Does Homeschooling Take Less Time?

Short answer: Homeschooling can take as much time as you need or want it to take. There’s so much freedom to customize for your child’s needs that I can’t make a blanket statement for everyone on how much time it takes.

On average, however, it seems to take less time to homeschool than a child’s typical school hours in traditional school. For example, a child goes to school for about 7 hours per day, 5 days a week. That’s 35 hours! (not counting homework time) Most homeschooling parents you talk to are going to tell you that it does not take 7 hours a day to accomplish their children’s practice or school goals. There is no management of a school, multiple classes, scheduling in a large facility, etc. Of course it will take less time!

As far as mastering academics, it might take a child a bit longer to latch onto a concept when they don’t get one-on-one time with a teacher. In a classroom setting, that teacher time is shared with twenty or more students. It might take several weeks for a child to grasp a difficult skill. In a homeschool setting, a child could master a skill quicker since the one-on-time is more (even for a parent with multiple children).

So, if homeschooling takes less time than traditional schools, why does it seem like you always run out of time?

Good teachers will always feel like they are running out of time because good teachers over plan. It is not a bad thing to over plan. You always have something you are learning and can easily move on to the next thing. You can always adjust what you have planned. It’s ok to not get EVERYTHING done, because the goal is NOT “getting things done.” The goal is “to LEARN.”

There are some things that might suck away your time as a homeschool family, such as lack of routines, everyday distractions, and errands. It can take a while to find your groove, and just when you find it, your situation might change (grade levels, student needs, etc.).

When time running out becomes frustrating,

just remember that the primary goal is to learn.

You are getting your child ready for life in the world as an adult.

When you realize that, you can appreciate the everyday learning that takes place as your child interacts with you during those distractions and errands.

If you’re on the fence about homeschooling, what’s holding you back?

• Do you lack the confidence? No worries, multiple curriculum (tangible and online) options exist, including online instructors in difficult subjects. There is more help available now than ever!

• Do you lack the patience to be with your child more hours? Schedule in some time purposefully to have some “me-time” throughout the week. If you dread being with your child, then it might mean your relationship or child’s behavior needs some more work anyway. That can be one of the learning goals!

• Are you concerned about losing income from quitting a job?

  Many homeschool parents continue to work either full time or part time. Since homeschooling can take less than 35 hours a week (typical school week), the parents make adjustments by using afternoons, evenings and weekends to accomplish homeschool goals. Of course, homeschooling is a sacrifice. Once you realize that, you can let go of some material things in order to gain something much more valuable: more time with your children in this rat-race culture we live in.

• Are you concerned your child won’t be “socialized” or have sports/arts?

  When you think about it, typical school children are socialized with teachers or peers within 1 year of their age—and that’s it—for 35 hours a week. Homeschoolers are constantly in mixed age groups of children and also interact during the day with anyone their parents come into contact with (running errands. etc.). Private sports organizations and arts schools exist, which is what many homeschoolers choose.

  Don’t forget that much of the socialization that comes with traditional schooling is negative: bullying, judging others by appearance, inappropriate language and so on. In my 9 years of homeschooling, I have witnessed that overall a large group of homeschool children (if they’ve mostly been homeschooled), those negative bits of socialization are much less.

Get my SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR THE NEW HOMESCHOOL FAMILY here!

Remember, YOU are your child’s most influential teacher!