Homeschooling young children can at first seem daunting. Thankfully, even though homeschooling can appear to be a lot of work, it hasn’t seemed like that much work to me. Maybe it’s because I like school, but another reason why is because we do a four-day homeschool schedule with only a small bit of work on Friday.
For me, doing a four-day homeschool schedule has been very helpful when homeschooling young children. Currently, our schedule, which by the way is always changing, currently looks like this:
| Monday | School in the morning | Co-op in the afternoon |
| Tuesday | School in the morning | Play, relax, and do chores in the afternoon |
| Wednesday | Grandma babysits | School in the afternoon. Church in the evening. |
| Thursday | School in the morning | Clean the house in the afternoon |
| Friday | One hour or so of school. Go somewhere fun/educational or see friends. | Play, relax, and do chores in the afternoon. Piano lessons at home. |
A four-day homeschool schedule is great for families homeschooling young children because…
The Younger Kids Need It
When my boys were little, I frequently took them to the zoo, the park, and the library. Now I stay home a lot due to homeschooling, but I still want my younger ones to have those same experiences. I reserve Fridays as our day do something different. Sometimes we go to a park or the library. Other times we invite friends over to play. Occasionally, we might do errands. Fridays are the day when I make sure I am ready the night before so that it isn’t a circus trying to get everyone ready.
We need routines and rhythms to our days because most people find them helpful. My kids do, but there’s also a need to just get out. Part of being a kid is having time to play at the park, running errands with mom, picking out books from the library, and seeing friends. My younger ones both nap in the morning and the afternoon. That certainly makes getting out more difficult, but having a shorter nap one day a week (actually two days because church also cuts a nap out) is at this point doable. Usually, the baby takes a longer nap in the afternoon when he’s extra tired.
My Older Kids Need It
What I like about going to parks in Phoenix is that they usually have better trees to climb. We have small trees in our backyard that we planted a few years ago. Our trees are not ready to be climbed. Taking a day off from school gives my boys the chance to climb and take risks. Also, a lot of our nature study observation sometimes happens at parks. We see birds we learned about, and we hunt for nests. More importantly, it gives my shy kids a chance to play one-on-one with another child or children.
I Need It
I think I like to go to the park more than my kids. It’s because I want to talk to another mom. Having a four-day schedule is beneficial for mom too, especially if she hasn’t seen anyone for a super long time. Since I am the one in charge of homeschooling my crew, I don’t want to burn out. I have seen homeschool moms who are burnt out – tired, crabby, hates the sight of a textbook, dreams of summer. Maybe that will be me someday, but I really would like to avoid it. Although, I could never find myself dreaming of summer in Phoenix.
A lot of emphasis on homeschooling is making sure the children are getting the proper education they need. That makes sense, and it’s right to focus on that. However, the mom needs to be considered too. When my kids are older, I will switch to a five-day week. For now, they are all young and need a lot of attention. That means I need time to rest from all the good work that I do.
Others Need It
Giving up a day of school benefits my family, but I also think it can benefit those with whom I get together. It benefits other moms because we can encourage one another. After spending time with another mom, I can usually find something I know they would like prayer for. Sometimes it’s awkward to ask How can I pray for you? It’s not a bad question. It’s a perfectly good question to ask another mom, but it can also come about naturally in the midst of a good conversation. I can learn how to better pray for a particular friend after spending time with her.
Speaking of praying for others, I have found it really helpful to write down peoples’ names. I have a list of my family, friends, and people from church. I pray for different people, or groups of people, each day. It helps me remember to pray for them. Have you ever told someone you would pray for them, but then you ummm…forgot? I have. My list keeps me from doing that.
Year-Round Schooling
I do year-round schooling, which is why I don’t have any problem with doing a four-day homeschool schedule. Sometimes we take a week off here and there, but for the most part, I don’t usually feel like I am dying for a break. I think that means this four-day homeschool schedule thing is working for me.
Final Thoughts
Initially, I decided to keep Friday mornings open because I wanted my kids to get out and play with friends, but I also really like that my conversations with other moms have been encouraging. What first started out as a desire to give myself rest from the daily work I do, ended up showing me that friendships for myself and for my kids are even more refreshing than simply relaxing. It takes work to build a friendship.
For related blog posts read Being a Good Friend When You’re a Busy and Starting a Playdate.
Carly from DesertHomeschoolDays
