Here are 3 ways to schedule a school year in homeschool high school.
3 Ways to Schedule a School Year in Homeschool High School
There’s not ONE right way to schedule your homeschool high school year. That’s the beauty of homeschooling! We can create the schedule that meets our family’s needs. Here is a look at 3 kinds of schedules for high school:
2-Semester Schedule
The traditional 2-semester schedule breaks the school year into halves. If your family prefers a 36-week school year, then you will break the year into 2 18-week semesters with summers off. (My family has always preferred a 30-week year with 2 15-week semesters, then several weeks at the end of the year to tie up loose ends or go on a great field trip.)
- As you schedule out the year from there, start by placing on your planner as *adapted-school* days (reading books/audiobooks, and other creative education):
- Family trips or visitors that will happen during the school year
- Holidays (especially the Christmas season). Here’s a post on creative credits during the Christmas season.
- Major events that you know about (weddings, birthdays, surgeries)
- Then note on the planner your teens’ co-op or group classes, college courses and other commitments.
- Decide which 1-semester courses will occur in the fall, which will occur in the winter/spring
- Then, using textbooks or other course materials, decide now many days/week each subject needs to be covered:
- Writing projects are often 4 days/week (although teens often need 5days/week when working on research papers). 4-day writing week works well for us; that’s why 7Sisters writing curriculum is broken into 4-day/week lessons.
- Reading/Literature is usually 5 days/week. Our teens have enjoyed 7Sisters Full-Year Literature Guides like British Literature, Great Christian Writers, American Literature and World Literature.
- Math is often 4 or 5 days/week
- Science is often 4 or 5 days/week
- Social Studies courses are often 4/5 days/week
- World Languages are best done in small chunks 4/5 days/week
- Electives, Fine Arts and Phys Ed vary according to the course. Psychology is a favorite elective of many families. It is a 1-semester course.
Block Scheduling
Some families like to work on 1 or 2 courses at a time, using a 5, 7, 10 or 12 week format. Here is a post that goes into detail about block scheduling.
Year-Round Homeschooling
Some families schedule homeschooling all through the year. They adjust curriculum to fit different schedules, such as:
- 3 days/week coursework with 2 days for extracurriculars, service and field trips
- 5 day/week coursework with 1 week off per quarter for holidays, travel and events
- For lots of ideas for year-round homeschooling, check our buddy, Misty’s site.
When you give yourself permission to schedule they best way for your family, everyone has a better year.
