Have you ever heard someone say…

“I wish I could homeschool, but I just don’t have the time!”

“You homeschool? How do you get everything done?”

“I’d like to homeschool, but it seems like it takes so long!”

I have. And I’ve tried repeatedly to get people to understand that it’s totally possible to homeschool in five hours a week. But it’s hard to get that message out in a way that makes it easy to understand, at least when I’m talking. So…

I’m writing it all down today! Check out how we get it done!

Image c/o: yuriyzhuravov via depositphotos

How to Homeschool in Five Hours a Week

Before I get started, let me clarify: I do not mean that your total homeschooling time per week will be just five hours. Ours isn’t. Altogether, we probably spend 15 to 20 a weeks “doing school”.

But I have managed to get my hands-on teaching time down to five hours a week, which has been a HUGE help to my schedule.

The first hour of our school day (9 – 10 am) looks like this:

30 min – teach a new concept and oversee practice
10 min – assign independent reading and projects for the day
20 min – answer immediate questions

The rest of the school day is spent on independent assignments, reading, an educational video, and generally a craft or a project. And, of course, I’m available for help as they need it throughout the day. But the real “Mom is teaching” time is done in that hour.

Here are three tips to help you do the same!

Plan ahead.

I cannot overstate the importance of planning here. I set aside time over the weekend to choose which objectives I’ll focus on that week and find the resources I have to teach them.

My goal is to introduce a new topic, observe the kids as they practice, and provide limited guidance. So I only teach one new concept per day and that keeps the amount of actual “teaching” time I have to do to a minimum.

Use the Internet.

I love to use the Internet when I teach. Love it. There are so many great YouTube videos and educational websites that can do a lot of teaching for us these days!

My kids use and love Khan Academy. And that’s one of my favorite websites because Sal does so much instructing that I don’t have to do much at all. I usually sit with the kids as they work through the videos and let them work the exercises on their own. Generally, I have my Kindle nearby. 🙂

Teach your kids to work independently.

This is probably the biggest step of all. When your kids start completing work on their own, you will get so much of your time back! And I will admit that this takes effort and LOTS of practice, but it’s worth it.

Start with little tasks: completing half of a worksheet, watching a short video, reading a page of a book and answering a question or two. And as your kids grow, they will start to enjoy the feeling of completing independent work.

As they work on their assignments, I get time to get my own work done, catch up on a household chore, or simply do nothing at all. It’s glorious.

Need even more tips for managing your homeschool? Check out the amazing suggestions in the book The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas!

The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas by iHomeschool Network

How do you keep a handle on your homeschooling time each week? Share your tips in the comments!

Need more help planning your homeschool? Follow my Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the “How Much Time Does Homeschooling Take” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click on over to read the awesome posts by our fellow bloggers!

Today we’re talking about homeschool time management, which helps us deal with one of the biggest obstacles to happy homeschooling in our home: NOT ENOUGH TIME!

We have four children, including some with ADHD, plus I’m a full-time minister and I work – so time is extra precious around here. But, I’ve learned a few great tips for managing our homeschooling time and I’m thrilled to share them with you all!

How to Improve Your Homeschool Time Management

1. Make a Schedule and Stick to It

I’ve previously sung the praises of a consistent homeschooling schedule and I’m still a huge fan of scheduling. When time is at a premium, using a daily homeschool schedule can literally save your lesson plan. So if your days are extra busy, block out a regular time for your schooling and hold class at the same time each day.

Tricia over at Hodgepodge has a great homeschool routine that works for her family. It involves a great early morning routine that calls for all of the kids to be up, dressed, and ready for school by 8:45. Genius!

2. Delegate Housekeeping to Your Kids!

What if you’re drowning in housework? Get your kids involved! Assigning daily, age-appropriate chores to your children accomplishes two things: 1) It reduces your workload and 2) It teaches them valuable life skills. With a little planning, you can even incorporate it into your school day. 🙂

Tristan from Our Busy Homeschool is a homeschooling mom of 8. Eight! One of the things that keeps her homeschool on track is having her kids do chores everyday. She even manages to get her toddlers and preschoolers involved!

3. Restructure Your Lessons

One of the many wonderful things about homeschooling is that we don’t have to follow a regimented lesson plan. We can rearrange our lessons whenever we like. For example, Tigger finished her language lessons early last year, so had a chance to double up on math for a few weeks.

Beth at 123 Homeschool 4 Me manages to work in schooling, housework, and errands in a single day! How? She keeps the “school” time to three hours a day and uses other activities to teach, including library visits, storybooks, and educational iPad games. Beth also makes use of the workbox system, which is great for assigning work to each individual child without disturbing the others.

Great Books for Homeschool Time Management

There are a lot of great books for homeschooling parents who need to work on their time management. I’ve enjoyed the tips in these two in particular:

The Imperfect Homeschooler’s Guide to Homeschooling: Barbara Frank

Scheduling – The Secret to Homeschool Sanity: Plan Your Way Back to Mental Health – Lee Binz

Use these tips for better homeschool planning!

For even more homeschool scheduling and planning tips, follow our Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the “I Can’t Homeschool Because… linkup at iHomeschool Network ! Click on over to read how some of our fellow bloggers overcome obstacles to homeschooling!