Our Super Simple Homeschool Routine

It’s October.  Two months into our homeschool year and we are finally, s-l-o-w-l-y settling into a simple homeschool routine over here.

It’s taken us a few months to get into a routine because I like flexibility.  We like field trips.  We like the freedom of not being bound by a schedule.  We like being able to spontaneously head to the park.  Or to get doughnuts.

BUT.  Being spontaneous makes it hard to create a routine or rhythm for schoolwork, because each day looks different.

I’ve decided to not stress over this.  Listen.  It’s fall. We love being outside.  Before we know it winter will be here, and we will have long, LONG stretches of time when we are stuck indoors.  We’ll have plenty of time to sit down and do all of the indoor things – science experiments, poetry teatime, games, handicrafts.  For now, we’re just rolling with the season and getting out of the house as much as we can before cold weather hits.

That being said, on the days that we’re hanging out at home, it is useful to have a little bit of a routine.  Having a simple routine gives us a good flow to the day and helps everyone know that there are just going to be some things that they can expect to have happen when we’re home.

So here it is: our super simple homeschool routine.

1. Breakfast
2. Math immediately after breakfast
3. Reading time or audio books around 1:00

That’s it.

This is the no frills routine for our days at home.

Now, don’t freak out – we usually do much more than this.  But I’m going to be honest – there are those days that simply accomplishing math and reading feels like a miracle.

Math has become my priority because Abby hates it.  If I let up on math, I get major attitudes and push back whenever we sit down to do it because she dreads it that much.  It’s so much easier (and peaceful) to just make it a given part of every day at home, so she KNOWS it will be happening first thing after breakfast.   When it’s an expected part of the day, it’s so much better to just get it done and over with and move on.   So that’s what we do.

Reading after lunch is becoming a great little addition to our days, as well.  I give them the option: they can either choose to lay in their beds and read (or just look at books in Riley’s case, since he’s not reading yet) or they can hang out in the living room and listen to an audio book. (You can read about some of our favorite audiobooks here.)

Here’s why this is working for us right now: the kids have a choice.  They get to choose either books or an audio book.  Is this a huge decision for them to make? Nope.  But the fact that they have a small say in what we’re doing makes it go over better.

In the past I’ve tried to incorporate quiet time into our days and it wasn’t a huge success.  I think this is a good compromise for now.  My hope is that they’ll both develop good reading habits, and this feels like a natural step in the right direction.

So we’re just rolling with this simple routine for the time being.  If we cover other subjects, awesome.  But just having this basic framework for our days is totally working for the time being.

What does your homeschool routine look like?