How long do I homeschool my child?

Parents can choose to educate their children in a variety of ways. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that its focused atmosphere allows many students to complete their work faster than in a traditional school setting. Also, transition times between classes are less at home than in a class of many students, and education methods can be targeted at the specific individual student, which increases learning efficiency as well.

Hours per day/week:

Learning happens all day long, but generally, the younger your child is, the less “school” or “academic” time they will have. Most homeschool families have time scheduled in their week for learning away from home.  For some, this includes joining an existing co-op, taking lessons, creating their own learning experience by gathering a group of friends to learn a specific subject, or doing a group field trip with other homeschool families to take advantage of “school” admission rates. Some families may homeschool full days if they are trying to progress quickly through their academic curriculum, while others may opt for half days Monday through Friday with experiential learning, fun, or employment in the afternoons. The homeschool day looks different in each family and even from day to day. Most families, as opportunities arise, take advantage of that learning experience and modify their routine.

School Year:

There is no right or wrong plan for your school year. Some parents choose to follow the public school schedule so they can take advantage of community PA Day and March Break programs. Other families enjoy a “three weeks on and one week off” routine. Still others take larger chunks of time off during non-traditional months for vacation or when a parent comes home from deployment. From time to time, opportunities arise where families may plan many days off from their regular schedule and, instead, focus on experiencing other time-sensitive learning (ie: maple syrup production or bird migration).