If you have a preschooler this year you probably have thought that you are thankful you do not really have to send them to school, though you want to, but ultimately you are not going to have to stick to the rigid remote learning school schedule others will have to.

If you’re like me you were hoping they could go. For our family, P has gone to preschool since she was two and has gained more from it than I often felt I could give her on my own with our busy family schedule. Socialization, routine (sometimes it was the only part of her day that had a routine with my changing schedule), active play, and of course the education.

Although as of today she will be going to school, I worry that will change as the year goes on. After all, we are already seeing schools shift their plan for this year, some just after the first week.

So we are preparing because I want her to have the consistency of preschool in her life this year, especially after it stopped two months early back in the spring and so did we. Which was totally ok and what we needed at the time.

The challenge we face like many families is working around busy schedules. So I started to plan early with space for her, you can read more about that in my previous post; Creating A Homeschool Space For The First Time, and setting up a schedule that both my husband and I could implement.

Setting Up Days & Times

This is the hardest part for us because my work schedule rotates and I do not have the same days off each week. So we broke it down to keep the amount of time she would have in preschool if she goes to the same amount of time we will commit to at home. For us that is just seven and a half hours each week.

We plan to break it up similarly to school and have her spend two and a half hours three days a week. I will do this on two of my days off and my husband will have one of his days off for school time or we can alternate when I might need a break. I am initially taking the bigger chunk because I have a background in child development and education.

We know the days will rotate as my days off rotate and that is ok because we will be able to use the same schedule on those days regardless.

I know P wakes up ready to go in the mornings and she is often not hungry right away. Here is a glimpse of our school schedule (I’ll be sharing a closer look at the curriculum in my next post);

• 8:30am: Start a school learning activity; gives me time to take care of little p and her needs.
• 9am: Do a school project; this might need a little more guidance from me to get her started.
• 9:30am: Breakfast; a good break for all of us and the usual time they eat.
• 10am: Activity; either going outside or some other indoor activity to get us up and moving. Little p will also be able to participate…to an extent.
• 10:30am: Another learning activity; a great way to wind down from the physical activity.
• 11am: Wrap up with reading and songs; this is similar to what I know they do to end the day in her preschool classroom.

Tips To Make The Schedule Work Best For You

Part of the benefit of homeschool can be the flexibility. You know what times of day you and your children need rest, need activity, need to eat, and you can tailor your schedule around this to do schooling at the best time for everyone.

Your ideal schedule may work better in the middle or even at the end of the day. This might be the same for us some days too. But having the schedule planned out with a timeline will help you easily shift in your day when needed, for instance, if you have an appointment one day at the usual scheduled time.

You can also be flexible in the curriculum for the day. Perhaps you need to put more active activities at the start of the day. Or similar to many parents you have to accommodate an active sibling who wants to join in in their own way. The biggest take away I want you to have is you will have to be flexible to make this work but flexibility can also be the key to make it successful for everyone.

Seek Help & Communicate

If you have the option of help now is the time to use it. For example, I do not want to cram in my time before or after work for “school time” so I can use that as a time to just enjoy with the girls after a long day. This is where my husband taking on part of the schooling and us having consistent, communication to stay on task is so important.

If you have a family member who can take care of a younger sibling for you or take on part of the educational task too, use it. You do not want to get into a cycle of just doing what needs to be done and not enjoying time together, relaxing, or most importantly having fun. It will lead to burn out quickly for everyone. I’ve been there, which is why I noticed a while ago I needed to change things fast for our family. We were burning out, time was going fast, and we were not enjoying much of it.

This is why I feel so strongly that a little time to plan at the start can save so much time and stress later on. Find a method of communication that can work for everyone involved. A notebook, a planner, some way to stay on the same page. And if you are unable to get help, give yourself breaks. Perhaps after a couple of weeks, you have a week you only do two days of schooling. Do not try to make the impossible possible. Check-in with yourself and give yourself breaks when needed so you can come back refreshed. After all, field trips or movie days exist for a reason!

Keep In Mind

Whether you are starting homeschooling or doing remote learning for as long as needed, this is new, different, and not always going to be easy. There is a reason after all that teachers go to school for this, spend a year student teaching, and then work every year to develop and implement practices that are effective in educating our children.

Do what works for you and your family. Be prepared for change. Be ready to be flexible. Do not strive for perfection. It does not exist. Do not compare yourself to others and be comfortable with asking for help if you have it available.

In the end, enjoy the time you are spending with your child. This is a moment in time, how do you want to remember it?

I will be sharing our curriculum we are going to use for the first few months to help get you started coming soon. Sign up to be pen pals and you’ll get it straight to your inbox…hey one less thing to think about!