Our homeschool rhythm with older kids looks a lot different from a just a few years ago. One of the things I’ve noticed is that the habits we have been training in is paying off. It feels like a miracle, but gone are the days I need to have their hands occupied to keep them interested in staying at the table. Holding their attention for read alouds gradually became dare I say, easy.
As much as I dearly miss those little busy hands in playdough and Magnatiles, this season is really neat. The discussions are wider and deeper. We get to genuinely laugh together. We spend our mornings chatting about current events, schedules for the week, and just learning together.
Below, I’ll detail our current homeschool schedule. While we do not follow a time schedule, we do have a general homeschool rhythm that has been working well for us in this season.
This post is all about our updated homeschooling rhythm with older kids.
[RELATED ARTICLE: Homeschooling Rhythm with Younger Kids]
Homeschooling Rhythm with Older Kids: Factors
The changes started happening as my oldest hit middle school, and my youngest was able to read and write with more ease. Our former homeschool rhythm filled with snack breaks, quiet time, and messy projects were replaced with new subjects and responsibilities.
Specifically, here are some of the factors that affected the gradual differences in our daily homeschool rhythm:
no official start time
In the middle school and high school years, I stopped officially starting our homeschool day at a specific time. They grew more committed to their after school activities, which sometimes had them going to bed at a later time than in the past. So, I shifted to allow adequate sleep, and it gave me time to accomplish more of my own disciplines in the morning.
working homeschool mom
I have always been a working mom in different capacities, but earlier in 2023, I picked up a new contract position. Reserving these 20-30 hours a week to compete projects has been a joy, and also brings change. I structure our homeschool days so there are pockets where I can work. With self-sufficient students at this age, it feels like the perfect time for this addition to the schedule.
[RELATED ARTICLE: Working From Home and Homeschooling]
shorter morning meeting
Our morning basket used to be packed with books to read aloud, nature study, and many of the Charlotte Mason ideas for a beauty loop. We loop scheduled things like poetry, hymns, artist and composer studies. I aimed to read aloud books for literature, history, and missionaries.
While we still maintain a robust morning meeting, it has had to be streamlined a bit in order to accommodate a heavier workload for my high schooler. My main priority is to have that time all together, and so the compromise was trimming it down a bit and letting go of some things in order to do so.
Weekly, this is what we strive to complete during our morning meeting together:
- Corporate Bible study
- Rotation between habit training, hymn, and artist study – 3 times a week
- 10 minute current events video (1 week free link)
- Read aloud a chapter from 1 book at a time
On average, this lasts approximately 45 minutes.
high school courses
With a brand new middle schooler and high schooler this school year, the amount of time needed for their courses has increased. My high schooler is taking a couple online live courses as well as dual enrolled in a local community college for one course. This requires us to make sure we are home at those times for her to login to those live courses.
So, we are just not as flexible as we used to be to take off for spontaneous adventures. However, I scheduled 2 days completely off of those live courses so we can use those days with freedom.
Our Current Homeschool Schedule
Our average homeschool rhythm with older kids (an elementary, middle school, and high schooler) looks something like this:
mornings
My high schooler wakes up first, and starts on her personal Bible study and moves on to her daily english morning message. My youngest will make her own breakfast (prase the Lord!) and begin her personal Bible study and language arts with me. My middle child will follow suit shortly after with the same routine.
Once everyone has those things completed, I will gather them to the same table to go through our current family Bible study, watch World Watch News, and read aloud. After this, I’ll release my high schooler to begin her individual subjects.
late mornings
I’ll toggle between my younger two, working on their different math levels. We will do a history read aloud together, some narration, and they will work on their individual subjects scheduled for that day. This could be science, spelling, writing, instrument practice, or art. At some point, I’ll pull aside my oldest, and we alternate between a special read aloud relative to her season and an apologetics study.
afternoons
By this time, they are pretty much close to finished. They are tying up loose ends from their student planners, and completing their daily family responsibilities. After that, we’re getting dinner going and packing up for any after school activities.
It seems so much more simple than it used to be when I felt we were juggling so many hands on things. However, the content is definitely more challenging. It is exciting to continue on in this homeschool journey in these older years. You get to experience and enjoy the rewards of your toil in the early years. I encourage anyone who is considering homeschooling the older years to keep the path because I would never want to miss out on this memorable season!
This post is all about our updated homeschool rhythm with older kids.
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