What Does a Good Homeschool Week Actually Look Like?

One of the strange things about starting homeschooling is that suddenly nobody is telling you what a school day should look like.

There is no bell at 9 o'clock. Nobody says maths must last exactly an hour. You don't have to stop science because it is 11.15 and the timetable says it is time for English.

That freedom is wonderful. It can also be slightly terrifying, so what should a good homeschool week actually look like?

A good week needs some structure

At Orchard, we don't believe homeschooling should mean bringing school into the home, but that doesn't mean we don't believe in structure.

Children need to know that learning is part of their week. Parents need to know what needs to be covered. And everyone benefits from having some idea of what is happening next.

That is why Orchard families have a weekly plan: this gives the week a backbone.

There is work to complete, things to read, ideas to explore and sometimes something to make, cook, investigate or go and discover.

The plan should help your family manage learning. Your family shouldn't spend the week trying to serve the plan.

Not every day needs to look the same

There will probably be days when your child spends time at the kitchen table. Maths needs doing. Writing needs practising. Sometimes there is simply work that requires concentration, a pencil and a reasonably quiet place to sit. That's part of homeschooling too. But Tuesday might include a library visit. Wednesday's science might send you into the garden. Thursday might involve researching something online and going swimming. Friday could include cooking, making, drawing, listening to music or going somewhere connected with what you have been learning.

And sometimes something unexpected will take over.

• A question about history turns into an hour looking through old photographs with Grandma.

• A maths question about money leads to comparing prices in the supermarket.

• You go outside to look at one plant for science and discover something far more interesting underneath the flowerpot.

  
  

That isn't getting distracted from education. That is education.

Some things should happen regularly

Freedom, however, doesn't mean that everything becomes optional. Children need to read regularly. They need opportunities to write. They need to use maths often enough for skills to develop rather than disappear between lessons. They need a broad education that helps them understand people, places, science, technology, creativity, health and the world around them. And they need to revisit things. Learning something once on a Tuesday afternoon doesn't necessarily mean we know it forever. A good homeschool week keeps those important foundations moving while still leaving room for curiosity.

You don't have to finish everything in one sitting

This is one of the great advantages of learning at home. If your child is struggling with something, you can stop. Have a drink. Go outside. Come back to it later.

Equally, if they understand something quickly, you don't have to invent another 35 minutes of work to fill the lesson. They can move on. If something has genuinely captured their interest, there is often time to carry on with it.

A timetable can be useful. The clock doesn't have to be in charge. Our plan hleps you stay on track over the week.

A good week should contain some independence

This will look very different at different ages.

• A younger child may only manage a small task without you.

• An older learner should gradually be able to read instructions, collect what they need, complete work, find information and recognise when they genuinely need help.

That doesn't happen overnight. We build it.

There is a big difference between leaving a child to cope alone and giving them the opportunity to discover: “Actually, I can do this myself.”

A good homeschool week should contain opportunities for that to happen.

It should also leave the house

Homeschooling doesn't mean staying at home.

• Use the library.

• Go to the park.

• Visit museums and galleries when you can.

• Walk somewhere.

• Go swimming.

• Join a club.

• Look around the supermarket.

• Use public transport.

• Visit somewhere connected with the history or geography you are studying.

Children are learning how the world works. Sometimes the best way to do that is to go out into it.

And some weeks won't go to plan

• Someone will be ill.

• The washing machine will flood the kitchen.

• A child who happily completed maths yesterday will behave as though you have asked them to calculate the trajectory of a rocket today.

• The plumber comes a day late to plum the bath in.

• The dog is sick.

• We get a heatwave and nobody is sleeping!

Life happens!

One difficult morning doesn't mean homeschooling isn't working. Neither does one difficult week. Pick up the plan again and carry on.

So what does a good homeschool week look like?

It has enough structure that everybody knows learning matters, but enough flexibility for family life to happen.

It includes reading, writing and maths, but it doesn't stop there.

• There is time to think, talk, investigate, make, practise, discover and go somewhere.

• There are things a child needs help with and things they are beginning to manage for themselves.

• Some learning happens at the table.

• Some happens on the sofa.

• Some happens in the kitchen, garden, library, park or supermarket.

• And occasionally the best bit of learning that week will be something you never planned at all.

A good homeschool week doesn't need to look like school.

It needs to look like a week in which your child has genuinely learned, it has enough purposeful learning contained within it.