Our 1st Grade Homeschool Schedule that Works So Well

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I don’t know about you but having a first grader made school feel a lot more real this year, so I wanted to put together a 1st grade homeschool schedule.

For us, preschool and kindergarten were all about learning what works, having fun, and learning what doesn’t work.

First grade is where I felt we needed to be a little more scheduled and have some boundaries.

In saying all that, I also wanted first grade to be just as fun and flexible as our previous years of homeschooling have been.

We are halfway through our second term of school and I am so pleased with how our 1st grade homeschool schedule is working.

If you’re looking for a jumping-off point, perhaps some ideas on how to order your day, or even how long you should be homeschooling for…keep reading.

Sample 1st Grade Homeschool Schedule

I feel as though I say this in basically every post that I write but it’s because it’s true.

Every single homeschool family will be different. You aren’t going to be able to take our homeschool routine and fit your kids into it. That just won’t work.

Every family is different and each of your children are different too.

I’m going to share what we’re doing and then if you read on I’ll give you some helpful tips for what to consider when you put your homeschool schedule together.

Our weekly schedule is just a 4-day week. On Fridays, we clean up the house and I get some extra work done. A 4-day week is a great way to fit in field trips and visits to our local library.

I use my Anna Vance Homeschool Planner to schedule out lesson plans and just have a good overview of what needs to be done in our home.

I love my planner and highly recommend it for any homeschool mom.

Because we homeschool, our school is very intertwined with our daily living. Because of that, I’m starting our daily routine from the time we wake up.

7 AM Kids get up
8 AM Breakfast – Bible/Poetry/Read Aloud
8:30 AM Chores
9/9:30 AM Group Subjects
10/10:30 AM Snack break
11:00 AM Individual Subjects
12:00 PM Lunch – Read aloud
1-3:00 PM Quiet Time
6:30 PM Reading

That’s a general overview of our homeschool day, but let’s break that down a bit.

7 AM Kids Get Up

From the time my son was a toddler we’ve taught him that wake up time is 7 AM. This is just the time that worked for our family, but he knows to stay in his room until then.

If he wakes up earlier than that he can play quietly with his toys or read some books.

When he was little we used this toddler clock but now that he’s older he just has a basic digital clock beside his bed that tells him the time.

8 AM Breakfast – Bible/Poetry/Read Aloud

I love that homeschooling allows us to have a nice slow start to our mornings. We see my husband off to work around 7:30 and then I get ready for the day while the kids play together.

At 8 AM we have breakfast and during breakfast is when I read our devotional for the day from How Great Is Our God.

I then read a poem from I Am the Seed that Grew the Tree, which is a book containing a poem for every day of the year.

Finally, I read a chapter of whichever read aloud we’re doing at that moment.

Here’s a list of our favorite kindergarten chapter books, and you can see our first grade read alouds in this video.

8:30 AM Chores

Around 8:30 AM, or whenever we finished breakfast, the kids do their chores and get ready for the day.

They don’t have a lot of morning chores, but my first grader is expected to:

Brush his teeth
Get dressed
Put dirty clothes in the hamper
Make his bed
Feed the dog
Unpack the dishwasher

We all work on chores together so the house is in a good state when we sit down to do bookwork.

9/9:30 AM Group Subjects

The time at which we sit down to do school together just depends on the day. It typically falls within a half-hour window though.

Our group subjects include things like history, geography, social studies, bible, art, poetry, nature study, science, handicrafts, etc.

You can see exactly what my son’s 1st grade homeschool curriculum is in this post.

We do different subjects every day and so our school hours and the time that it takes us varies. It could take a full hour if we’re doing a handicraft or art, but usually, we’re done it in around 30 minutes.

My children love to do watercolor paintings and art projects so sometimes things can go on a bit, but I really don’t mind.

10/10:30 AM Snack Break

We stop around morning tea time to have a snack and a bit of a break.

My son actually has a fairly lengthy break because I work with my 4-year old on her preschool stuff before I call him back to complete his individual subjects.

I haven’t put any emphasis on physical education just yet because it’s during these break times that my kids play hard.

My son loves to jump on the trampoline, run around the yard, and ride his bike.

11:00 AM Individual Subjects

first grade homeschool curriculum language arts

To finish up our bookwork for the day we end with individual subjects which are also our core subjects.

My son typically chooses to do Math first and then we finish with Language Arts.

We’re always finished before 12:00 PM, and these subjects rarely take longer than 30 minutes total. They’re not necessarily easy lessons, but they are nice and short.

However, if my toddler decides she wants attention it can make it a little choppy and prolong things a bit. Generally speaking, individual subjects don’t take much time overall.

There’s not a lot of independent work done yet as my son is so young, but I feel as though he’ll be more capable of this by the end of the year.

12:00 PM Lunch – Read Aloud

Some time between 12 and 12:30 we have lunch and while the children are eating I read another chapter from the second read aloud that we have on the go.

1-3:00 PM Quiet Time

As a homeschool mom this is how I keep my sanity, especially with young children.

All of us have some rest time in the afternoon. My older kids play quietly and they’re also allowed some screentime.

My 1st grader will often ask to play the Homer Reading app on the ipad.

Evening – Reading

All of our kids go to their rooms at 7:00 PM for bed, but my son is allowed to read in his room until around 7:30 PM.

Before that though, he reads to us from his Level K Reader from The Good and The Beautiful.

And that’s it for our 1st grade homeschool schedule. It’s simple and quick and has just the right amount of consistency and variation to keep everything balanced.

There’s lots of free time in his day and I feel as though this daily schedule works super well for us all as a family.

The important thing for me is that it doesn’t feel rushed or stressful because of trying to fit into a timeframe that doesn’t work overall.

What to Consider When Creating Your 1st Grade Homeschool Schedule

So as I mentioned before, our daily homeschool schedule isn’t going to work perfectly for you, but I feel as though the tips below will help you to create your own 1st grade homeschool routine for this school year.

What Are Your Priorities?

When I sat down and decided on our homeschool schedule for the year I really focused on what our priorities were.

We needed boundaries so that the work actually got done. I totally flounder if I don’t have things written down and a plan in place.

I also wanted flexibility because school at this age should allow for a lot of that.

My priorities were connection, family time, consistency, and room for fun.

This meant that I came up with a routine that was 4-day a week and mostly done in the mornings.

I work from home and needed the afternoons to dedicate to at least some of that. Besides, we all seem a lot happier and productive first thing.

You may find that your schedule needs to be moved to a completely different time of day based on your family’s needs and priorities.

What Are Your Legal Requirements?

Thankfully, we have no legal requirements where I live that would determine our homeschool schedule in any way.

However, there are many places that do and it is very wise to take those into account when creating your own homeschool schedule for your 1st grader.

You may need to make sure you’re fitting in a certain number of schooling hours a day and for specific subjects.

If not, that’s awesome, but just be sure to account for this.

Consider Other Family Members

The reality is that few of us are working with just one grade level.

We are a family of five. My three children are 6, 4, and 2.

My 4-year old is very happy to tag along and do school with us or otherwise entertain herself.

Not so with my 2-year old. Homeschooling with toddlers is a mission!

You’re going to have to take into account the other members of your family when creating your homeschool schedule.

If you have a baby or toddler you may want to work on certain subjects when they’re napping or playing happily.

It is also helpful to have older siblings playing with younger ones while you work with your 1st grader if that’s a possibility.

What Outside Factors Do You Need to Consider?

We all have certain obligations both inside and outside the home. Remember to consider those when creating your routine.

You may have booked activities, work, or church. Remember that homeschooling is meant to work with your lifestyle.

While we do need to make sure we are intentionally educating our children, we should also be able to fit school around activities outside of the home.

Don’t feel pressured to add things in though. At the moment I haven’t got my kids signed up for anything. We did swimming lessons last year and may do that again, but for right now it isn’t necessary.

Final Thoughts

Your first grade homeschool schedule is a fun one to put together. This year school work is the real deal and yet it’s still so much fun!

Having consistency and routine in your day is wonderful for children and will help to bring simplicity over all. Just remember to add in just the right amount of flexibility to cater for what life will inevitably throw at you along the way.

It is such a blessing to be able to put together your own schedule. Just remember that it is your schedule. You don’t need to worry about what another first grade homeschooler is doing if you’re happy.

I know how easy to is to worry about whether you’re doing enough extracurricular activities or academic subjects. The flexibility of homeschooling means you can do what works best for your family.