Finding the Time to Homeschool
It’s a common refrain! “I would love to homeschool, but how do I teach all that content?”
You actually won’t cover as much content as you might imagine. It’s an easy mistake to make. Think about it. We see kids go to school for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months a year. We see them come home with bags filled with books, folders, papers, worksheets, and more. There’s evidence of quantity all around us... but quantity does not automatically equal quality.
Exposure to lots of information - via worksheets, lectures, videos, or books - without time to grapple with the concepts will not result in learning. Rather, learning happens when we apply information in new and unpredicted ways - when we think abstractly, act creatively, teach ourselves and others.
Ideally, schools will provide kids with a few essential concepts then spend the majority of the time guiding them to environments and situations where they are likely to use those concepts. This is the essence of the Montessori approach.
Unfortunately, traditional schools are structurally unable to deliver that experience. They group dozens of like-aged kids together, set them in a single building with little variation in environment, and present them all with the same content. They then spend the majority of the time trying to get everyone to the same, middle of the pack level. More homework and worksheets for those who struggle. More daydreaming and silent reading time for those who do not. That’s what’s filling the hours.
But if we strip that all away, remember that time applying a concept should vastly outweigh time introducing a new concept, and focus on what we really want kids to grapple with at a certain time then the number of essential concepts is very defined and very manageable.
How much time should I spend homeschooling each day?
You must pick an amount that is right for your family. Learning doesn’t begin and end with a school bell, so, practically speaking, homeschoolers are never NOT at school. That said, most kids thrive when given structure, and, frankly, a never ending school day is overwhelming for everyone involved.
For example, you might designate nine to noon every weekday, as “academic time,” meaning time for intentional reading and studying. Just remember — the amount of time is less important than the consistency and frequency.