Are you wondering how to create a multi grade homeschool schedule for your family but have no clue of where to start? Have you tried schedules in times past that didn’t work so well? Maybe you are just getting started, and/or only schooling a couple children but have a baby too and are wondering if it’s even possible to create a multi grade schedule that compensates for the baby or small children and truly works for your family this year? If you answered yes to any of these I think I might be able to help you!
In This Post
I’m going show you how I created our bigger, multi grade family schedules, but it’s really important that you realize something. This post is primarily to give you idea’s! Maybe you will find my exact method works great for you, but chances are you are going to need to adjust my method to make it fit your family’s unique needs. The purpose of this post truly is to help you in creating YOUR multi grade homeschool schedule-not necessarily to teach you to follow mine. Pretty much every aspect of my process is so adaptable, so keep that in mind as you are going through this post.
I’ve created a video to go with this post, because as I was writing I was having a hard time explaining some things. I realized there are some parts I just need to show you. The video and this post go together. You’ll want to read the post-not just watch the video! By the way, I have a new surprise product to make scheduling a breeze that is revealed in the video as well as a bonus surprise product to make your schedules beautiful!
Why Schedules?
A homeschool schedule can make or break your homeschool. Maybe you are one of those people that has given up on schedules thinking your family has too many unique dynamics to be able to follow one. Let me encourage you-if you think this it’s likely only because you haven’t found the RIGHT one!
A homeschool schedule can make or break your homeschool days.
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The problem with no schedule or too loose of a schedule is this too often results in incomplete work, goals not being set or met, no real direction and the smallest children leading the day (which always ends very messy and usually with tears, lol).
I know that for me, since I have so many kids and a baby too, if I don’t have a schedule to open and start my day with, then nothing gets done or else the right things don’t get done.
Another reason you want to have a schedule is for homeschool records. God forbid your homeschool is ever called into court, but it’s something that does happen from time to time in some states and it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Having some kind of schedule-even if it’s a simple list of your subjects on notebook paper to show-can serve as a scope and sequence to prove that you are providing a thought out and adequate education that includes the state required subjects. Even if you are using a complete curriculum that you purchased it’s still a good idea to at least have a schedule or a list of your daily subjects outlined for this purpose.
Another great reason for schedules is it can help YOU make sure you included everything into your homeschool year that needs to be covered. I recently heard of someone that had forgotten a whole subject area in their homeschool for quite some time-and although it wasn’t too big a deal because it was something they could make up for that is just never a fun thing to have to do! Who likes having to make up for lost time?
Lastly, have you ever bought a book that you really wanted to go through with your kids but didn’t end up going through it because it got lost on the shelf and you completely forgot about it? When you take just a little time to plan out a schedule this isn’t as likely to happen if you use my suggestions in this post!
If there’s one takeaway you get from this post, I hope it’s this; schedules don’t have to be complex, they can be very simple, but they are important.
But (and a huge but), on the other hand, too rigid or too detailed of a schedule can be impossible or discouraging to follow in real life, making you and the kids anxious, overwhelmed, unproductive and always feeling frazzled and behind.
Another problem is if your schedule is too complex and you are the only one that can decipher or (decode) it you’ll likely burn out. This is putting too much on you. A good working schedule should ideally be one your kids can learn to follow sometime in late elementary school, and one your husband could even pick a few topics from to teach if he chooses.
The Problem Multi Grade Families Face
If you are a bigger family you have a unique challenge when it comes to schedules though. Maybe in times past you followed the curriculum’s suggested schedule, or maybe you went online and downloaded someone else’s “perfect schedule” or template only to try it and find the schedule in the curriculum or the one you found was only for one child, and that each child needed a different one. Trying keep several kids following separate schedules makes a disaster of big family homeschool days!
When you have a big family you kind of need to create your own schedule, but creating a multi grade homeschool schedule isn’t an easy feat unless you know a few tricks!
Getting Started
As you begin the scheduling process it may seem a little bit overwhelming at first if you have never done it before. Even if you have created schedules in times past it can still be a little bit daunting depending on your unique family/school needs. Part of the reason for this is because the needs sometimes change from year to year, especially in the crossovers from elementary to middle school and again in middle school to high school.
There are some basic principles you will use every year though, no matter what level you are in. Before I cover them though I highly encourage you to read my post Discover 4 Tips For Homeschooling Kid’s In Multiple Grades AT THE SAME TIME along with this post.
Below I have broken down some of the initial steps in creating a homeschool schedule that works for you-some of these are discussed in more detail in the posts I mentioned above;
- The first step in creating a schedule is of course begin with prayer!
- Another helpful step is to try to get someone to watch your kids-unless you concentrate well with them around all the time. I’ve found the constant interruptions make it impossible for me to create a schedule that actually works!
- Thirdly, know what you want to cover for the year. You’ll want to look up state requirements as well as consider your requirements. You can also browse curriculum for inspiration. I love using a notebook and I jot down idea’s for a couple weeks in the planning phase! In my post 25 Tips For How To Plan A Homeschool Year, I have some information that helped me tremendously with this step.
- Secondly you need your curriculum. I’ve always found it’s easiest to have it all in hand- spread out in front of me (as opposed to on it’s way to me in the mail, lol). This is because I like to glance through it- see if they have a recommended plan and whether or not I want to go with their recommended plan or create my own. Of course many books we use don’t have a plan so I have to create one.
- In the above posts I emphasize the need to know how many weeks you intend to school for. This is important. In the video I explain how I figure this out. You’ll want to write this in your planner for each month because you’ll probably need to adjust it through the year.
- Once you have the materials and know the weeks you intend to school for you are ready to decide how to fit the materials into the weeks. I keep this very simple and divide the lessons or pages into the weeks so I know how much we need to do every week. Then I take it a step further and see how that equates over a five day school week. Knowing this helps keep us on track and finish on time.
Once you have these things in place you are ready to make a daily schedule! Please note, creating a daily schedule is the very last step of creating your yearly plan-not the first! You want to be sure you’ve completed the steps above and that you know how many pages per day you are going to need to do in the coming weeks.
Should You Make A Schedule Or A Checklist?
Next you will want to decide if you need a schedule with set times or more of a checklist-or as some people are calling it lately, a rhythm.
This right here is where many homeschool schedules go wrong and become a nightmare! I’ve found that a checklist works best for elementary grades, but I’ve also found the need for a schedule with at least a few set times becomes important during the middle school years.
Let me explain. Through the homeschool years and phases I’ve found that different times and levels call for different schedules. In my homeschool journey, I’ve had to use more of a homeschool daily checklist or rhythm vs a schedule with set times for the kids in elementary and middle school because my homeschooling journey has always included schooling with a baby or toddler around as well as teaching multiple grades. This is why a schedule with no set times has always worked better for us.
READ MY POST ON 10 ULTIMATE TIPS FOR HOW TO HOMESCHOOL WITH A BABY HERE
As I was planning this year, I found it to be the most challenging to plan and create a schedule for! You see, our family is currently on our 10th homeschool year with child #5 entering the school scene. This year we have a preschooler, 2 children in elementary grades, a middle schooler and high schooler (plus the baby).
I finally figured out that one of the reasons I was having such a hard time is partially because my older kid’s definitely needed a start time, but that I needed to keep it flexible with my younger children.
If this is similar to you then you are likely going to find that a schedule with set start and end times for every child is a sure recipe for failure and anxiety for everyone!
Many will find that by simply removing the start and end times from a current schedule that it works better for the family of younger children-especially if there’s also a kid under 2 in the homeschool!
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Starting sometime in middle school the need for a checklist does transition into needing at least some set times though. Once kids are in middle school and become stronger independent workers I’ve found it’s a good idea to create a start time for sure. I think that it’s also important and so helpful to mama and everyone else for kids to start learning to be on time sometime in middle school.
Another thing I’ve found for us is that instead of an end time for subjects, we either use a timer or else a designated number of pages they must do per day/week. It depends on the subject as to which we choose (English is a set number of pages, but art may be a specific amount of time).
Keep It Simple; Group Kids Together For Subjects
I guess if this post has fine print, this would be it; my biggest schedule trick is grouping kids that are close in age together for subjects-and picking curriculum that allows me to do this! I talk all about this in my post Discover 4 Tips For Homeschooling Kid’s In Multiple Grades AT THE SAME TIME.
My kids love it when I find subjects that I can group together and teach to all of them at the same time.
For example, lately we added the What Your Child Needs To Know books to our reading time together, READ MY REVIEW OF THEM HERE. These books go by grade level, so rather than each child doing books independently we all gather together and I or one of the older kids will read aloud from the younger child’s books as well as the older child’s books.
There are some area’s I’m unable to group, and the 9th grader is working on his own now, but by grouping as much as I can for the other kids it provides review for the older kids as well as intro for the younger, and everyone ends up learning more overall.
I want to say one thing about group time. A lot of people like to do their group time strictly in the morning. I’ve found for us that this can cause scheduling hiccups. I’ve found that even with group time, it is best to be flexible with it and fit in in whenever it works into the day. For example, if a child wakes particularly early and wants to get started with their independent school subjects they can.
So sometimes we hold off the group until that child is finished with what they are working on (we’ve even had group time in the evening before). Another example would be if everyone woke late, or if there’s sickness, or if the baby is teething, or there could be a million reasons. Sometimes it just works better for some kids to start doing math or an independent subject first-but the next day circumstances could change and maybe it does work out to do group time first! My point is, even though we have a schedule we are still flexible.
Groups Within The Group
In addition to the one main group, I also like to create little groups for the kids close in age. I group Pre-2nd, 3rd-7th with 8th as an add-on, and then 9th-12.
One of the reasons I combine preschool through 2nd grade on a schedule is because through the years I’ve always found that my children starting around 2 always want to be right there when I’m teaching preschool or kindergarten to their older sibling-especially in the morning hours. So since they grouped naturally with their older sibling it only made sense to combine as much teaching time as possible.
I love grouping the 3-8th grader’s for as many subjects as possible too because they learn more as a team and help each other along through lively discussion times.
Please note; just because I grouped a set of kids together for a subject in the schedule doesn’t always mean they have to participate in every lesson-sometimes if it’s not an age appropriate topic within the subject they can move on to another subject.
Putting The Pen To Paper; How To Create A Multi Grade Homeschool Schedule Layout
Through the years I’ve found two homeschool schedule layouts for bigger family’s that are similar and so simple. I got the idea for these methods from My Father’s World Curriculum. By the way, I love My Father’s World curriculum-especially their Exploring Countries and Cultures year! I encourage you to check them out if you are a big family and if homeschooling is becoming overwhelming to you and you want an open and go curriculum that truly meets most children’s learning style needs. You can read my unsponsored honest review of them HERE.
When I create a schedule, I like to create mine with columns for each day of the week, including Saturday (on the small group schedules) and Sunday (on the full group schedule) because there are so many times weekend activities are part of homeschooling. Sunday Bible studies are a great example. Weekend projects with daddy, like making a fence could fall under a couple subjects, including math.
This is where you want to really exercise the right to make a schedule that works for you and spread your subjects out however works best!
Below I’ve included printable and editable files (like in the picture below) of what I’m talking about. Feel free to download the files, edit as needed and use them!
As you can see from the files I group as much as I possibly can and that there are a couple different ways that I go about grouping.
One of the things I love about these schedule layouts is they make it so I can see everyone’s work for the groups in one place.
In the past I’ve always been able to use one schedule and just tack all grades other than 3rd -7th onto the bottom (see a sample in the files above).
This year I had to take it to a new level though. Although I don’t stick strictly to grades I found this year that each child had some special area’s they needed their own work in, plus our oldest entered 9th grade and needed an entirely new schedule of his own. In addition to that we have our youngest daughter that has entered the school scene.
So this meant that this year I found it necessary to create main group schedule, as well as separate ones for grades preschool-2, one for 3-8, and one for 9 -12 as you saw in the files.
Where To Keep The Schedule
Who would think that where you put your schedule could matter? For us, I discovered early on that it certainly did!
One of the problems we had with schedules early on was they would get lost all the time. Nothing starts a homeschool day off on the wrong foot like lost materials. In fact, nothing get’s me in a fowl mood faster then starting a homeschool day off with lost materials! To make sure that doesn’t happen I’ve developed multiple ways to keep it from happening!
1. In the Binders
To keep the schedules from being lost, once I have the templates filled in with the kids work, I print them off and put all their schedules in my master binder (that the kids never touch). I did this so they wouldn’t get lost and so I never have to look for the schedules!
I then printed more off and put their schedules in their binders for them. At the end of the school year I like to keep their schedules as part of their records anyways.
A wonderful advantage is that when the kids have a copy of their schedule they get to feel like they are in charge-which they LOVE.
It teaches them to be responsible and follow their schedules- and this makes it so you don’t have to be saying “okay, do this is next, now do this, now this, now this, now this” all day long.
It also helps keep them motivated because they can visually see the end of their school day on paper!
2. Make Them Outstanding-In More Ways Than One!
This year I found another great place and way to keep the schedules that is working splendidly for us but especially for the kids! I put the schedules in plastic sleeves and keep them on the table during school hours! At the end of the day they go on a clipboard and on the wall.
Then I took it a step further and made them beautiful! I created watercolor paintings to print them on, but don’t worry-you don’t have to do that because I made the paintings available in my Etsy shop for you in case you wanted to use them, FIND THEM HERE.
We’ve found it works so well to just leave them on the table during school hours.
3. Especially For Mama
In addition to this I found a little trick last year that works splendidly for me as the mama! I found that if I put the subjects in order on the chalkboard that it works wonderfully for helping me make sure they stay on track no matter what I’m busy doing.
Whether I’m helping a child with reading, making the kids lunch or snacks, nursing the baby or rocking him to sleep, having everything on the board means if I see a kid lollygagging all I have to do is glance at the board on the wall and know what is next to tell them to do. If they need further details they can look at their schedule in their binders.
4. For The Easily Overwhelmed (Like Me)
Sometimes, especially in the beginning of the school year the kids (and even I sometimes) have trouble following the schedule. Some kids find the sight of it a little overwhelming-even if it’s simple, especially when they are young.
So another method that I’ve found that works well for the kids or even myself who may be finding the sight of the schedule overwhelming and are having too much trouble following it (mainly at the beginning of the year) are Subject cards. You could make your own but you don’t have to because I made these available in my ETSY SHOP FOR YOU HERE. They are super affordable! Eventually I’ll be adding more.
Here’s how to use them;
Another thing about these cards-if creating a schedule is just too overwhelming to you because you have too many distractions, a new baby, or for whatever reason, then you could totally skip the whole schedule layout process and just use these all year!
You could also use these for a month or two to figure out the order it works best for you to do subjects in.
The best thing to remember about these (and even with the schedule) is that you do not have to do all the subjects (or cards) in a specific order though!
In the homeschool setting,
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subjects do not all have to be done in the same specific order every day. Sometimes-especially in the early years or when there are small children involved it’s best to simply do subjects where it works best through the course of the day.
In our experience, since we always have babies or toddlers around, I’ve found the surest way to make sure the schedule DOES NOT work is to feel like it has to be done in order. So one way I keep my schedule working for us is I remember that it doesn’t all have to be done in the order that is listed.
There are parts that we do when it works best during the day. For example if I’m feeding a baby or if the baby is about to go down to a nap I’ll have the kids do something they don’t need my help with and once the baby is asleep I snag the opportunity to teach a subject I know the kids need me for.
And this brings me to my next scheduling suggestion……
Keeping Things Interesting
Sometimes schedules don’t work for people because they get bored with them. I’m one of those people. There are some days where I’m in a super teachy and creative mood and I want to teach something that isn’t on the schedule. When this happens I generally go for it! Usually I’m able to fit it in with the schedule.
But quite honestly, I have a family of creatives and so with the exception of math and language arts (which my kids brains work best for in the morning hours), we love mixing up the order every now and then so as to keep things fun!
Of course, if you want subjects to be done in order you can do that though! If you are using the above Subject Cards you can put them on a ring and/or number them if you would like them to be done in a specific order.
Sticking To The Schedule
One thing to remember is that a schedule is to be a tool to help you reach your goals. It’s not set in concrete, and it should always be a blessing and a reference to keep things on track-not a task master and source of anxiety! I have to remind myself of this regularly!
Whenever I fill in a new schedule I always test it for a couple weeks at least to make sure it’s going to work. If it doesn’t then I change what needs to be changed.
Back Away From the Laminator Slowly….
Okay. We need to talk about lamination. To make sure my schedule remains a tool that truly helps us achieve our goals I like to keep it somewhat fluid. I’ve learned to never laminate them because I’m constantly evaluating, adding notes, crunching numbers to make sure we will be done in time-or else crunching numbers to see if we can do more than we are actually doing. I’m always making little marks on our our schedule with notes, be they reminders or things I’m taking out or putting in!
I usually update the schedule every couple months or “semester” as well.
I found that when I laminated them within a month or two the schedule was no good because there would be an adjustment that needed to be made! Since re-doing it meant was a multi step process and hassle (especially if I had a new baby) I found it just wouldn’t get done and just remained an annoyance. So that’s when I learned to keep it easily editable with a quick jot of the pen.
A Dash of Discipline
With that said I should say that there is a point where discipline comes into play. Even though you may find the perfect schedule for your family it will do no good if you don’t exercise enough discipline to look at it and follow through with the subjects (even if you are like us and not always doing them in order).
Outsiders
On this note I should mention distractions. In my experience the biggest schedule killer are distractions.
It’s one thing to adjust your schedule for inside distractions. It’s another to allow outside distractions to hijack your days. Personally, once I reached 6 kids I had to face the fact that although I cannot do much more than adjust to the inside distractions (like a teething baby and the 4 year old clogging the toilet or spilling the juice), I could do something about the outside distractions (phone calls, unexpected visits, ect…).
Unfortunately, after 7 extended family visits that occurred over the course of 9 months during our last homeschool year (of which took out over 2 months of our school year) I had to learn to be firm with outsiders. Once I decided the weeks we would be on and off school for the upcoming year I realized that with as many kids as I’m teaching this year that I was going to have to be more intentional with time off this year than ever before.
So I told the people that usually visit without asking that we would not be able to adjust our schedule so easily this year, and I let them know when we would be available for visits.
Some of them understood, some of them refused to. I had to rest in the fact that they are not responsible for our children’s education, and they are not the ones that have to put the work in to help the kids (and household) catch up (which at this point for me has become nearly impossible with so many children + a baby).
I’ve also found there are times where I’ve had to put an auto responder on my phone and simply turn the ringer down so that we could get through school days. I’ve let my friends and family know that text is always best for me. I think most mom’s of multiples including small children can relate to this!
I’ve come to the realization that the friends and family that love me and us will accept this phase of our lives, that if they want to see us they will ask us when it’s a good time for us (instead of always expecting us to change and adjust our schedule for them) and in the meantime just text, lol!
To Conclude
It can take a little work, planning, thought, and a few test runs when it comes to creating a schedule that works. I have always found that once I find a schedule that works for our family though, we become more motivated to follow it and eventually it becomes second nature! The best part is how productive it helps us to be, and it’s so nice when the school year ends and we have achieved the goals (or most of them)!
It usually takes a couple weeks to make a good schedule, a month to test it and adjust it, and then a couple weeks to get used to it (especially when you have a gaggle of kids), but eventually you’ll find you don’t even have to look at it very often as you become used to it and memorize it.
I hope this post has given you some helpful idea’s on how to create a multi grade homeschool schedule that truly works for your family this year! Be sure to check out my NEW HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE BACKGROUNDS that are available in my Etsy shop now and my Subject Cards!
Have you found some scheduling tips that you love, or do you have questions? Please leave a comment below if so!
If you’ve enjoyed this post check out my other homeschooling posts HERE!
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Keeping a schedule is so important and you really nailed it! Thank you for the tips and putting in the work for the rest of us!
I’ve always thanked God that I don’t have to worry about teaching more than one grade level. So far, thank God again, the twins are both on track to stay in the same grade.
It is an adjustment, and challenging but once they get started and on track with a good schedule it’s not bad!
I can just imagine how helpful this is to home schooling parents. I’ve always wondered how parents manage to teach multiple ages and grades at the same time.
Thank you! It’s a challenge at times but we definitely get used to it!
This has to be so helpful for so many people. I am intimidated by the idea of trying to keep three kids on schedule.
Oh friend, life is so much harder when they are not on one!
My mom homeschooled me and all four of my sisters and I remember her making schedules like these at the beginning of every school year.
It makes all the difference!
I bet this will help some homeschoolers out, sounds amazing
Thank you, Paula!
This is so helpful for homeschoolers! I just don’t have the patience for it but I know many people who homeschool.
Thank you, Amber! There are many day’s I don’t have the patience to homeschool either. It’s a big sacrifice. But I love my kids and I firmly believe that this is what is best for them. So I pray for patience. God never let’s me down when I do! The statement that He equips people when He’s called them to do something really is true!