A kindergarten homeschool schedule can help new or veteran home educators maintain a daily learning rhythm and stay on track with goals. Here are a few strategies to help you create a kindergarten homeschool schedule that works for you and your child, along with examples and tips to try.

What Makes a Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule Effective?

If you’re considering creating a schedule or readjusting the one you already have, here are a few tips to help you create a daily homeschool schedule for your kindergartener.

1. Make It Manageable
   
   Many homeschoolers create a roadblock by overloading their schedule to the point of overwhelm–this can occur for children and parents. One of the most important components of building a successful homeschool schedule is to keep it manageable. Don’t feel like you need to fit every core subject into each day. Start by planning a few lessons and monitor your child’s stamina and adjust as needed.

2. Take Frequent Snack and Movement Breaks
   
   If you’re noticing fatigue and irritability in yourself or your child, it’s probably time for a break. These things are often remedied with a brief rest, snack, or trip outdoors. If your child seems bored or distracted, you may need to consider a different approach to teaching certain subjects, like adding in movement, hands-on activities, a game, or some interactive online curriculum. If swapping in new activities or a different approach improves the flow of your homeschooling, make it a permanent part of your schedule.

3. Build in Rhythm and Routine
   
   Giving each day an expected flow benefits you and your child. Many young children thrive on predictability and consistency. When they know what to expect, they feel more secure and can focus better on learning and scheduled activities. Establishing a rhythm also helps children learn how to manage their time and gives them a sense of accomplishment when they complete a task and move on to something else. A set routine is a gift for home educators, too, because the structure can help with managing your own time and schedule.

4. Create a Schedule Your Child Understands
   
   Color-coding or adding illustrations to your daily schedule helps your kindergartener follow the flow of the day. Outdoor time can be labeled in green or have trees drawn on it; snacks can be labeled in blue with pictures of food; etc Consider creating a schedule that you can velcro to the wall or clip to a string, underscoring that it’s flexible and can change a bit when needed. You can also have your student help hang up the daily schedule each morning or take it down at the end of the day, reviewing the day’s highlights as you go.

5. Customize It to Your Child and Lifestyle
   
   Color-coding or adding illustrations to your daily schedule helps your kindergartener follow the flow of the day. Outdoor time can be labeled in green or have trees drawn on it; snacks can be labeled in blue with pictures of food; etc Consider creating a schedule that you can velcro to the wall or clip to a string, underscoring that it’s flexible and can change a bit when needed. You can also have your student help hang up the daily schedule each morning or take it down at the end of the day, reviewing the day’s highlights as you go.

6. Keep Lessons Short
   
   Young learners naturally have shorter attention spans. Keep lessons to around 30 minutes and provide regular breaks. When researching curricula, lesson plans, or activities, make sure they align with your student’s academic needs and present information in a variety of ways. For example, teach a lesson through reading about a topic, drawing a picture about it, finding real-world examples, and engaging with relevant on- or offline curriculum.

7. Keep It Flexible and Be Patient
   
   While routine is important, it’s also essential to be flexible. If your child is struggling with a particular activity or having a rough day, taking a break or switching to something else is okay. Homeschooling takes time and patience, both for you and your child. Try not to get too frustrated if things don’t go as planned, and remember–each day is a new opportunity to try again!

8. Consider Using a Lesson Planning Tool
   
   Approach each day with a general schedule and an awareness that the schedule may need to change depending on what the day brings. Keep track of what activities or lessons need to be repeated, moved to a different day, or taught in a different manner. 

9. Have Fun
   
   One of the great things about homeschooling is that you can tailor your child’s education to their interests and needs. Incorporate games and movement, field trips, hands-on activities, and other fun activities into your daily schedule.Talk with your child about the activities they most enjoy during the school day and build lessons around those elements; make up songs about letter sounds; count the birds in the yard; and find moments to connect with your child, whether it’s over the delight of mastering a new subject or watching clouds outside. Young students thrive when learning feels like play.

10. Try Online Resources
    
    Sharing information with your child in a variety of ways helps them better understand and connect with it. Integrate interactive online learning with your activities to give children another approach to learning. Finding the right online resources for your homeschool takes some research. Explore different options and take advantage of free trials so you and your student can experiment with different resources. Make a list of pros and cons for the online programs you try to hone in on the option that best suits your homeschool. ABCmouse offers an engaging online curriculum for children ages 2-8.

Kindergarten Homeschool Schedule Examples

Let’s take a look at two homeschool schedules for kindergarteners. Keep in mind that each day presents lessons in 30-minute increments and add up to about one and half to two hours of subject-focused lessons.

Morning Kindergarten

Many homeschoolers recognize that their kindergartener is better equipped with patience and clarity first thing in the morning. The following sample schedule leverages that morning energy to maximize education in the first half of the day, leaving most of the afternoon open for self-guided exploration, resting, and family connection.

All-Day Kindergarten

Spending the day immersed in learning with your child can be a wonderful experience. If all-day kindergarten suits your child’s needs and your lifestyle, here’s an example to inspire your own all-day kindergarten homeschool schedule.

Create a Schedule and Stick With It

Creating a schedule that your kindergartener (and you) look forward to each day makes homeschooling more enjoyable. Keep your schedule very fluid in the beginning as you learn what’s working best for your family.

Committing to maintaining a schedule is just as important. Skipping the time to plan and schedule can be tempting, but it tends to create an atmosphere of unrest and chaos for all involved. Following the same (or similar) routine sets you and your kindergartner up for success each day.

When creating your schedule, start with realistic expectations. Do you or your child like to sleep in? Do you have personal work you need to complete before starting school? Take all of this into consideration before creating a daily schedule. As more days go by adhering to your schedule, the easier it will be to follow it naturally. Create a schedule that easily fits into your lifestyle, and it will eventually become a daily routine. 

Hear It From a Homeschooler

Fellow homeschooler and writer, Celia Hatch, shares the strategies she used to create her  kindergarten homeschool schedule:

“As a homeschool parent myself, I found that creating a simple schedule was essential to maintaining a sense of balance. Our daily rhythm met the needs of each of my family members, while also allowing me to manage my own responsibilities.

The minimalist schedule I created for our kindergarten homeschool was inspired by the Waldorf method of teaching in blocks or units. Rather than skimming the surface in science, reading, math, and art daily, we focused on one area and did a deep dive into that block each day. 

For example, we would spend two weeks focusing on Aesop’s Fables, then switch our attention for two weeks to really understand a math concept, the next block might be about Birds of Prey, or gathering, polishing, and studying rocks. Each subject area was approached from different angles and with different approaches, like reading, hands-on activities, and drawing or exploring the topic in our daily lives.

In addition to our main lesson block, I utilized professionally created online education tools in our homeschool. This gave me a window to prepare lessons for the next day or to manage household tasks.

For my family, having a routine was important. By following this rhythmic schedule, we were able to establish a healthy and sustainable homeschool.

Here is a peek at our Kindergarten homeschool schedule:

For my family, having a routine was important. By following this rhythmic schedule, we were able to establish a healthy and sustainable homeschool.”

Support Your Homeschool with ABCmouse and Adventure Academy

Our digital learning programs are designed by curriculum experts to assist your homeschool and children ages 2 through 13. ABCmouse is a comprehensive online educational platform for children ages 2-8, while Adventure Academy focuses on children ages 8-13. Both programs provide access to lessons on reading, language arts, math, sciences, social studies, and more. Learn more about how each program can enhance your homeschool below.

ABCmouse and Homeschooling

ABCmouse offers over 10,000 learning activities and more than 850 lessons for children, plus a large digital library of books and educational puzzles, songs, activities, and worksheets. The program encourages self-paced learning with motivating rewards and includes progress tracking, which allows home educators to monitor time spent on certain subjects and the number of activities completed.

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As a paid add-on to regular subscriptions, home educators can access the Assessment Center, which allows parents and caregivers to test children on their knowledge, determine successes and struggles, and receive recommended lessons based on assessments.

ABCmouse provides a robust curriculum that can supplement other early learning lessons. It’s trusted resource that’s been downloaded over 10 million times and has a 4.5-star average out of 831.4K ratings.

Find more information here.

Adventure Academy and Homeschooling

Adventure Academy combines an interactive world with a curriculum covering reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. With quests, games, and educational videos and activities, learning becomes an epic journey that motivates kids to explore various topics.

For homeschooling families, Adventure Academy offers an engaging, flexible learning experience that can supplement other educational materials. The program features thousands of activities created by curriculum experts and covers all major academic domains.

Parents and caregivers can choose academic difficulty levels and track each child’s progress, seeing time spent in Adventure Academy, activities completed, and subjects studied.

Adventure Academy emphasizes key topics such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development, mathematical operations, fractions, world geography, American history, physical science, life science, earth science, and scientific inquiry.

For more information, visit AdventureAcademy.com.

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