How Many Hours a Day Should I Homeschool?
The Homeschool+ Advisors share their tips on how long to homeschool each day.
After spending years as home educators, the Homeschool+ Advisors have unique insight on many homeschooling topics, like determining how much time to spend homeschooling. Ultimately, each homeschooling family is different and needs to find the amount of time that’s right for them. To help guide you in that process, our Advisors are sharing a few tips on establishing how many hours a day to spend homeschooling.
It Depends on the Child
The hours you spend on education will vary from child to child, lesson to lesson, and day to day. Instead of focusing on how many hours a day to homeschool, concentrate on learning objectives and growing experiences.
Every child is different. One of the best things about being a homeschool family is the ability to tailor learning to meet the individual’s needs, gifts, and talents. A lesson on the life cycle of the Leopard Gecko could take hours for a child interested in nature and minute details, while a child with other interests will prefer getting the big picture and fewer details.
The gecko-loving child might benefit from a trip to the local pet store to witness hatching, holding a gecko, helping to feed it, and drawing the gecko life cycle to demonstrate learning. The other student might prefer a short video on the topic and filling out a worksheet.
As long as the objective is met, it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there. Teaching a lesson to a single child is generally faster than teaching a classroom of students. This depends on the content, age, ability, and interest levels of the child. On average, we spend about one to two hours per day and three to five days a week on focused, seated learning.
We spend one to two more hours per day on project-based learning, gardening, creating, and visiting local businesses, parks, and beaches.
When considering how many hours a day to homeschool, spend as little (or as much) time as you need to ignite the love of learning in your child.
Choose What Works for You
When I started homeschooling my daughter, she was 18 months old. We did many sensory, art, music, literacy, and math activities. They were developmentally appropriate, and I implemented best practices by providing many breaks, chunking like activities (math with science, literacy with art or music, etc …). Sometimes, I let her take the lead and show me her interests.
During the toddler stage, I homeschooled about two to three 30-minute blocks each day, five days a week. During the preschool years (3-4 years old), I homeschooled one three-hour block each day, and, depending on her interest or if she needed reinforcement with a lesson, I would increase the time with a 30-minute block. Try different schedules and routines, see which ones work best for you and your family, and make changes as necessary.
I don’t believe there is a correct answer for how many hours a day you should be homeschooling. After all, the freedom to make our own choices is why many of us chose to homeschool in the first place.
The Whole Day is Learning Time
One way to determine how long to homeschool each day is to use your state’s guidelines. Some will be as vague as “180 days per year.” Others will give the number of hours per day and even the number of hours per subject!
You can also determine homeschool hours by the curriculum you have chosen. An all-in-one curriculum may give hours per day for all learning-related activities and break them down by grade.
We used a program for many years that gave us suggested hours per day for each grade and even what we could all include in those hours. It was a little heavy on time but led to a guiding component of our homeschool. Count all learning as homeschool.
I preferred this because I wanted my children to learn all day as opposed to school for an hour or two, then tv and gaming the rest of the day. In essence, everything became “school”—-pleasure reading, chores, academics, purposeful play, read-alouds, art, cooking, religious studies, physical activities, family time, serving others, and much more!
It Can Fluctuate
While states have their requirements, it’s important to consider what homeschooling looks like for your family. Homeschooling allows families to create a specific and intentional educational plan for the children in the family.
The amount of time we homeschooled varied based on grade level, my daughters’ interests, and my overall responsibilities. We have generally homeschooled for as few as two hours to as many as six hours per day.
The longer set of hours includes direct instruction and completing assignments. My direct instruction time with my children is typically four hours in one day. Those four hours would be broken down into work we all did together and individual time with my daughters.
Each day in your homeschool might not be a replica of the last, which is okay. Your hours may fluctuate in a single week.
Quick Tips for Determining Homeschool Hours
- Check your state’s requirements.
- Consider your child’s age and interests.
- Factor in your lifestyle and other responsibilities.
- Look at curriculum guidelines.
- The entire day is a learning opportunity.
- It’s okay if it changes from day to day.
- Students may require different amounts of time.
How Homeschool+ Supports Your Teaching Hours
Homeschool+ curriculum programs are designed for customization. Our Lesson Planner tool offers suggested time for each lesson, but home educators can easily adjust lessons to accommodate their schedule and students’ needs and interests. Learn about our robust curriculum programs for preK through 2nd grade (expanding soon!).
New homeschoolers need a curriculum that supports their goals. See if Homeschool+ is right for you.