The age old question of how much is enough. So many of us have the school system mindset that in order to deliver an adequate and good education we need to be teaching for many hours a day. Most school children attend school for an average of six hours a day. Homeschooled children can complete the same amount of work or more in a much shorter amount of time.
Homeschool Hours By Grade Level
Every family is different as is every child so these times are much more of a guideline rather than a must do. I know as a new homeschooler I wanted numbers and I wanted someone to lay it all out logically rather than just tell me to “go with it”.
- Kindergarten: 1 hour 3-4 times a week
- First Grade: 1 – 1 1/2 hours 4 times a week
- Second Grade: 1 1/12 hours 4 times a week
- Third Grade: 2 hours 4 days a week
- Forth Grade 2 hours 5 days a week
- Fifth Grade: 3 hours 5 days a week
- Sixth Grade: 4 Hours 5 days a week
- Seventh Grade: 4 Hours 5 days a week
- Eighth Grade: 5 Hours 5 Days a week
- Nineth Grade: 5 Hours 5 days a week
- Tenth Grade: 5 hours 5 days a week
- Eleventh/Twelfth Grade: 6 Hours 5 days a week
These times reflect formal sit down work and study. There will still be time for read aloud books, hobbies and other project studies. Many parents find that as their children head into the older grades that they are ready and willing to start taking college classes or other educational paths that are in the direction of the career path they wish to take.
Quality vs Quantity
When it comes to homeschool hours it really comes down to quality not quantity. In a traditional school classroom there is a great deal of time dedicated to classroom management and busy work. This reduces the actual teaching time dramatically. There is also a fair amount of distraction present in a traditional classroom.
In a homeschool environment your child is privileged to have one on one tutorage for the majority of the day’s lessons. It is this dedicated teaching that allows children to progress much more quickly and to have a better and more deeper understanding on what has been taught.
A 20 minute reading lesson is more than adequate for a new reader. If you try and push any more than that you will likely encounter resistance (and a lot of eye rolling) from your child. Their attention spans are short and once you exhaust it you are really just talking to a brick wall.
The same goes the other way also. If a child is very much engaged and enjoying the work and wants to continue it is fine to let them continue on as they please. They will garner so much more information and in depth knowledge when they are are allowed to stay “in the zone” rather than simply following the clock.
Do I Need to Track My Homeschool Hours?
There are some states that require you to record and track your hours for homeschooling. If you are unsure if it is required in your state I suggest checking out the homeschooling laws by state here.
If you do happen to live in a state that requires you to keep track of your homeschool hours, you may be wondering how you are going to meet those requirements. Homeschool hours don’t necessarily only equate to sit down work. You are able to include any activities you engage in that are educational. This includes, read aloud books, project work, field trips, co-ops, educational films, home economics, nature walks etc. There are plenty of ways to account for those hours without having to be stuck in a seat all day.
Regardless of whether your state requires it or not, it is always a good idea to keep some sort of log of what you have done each week.
How Long Does it Take to Homeschool Multiple Children?
It is all well and good to say homeschooling will only take a few hours or less a day, but what if you have more than one child? Or a bunch of babies and toddlers running around? For the babies and toddlers go check out this post where I give you my best tips for staying sane while you homeschool with little ones underfoot.
If you are homeschooling multiple children there are a few tactics that can make life a little easier for you.
The first tactic is to group children together where ever possible. Many subjects are able to be taught “family style. We currently do history and science together. I teach the lesson to everyone then the children complete tasks and activities based on their age. The older the child the more in depth and heavier the work assignments are.
The second tactic is to schedule your day to ensure everyone is doing something. For example while my daughter needs me to teach her language arts lesson, my oldest will complete his spelling and handwriting. He is capable of doing this without me having to sit and watch him.
You can see our families schedule here.
Once children get a little older it becomes easier as they are much more independent in their work. They become self directed and are able to organise themselves to get their work done. Teenagers can definitely be independent learners. You will still need to check over work and support them but overall they are able to do the bulk of the work themselves.
How Many Days a Week Do You Homeschool?
The joy of homeschooling is that you can set your own schedule. If you need some ideas on homeschool scheduling go here. There are lots of ideas about how different families plan out their homeschool year.
You can homeschool as many days as it takes you to get all the work you want done. If you work long and hard for a few days a week then you can have extra days off. If you prefer a slower more relaxed pace then you can spread your work over more days.
For our family I have found that we really like a four day work week. I reserve Friday for catch up work, field trips, and project work. The children also really like to do their art lessons on a Friday afternoon. I will try to schedule any appointments for Fridays also so as not to disrupt the routine of the week. I find that if we have something out of the ordinary happen it just throws out the whole day and we don’t do anything.
How Long is a Homeschool Year?
Just like with the amount of homeschool hours you do, it is up to you. Some families like to school year round. This means that they take more frequent breaks throughout the year without a big Summer break. There are other families who follow the same schedule as the public schools in their area.
Education is not just limited to when your homeschool hours are set. You can be learning and engaging with educational material even when you are off the clock so to speak. There is an entire educational philosophy dedicated to learning through life and interest driven academics. This is called unschooling.
How Long to Graduate Homeschool?
Did you know that a large proportion of homeschooled students start taking college level courses before they finish high school?
One of the benefits of homeschooling is that children can go at their own speed, that speed however tends to be a little faster than that of their public schooled peers. A lot of children once they reach the final years of schooling decide to start taking college classes as a type of dual enrolment.
Taking college classes while still in high school is an excellent way in which homeschooled students move on to full time college. Once they have completed some college classes they are able to credit those classes over to their college of choice.
Children who are homeschooled have more freedom in their education and can move into their career choice much earlier. They can select subjects and courses that will lead them in the right direction instead of having to complete more mandatory classes required in a traditional high school or take classes that aren’t offered in high schools.
Overall the hours required to homeschool differs for each child and family but these times should give you a base from where you can start. You are the person who knows your child best and what they are capable of. It is important that you take care of yourself and avoid homeschool burn out which is very common in the early years of homeschooling. It still occurs even if you are a homeschooling veteran but you tend to recognise the signs early and nip it in the bud!
Remember that it is not a rush to the finish line but a journey to be enjoyed. Everyone worries at some point that they are not doing enough. There is no way to do it all, there will be gaps in their education just like any child, but if you are able to instil a love of learning that will be worth more than any amount of hours work you put in.
