An Easy Large Family Homeschool Schedule: 10 Tips to a Great Day

If you have a big family, there is SO much to accomplish in a day. Let me walk you through our large family homeschool schedule with seven kids at home. We have kept this schedule for several years and it helps me run my home efficiently and peacefully!

A Successful Homeschool Schedule Begins with Mom

Most of my homeschool success starts with me. Homeschooling my children is my job, and I am determined to be the best at my job! These are some of the requirements that I need to fulfill for a successful day and a successful large family homeschool schedule.

• I need to be organized.
• I need to be awake and dressed on time to begin our day.
• There needs to be food in the house for breakfast and lunch.
• I need to know the general needs of the day, including any appointments or out of house obligations.
• I need to know evening commitments.
• I need to have a dinner plan.
• I need to know what each of my children’s homeschool day should entail.

Of course, there are days that I fall short, but the more organized and prepared I am to begin our day, the better my children learn and enjoy their day.

6:00am: Wake Up Time

Lately, I have been setting my alarm for 6:00am. That gives me 30 minutes to drink my coffee, pray a morning offering and listen to my favorite morning podcasts: The World and Everything in It and Relevant Radio’s in Conversation with God.

I also dress for the day and eat the same breakfast (2 eggs and a piece of toast, in case you were wondering).

Homeschooling moms can be tempted to sleep in, but if you are going to treat educating our children seriously, I recommend waking up early.

According to Experteer Magazine

“Countless studies and numerous prominent examples indicate that early risers are more successful in their professional lives: employees are more disciplined, active, and capable of achieving at a higher level of productivity and have a better sense of their responsibilities.”

My kids wake up at 6:30am. I give them an hour to do farm chores and make their own breakfasts.

7:00am: Love Your Littles

A very important part of the large family homeschool schedule is to take time before the school day starts to spend time with my toddler.

While my other kids work through their morning tasks of dressing, breakfast and chores, I spend the hour with my toddler. This is one of the benefits of mom waking up early!

I fix his breakfast, dress him for the day and read him a story. I try to “fill his cup” before I need to shift my main attention to my older kids.

My toddler is much more apt to play independently during the first school hour if I give him my attention and attend to all of his needs before we get started.

7:30am: Morningtime

Finally, we get to the actual large family homeschool schedule!

We always start our homeschool day with Morningtime. Do you do Morningtime in your homeschool? I hope you do.

Morningtime is a magical time in a homeschool when my whole crew can come together for shared learning.

There are many different things that you can add to your family’s morningtime, but most commonly we read from the bible, pray a Morning Offering (I am using this Catholic Morning Offering podcast for our Morningtime) and I read aloud from a book everyone enjoys.

We have read so many hours together, had so many interesting discussion and learned so many things together through our Morningtime.

I really think Morningtime will be the best memories I make through homeschooling my children.

Here is our Morningtime menu from September.

8:30am-10:30 am: Homeschooling Youngest to Oldest

I homeschool my children from the youngest to the oldest. It can be tempting to start with the older kids because their work is more challenging and important, but I urge you to start with the littles.

The little ones need their moms the most. If the children are part of a big family, they have waited a long time to be part of the homeschooling crew. They cherish and appreciate the one-on-one time with their moms.

Little ones also need moms to help them learn the basics in math, reading and writing. Don’t skip sitting with your little ones at the beginning of their homeschooling journey.

While I am working with my younger children, my older children (4th, 6th, 9th and 11th grade) work independently and toddler plays nearby.

8:30am -11:30 am: Independent Work

Don’t shy away from letting your kids work independently. One of the goals of education is to teach our kids to know how to educate themselves. This takes practice but is one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling: kids learn how to learn!

“The primary goal of real education is not to deliver facts but to guide students to the truths that will allow them to take responsibility for their lives.”
― John Taylor Gatto

I prepare my 4th, 6th and 9th graders with a planner that they keep open on their desks at all times. It tells them exactly what they need to do for the day and the week.

They are expected to follow the planner and check off items as they complete them. This is the planner that we use:

After I am finished schooling my young students, I will check in with my older boys to see how all of their studies are going and help as needed.

Before they take a lunch break, they tell me what subjects they have completed and what is still on the “to do” list for the day.

This is a very important “check in;” not only do we talk about school, I can also see if they are having a good day, if they are tired, and hear else is on their minds and hearts. Relationship with my kids always comes first!

Since my kids have been homeschooling from the beginning of their education, they are very good at self-education and following their planners.

This large family homeschool schedule has helped them become efficient and organized – which benefits them.

A well-done homeschool day leaves them much more time for their hobbies and free play!

A few of their favorite hobby posts:

The Thrill of the Bullseye: Why Boys Love Archery

Teach Woodworking to Kids: 10 Easy Steps to Get Started

Metal Detecting for Kids: Going on a Treasure Hunt

11:30am -12:30pm: Lunchtime, Recess, and Tidy Up

Now it is time for lunch, recess and a tidy-up.

Everyone older than 4 years old makes their own lunch at our house. It is usually leftovers or sandwiches.

After lunch, I try to send everyone outside.

While the children are outside, I enjoy a few minutes of quiet, eat my own lunch, and do a quick cleanup of lunch, schoolwork and toys scattered around.

I also spend more quality time talking and playing with my toddler.

12:30-2:00pm: Afternoon Homeschool Schedule

After their break, my older kids finish up their schoolwork.

I enjoy this time of day.

My girls are done with school and happily playing with the toddler, everyone is fed, the house is clean, and I can focus on my big kids.

Some years we do science and history together at this time. We love Beautiful Feet History and Memoria Press Science.

I also review tests and reading and writing assignments, discuss math questions, etc. It’s very important that each child gets my undivided attention at this time.

Homeschooling middle school and high school is my favorite part of homeschooling.

2:00pm School’s Out for the Day

We usually finish all schoolwork by 2:00pm each day.

Before the day has ended, each child will show me their planner and work completed for the day. I will know if there are assignments that need to be graded before the next morning.

My kids work really hard to be done with school early each afternoon. They all value their free time to pursue their own hobbies and interests, play with neighbors, or just relax.

As much as I love homeschooling, I am thankful each day to put the books back on the shelf!

Homeschooling a large family can be hard but knowing that we will be done with formal schooling by 2:00pm almost every day keeps us all motivated. A large family homeschool schedule is worth the effort!

It is nice to just be “mom,” for the rest of the day.

4:00: Family Chore Time

At 4:00pm, our family does chores.

During this time, the whole house is tidied: schoolbooks are put away, toys picked up, bedrooms cleaned, beds made, laundry put away, bathrooms wiped down.

We also have animals that need attention: cows, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and ducks.

My kids each have assigned chores and we rarely rotate. They are all experts at their jobs.

I work at this time too, cleaning and starting dinner.

Our house stays pretty clean and our animals are well cared for, keeping this large family homeschool schedule.

5:30 – 9:00: Evening Activities, Prayer and Bedtimes

We eat dinner at 5:30 pm and clean up right away. Sometimes we have evening activities, two of my boys play soccer and we have a couple of other clubs the kids participate in.

We try to pray as a family before the little ones go to bed at 8:00pm, and my 4th and 6th graders are in bed by 8:30pm.

Our house is pretty quiet after 10:00pm.

A Large Family Homeschool Schedule is Possible

I have kept this large family homeschooling schedule for many years. Some people might think it is too strict.

For me, a schedule and a planner give me peace, patience and confidence because everyone in the family knows their responsibilities and tasks for the day.

I would love to hear about your schedule (or lack of one), and how it blesses your family. Let’s learn from each other!

Blessings,

Stacie

For more homeschool helps:

Readability App Review: A Game-Changer for Young Readers

Can AI Be Used in Education? 12 Powerful Tools for Homeschooling Success

Helping Your Late Reader: Best Resources for Homeschoolers

How to Teach Reading: The Best Homeschool Resources