How Long Does it Take to Homeschool
In short, not long. And definitely not as long as it would take if they were in public school. So let us not torture them with that expectation. I actually timed it today and real-life numbers were 45 minutes for my kindergartner and 1 1/2 hours for my 2nd grader. Now, these are subjects we have to tackle individually so for me it was 2 hours and 15 minutes of focused sit down, one on one time time with a child. I’ll break down what we do a little.
When I read books aloud to them, these times do not include when we play card/board games (educational and non-educational), watch documentaries, or just discussions from questions they have. I file all of these things under “Parenting”. We mustn’t forget or discount all of these things we do with our kids when they are learning by just doing life together. What did I include? Things that required them to sit down and focus.
My kindergartener and second grader both did the same things today :
- Handwriting
- Reading (Phonics Lesson)
- Math
- Geography (2nd grader only, workbook while she waited on me)
That’s it. Handwriting was done together and the others were separate. Of course, the 2nd graders work took a bit longer. Some days are longer and some days are shorter. Somedays we really get into a topic and stretch it and the homeschooling time is longer. The Numbers here are for subjects I consider mandatory, non-negotiable. You will find though, seeing your children learn, seeing that lightbulb turn on for them, and knowing you helped that happen, you will get lost in the learning with them. I don’t count in the “school time” things we all enjoy, things that take no effort because we desire to do them or unique things to us. Other intentional things I made sure were done today:
- Online spanish class (extracurricular)
- Read aloud a book to go along with our history
- Khan Academy (about 30 min)
When I first started I would school my 5-year-old while my 3-year-old napped. And realistically these times will increase each higher grade they graduate into. And we always try to get outside as much as possible. Thanks for coming by and don’t forget to check out our Instagram at Lilysandleis_littlefarmhouse to see what we are doing day to day.