Search Results for: blog the case for following a traditional school schedule

Your Homeschool, Your Schedule

Most states require you homeschool a total of 900 hours per year. I am not aware of any state requiring those hours being used in a certain time frame. Please always be sure to check your state laws concerning homeschooling before following advice or directions from an article or person. If your state does not require hours of school to be used in a particular time frame either by hours or months of year, then please do not feel confined to follow the traditional school year or school hours. During my eight years of homeschooling my lifestyle has changed and … Continue reading →

My Homeschool Schedule

I am often asked how I schedule my homeschool day. When I mention all my children will be studying and how many books they read a year, many think my kids must have a very long school day. On average our school day is five hours long. Here is a skeleton outline of my school schedule so you can see how to incorporate a variety of subjects and plenty of books into one school year. My year is divided into two semesters which are then divided into two quarters per semester for a total of 28 weeks. Daily: copywork (15 … Continue reading →

Is Homeschooling Worth It–Just for Character?

I have said before that despite being a fairly conservative Christian, religion has nothing to do with our homeschool decision. We homeschool because we feel like sending out kids to public school would be educationally neglectful. (Ironic isn’t it?) But there is no doubt that the character traits they pick up from being at home make them some of the most polite children on the block. Although we have not homeschooled solely for the purpose of our children’s character, the outcome and influence is undeniable. I know that many would say that their children attend public school, and their child’s … Continue reading →

The Case for Schooling Year Round

On one of my other blogs the other day, someone asked how we approached schooling; whether or not we went year round or followed a school schedule. There are reasons for doing both schedules, but since my family schools year round, I thought I’d talk about the advantages of doing this first. Historically Speaking. . . Our current school calendar, with summers off, is reflective of our agrarian routes. It used to be that children were let off of school during the harvest season to stay home and help with the harvest. Often times, the only way teachers could convince … Continue reading →

Block Schedules

I teach at a high school that has a block schedule. When I tell people this, they often ask me exactly what that means. A block schedule is when the classes are taught in a longer block of time rather than a typical period. In most high schools, there are 6 or 7 periods a day ranging anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour each period. At my school, we have three periods a day each lasting two hours. We have A days and B days that rotate. For example, on A days students attend periods 1, 3, and 5. … Continue reading →