Homeschool Daily Schedule Change?

by Tahira
(Kansas)

If you have a slightly different schedule each day Monday-Friday but the same schedule over all each week would this be confusing for young children?

How do you prevent this from being confusing and still keep it interesting?

Hi Tahira. Thanks for the question.

I don't think this type of daily homeschool schedule should confuse a child too much. They usually cope very well with other, even more random events happening in their lives (relatives coming to stay, doctors appointments etc.) But I guess a lot depends upon the child. Some children like a lot more structure in their lives than others.

If you think your children are getting confused then why not make a calendar for them. Make a grid with 7 squares in a row (one for each day of the week) with the following week directly underneath - so that the days of the week line up in a column.

Color all the Mondays in one color, the Tuesdays in another and so on. Then each morning check the calendar with them and say "Oh, today is a blue day so we must be going to do x,y and z today. This is a very visual way of showing them the structure in their lives - and helps them to see the bigger picture.

Keeping your daily schedule interesting is a whole different question! Again, I would be led by your children.

Sometimes what we find boring, such as 'another worksheet' is still interesting and unusual to the child. If they are starting to resist, then it is probably time to alter things a little. You can experiment to see whether large or small changes work best for them. If you are reading them a history book, are they happy for you to change the book to something different? What if you switch in an educational video instead? Or a field trip? My daughter loves as much variety as possible, but my son less so. You will soon pick up on the signals they are giving you and know what they need.

Hope that helps.
best wishes, Julie.