my daughter (5th grade) to use a checklist and it’s helpful to see how I can slowly transition her to more independence each year.

  3. I enjoyed reading this and just thinking about the steps and things I need to do this year and next to prepare my son for high school.

  4. I also enjoyed reading this. I love the group time over lunch, though it never worked for me as I would fall asleep while reading aloud!! LOL. I also love the way you prep your week on Friday – that is an idea I will look at closely. My two are year 9 and year 12 – they are also completely independent, though need me every so often. I like your office hours too! Lots here that made me think – things that could make our study days a little more streamlined. Thanks.

  5. This is so very organized and orderly. How was the transition to more independent learning? Right now (I have a 5th grader and 1st grader and toddler) and I am very involved in their learning. I give them each lessons for each subject, and then they work independently (although my first grader doesn’t read well so I have to lead her through lessons).

    I’m not sure how I feel about complete independence (them reading the book and working alone). I’m wondering how you did it in earlier grades.

    Thanks so much for linking up with us at the #homeschoollinkup!

    1. The transition was very gradual. We started homeschooling with the children at the table while I walked around it supervising and helping. All of my K-2nd graders need me hovering over them. Eventually we transitioned to my sitting down with each child for 30 minutes or so a day. During this time we discussed, ran through lessons, and graded tests. They worked independently outside of our 30 minutes of tutoring time.

      It’s only now, in high school, that they don’t need the daily hands-on attention they did in the earlier years. πŸ™‚

  6. Oh my goodness, I can’t imagine what it would be like to homeschool a highschool student. I’ve pinned this for future reference… really, way down the road future reference!

    Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).

    Wishing you a lovely weekend.
    xoxo

  7. High school sounds so different than preschool/early el. =) My son has an incredibly difficult time staying on task even when I’m sitting right next to him πŸ˜‰ Hopefully his discipline will increase over the years and he will be ready for that independence you speak of in high school! hehe

  8. Great advice! We have two high schoolers this year, along with three youngers. 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 also have the chore charts so I can check off their chores as they get done.

  9. I have one high schooler, 9th grade, but he’s only just turned 13. Then I have three girls in 4th/3rd grade, of varying ages; 10,8,7. (The 7yo is highly gifted, and advanced). Then a just 5yo who is about to start 1st grade.

    I’m all over the board, and feeling very torn. Like being drawn and quartered. The girls are not yet fully independent. In fact the 7yo, even though she is in third grade and loves school, often needs attention. Same with the 8yo.

    My 9th grader isn’t mature enough to be completely self-accountable… I am drowning in paperwork, questions, hand holding and phonics. I use Tapestry, but can’t seem to get it to actually unify the homeschooling. I can’t keep up with all the grading, most of the stuff doesn’t get graded. πŸ™ I’m rather praying that the Lord will make it all turn out alright in the end, because I’m pretty sure I am making a mess of the whole thing.

    You sound relaxed. I want to be relaxed too… Have any thoughts that might help me out?

    Thanks!

    1. Mrs.Momof7, homeschooling a bunch of kids at such different stages is difficult. I have a couple of suggestions.
      1. Can you combine your 10, 8, and 7 year olds for language arts and/or math? For instance run through Rod & Staff English 3 or First Language Lessons 3/4 as a group?
      2. I sit down for 30 minutes with each child. We run through subjects such as phonics, math, writing, grammar, and spelling. We also touch base on other subjects as needed. I’d even sit down with your 9th grader. Daily accountability is great for early teenagers. πŸ™‚
      3. Have you considered a 4-day week? This will give you one day for catch-up, extra projects, field trips, and discussions.
      4. Think about letting your three girls work through the lower grammar or upper grammar books on their own and do the Lapbook. My 4th child (in 4th and 5th grade) spent the week reading his TOG history and literature. On Fridays we sat down together, discussed the literature worksheet and completed the lapbook together. You could do something similar with your 3/4 grade daughters.
      5. Another option would be to begin a morning time together. Read the lower grammar selections aloud to your daughters while alternating with science. You can add poetry, art, and read-alouds to this time. That would be more than enough history and science for your younger children, although you can encourage your daughters to read from the upper grammar books on their own. You could also do the lapbooks during morning time as well. πŸ™‚ The sit down with either groups or children individually to cover the core skills.
      6. Teenagers change dramatically between 13 and 18, almost as much as babies change from newborn to 6. I’ve found my 13 and 14 year olds are more child than adult. By the time you’re dealing with juniors and seniors, you’re dealing with teenagers who are more adult than child. I’d sit down with your son daily for 30 minutes to answer questions and give accountability to his day.
      7. For paperwork, can you set up a spot for kids to turn in work? This can simply be a corner of the desk, or have them turn in the work during your sit-down period with the child and grade it on the spot. I then keep a color-coded portfolio for each child. This is a large 3-ring binder with subject dividers. Any work I want to keep (essays, reports, tests, experiments, artwork, pictures of projects) goes into this binder. At the end of the year you can go through the binder and calculate grades for your high school teen. πŸ™‚

      I hope some of these suggestions help. πŸ™‚

  10. i am a high school student doing homeschooling and i am finding it extremely hard to keep my self focused and study i have tried timetables but they just not practical enough for me so say my parents and its been hard coping as im doing my final year and i only started this year. i get distracted easily and start drawing and sketching. could you please have any tips on how to make a timetable for myself or even how to cope. my parents are not interested in it so family involvement for me is not an option. i really want this to work for myself and i have no other option as it is the middle of the year.
    Kind Regards.

    1. First set school hours for yourself, such as from 9am to 3pm. Next list all the subjects you’re working through. This may be math, history, science, English, and German.

      When you sit down to work, set a buzzer for 20 or 25 minutes. During this time concentrate the subject you’re studying. When the buzzer goes off, take a 5 minute break before setting the buzzer for another study period. Every two hours take a 15 minute break.

      At 3pm stop working for the day. The next day begin where you left off.

      I hope this helps, Sanchita!

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