Successful homeschool kids need just 4 days a week

One of the top questions I get asked is how many days per week do we homeschool and how long do we homeschool? Honestly, that answer will depend on each family but I promise the amount of time you spend homeschooling is less than you think it is. We homeschool just four days per week max and that’s with a “traditional” schooling method.

Now, both our boys are currently in first grade. Our youngest is six and our oldest is eight. Our oldest is on the spectrum so he’s actually a tad behind our youngest and that’s okay. Sometimes he’s just not in the mood to do school and that’s part of the reason we kept him home. That’s really one of the biggest perks of homeschooling after-all. On his off days he doesn’t need to be forced into attending school and trying to force math down his throat.

It doesn’t help him or us.

At their age, we spend just 90 minutes to two hours per day doing school. Nothing like the six hour school day public schools offer.

We try to get five subjects in each day. Our curriculum contains the following:

A Bible study

Math

Reading/ELA

Social Studies

Science

Be on the lookout for another post about our curriculum and how we decided upon it.

Honestly, before homeschooling, I would have thought fitting all that in was nuts in such a short time. I mean how else would we get it done in less than 8 hours per week?

I’ve mentioned in other posts, that our learning is covered 24/7 so while we cover those 5 subjects 4 days a week, we encourage our kids daily. We grab them books on drawing to nurture their love of art. My grandma mails them STEM kits and kits for different countries with activities. They love documentaries. They grab their tablets and play games like Homer, Khan Academy, PBS Kids, etc.

Homeschooling requires you to change your thinking.

Learning isn’t limited to a classroom anymore. Which is why the most successful kids get out of the classroom. Ours spend minimal time in the “traditional” learning setting we have set up for them.

They do spend a ton of time reading, talking to people they find interesting, problem solving, field trips, etc. Homeschool days are nothing like public school days. That’s the beauty of it.

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You have more freedom and flexibility to tailor the learning to fit the needs of your child.

If you’ve been concerned about how much time the homeschool days will take of your time, don’t be.

They will be rewarding days that will nurture independence, free-thinking, a love of learning, and creativity. I promise you love will your homeschool days.

You will love that you can learn something at the beach, while camping, while watching a movie, reading a book, etc. There is no limit on what you can achieve anymore. With the limits lifted on learning, my kids beg to learn. On the weekends if they have their tablets, I catch them playing educational games instead of something like Minecraft.

When you homeschool, the world becomes a classroom.

While we may spend just 4 days per week and less than 8 hours per week traditionally educating our successful kiddos, there is learning going on constantly.

I can’t say that your family will need this much time. Maybe it’s less. Maybe it’s more. It depends on your style and curriculum. I recommend taking the style quiz from HSLDA. They’ll help you figure out your learning style.

If you have older children, expect to spend more than 90 minutes per day teaching but at that age they should be able to do more self-teaching. Teens in high school should be able to take more responsibility for their learning letting you be more hands off.

I promise your homeschool days won’t be what you think they are. You get to make them whatever you want to be. You get to take time off. You get to add days if you want. You get to decide what is best for you and your child.

I’d love to hear in the comments how much time you spend homeschooling each day or how much time you anticipate each day.