Now that you have a yearly and monthly structure, it is time to break your schedule down further by looking at those things you will plan to accomplish each week. Here are a few things to consider when creating a weekly schedule:
Basics First
Particularly during the lower grade levels, the basics are the most important. Learning to read is the foundation for studies in most other subject areas. Don’t overload your youngster’s schedule with “extras.” There will be plenty of time for those later. Besides, he will probably learn more science and history during your read-aloud time than he would using a prepared curriculum!
Extracurricular Last
Don’t fill your schedule with extracurricular activities. You will find it hard to accomplish the basics if you are running to and from events all week long. Rather, schedule the extracurricular activities on one or two days per week at most. Perhaps take Friday afternoons off to allow for field trips, support group events, and outside-the-home lessons.
Subject Days
Not all subjects need to be covered every day of the week. Some popular math texts assume a four-day-per-week math schedule. Many curricula suggest alternating science and history/geography during the week. Subjects such as art and music can be covered once per week.
Look over the materials you plan to use. Determine the number of lessons you plan to cover during the year. Divide the number of lessons you plan to cover by the number of weeks you plan to school during the year to determine the number of lessons you will need to cover each week. Then determine on which days you will cover each subject.
Coordinating Schedules
When scheduling for more than one child, it becomes crucial to coordinate their schedules. With a weekly viewpoint in mind, this means coordinating their history and science to occur on the same days so that it can be a family activity, for example. The same is true for physical education, music and art appreciation. This saves Mom an incredible amount of time.
If limited resources are involved, make sure to alternate the days each child will have access to those resources so not everyone is vying for their use at the same time. Be sure to coordinate all outside activity to occur at the same time.
“A peaceful and well-managed homeschool begins with a commitment to plan. You can’t invest too much time at this end of the spectrum. Long-range planning and weekly goal-setting will eliminate unnecessary day-to-day decision-making and give you confidence. It will also give your children direction….”
Debra Bell, The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling
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