Planning the week on the kitchen wall: two children peg picture cards for a book, a leaf, a paintbrush, a ball, a note and a mixing bowl onto a string while their father holds the basket of cards.

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Guide

A homeschool weekly schedule you can keep, Pre-K to Grade 8

Updated 2026-09-26

The best homeschool schedule is the one you still follow in March. That usually means fewer fixed times, a few dependable anchors, and a week that bends when life happens. Below are sample weeks for three age groups, and the ideas behind them so you can build your own.

Three ideas that make a schedule last

After breakfast, a parent and two children read one big picture book together on the sofa.

Anchors, not a timetable. Pick a few things that happen every day in the same order: reading after breakfast, math before lunch, outside after lunch. The clock time can move; the order stays.

One main thing a day. Instead of six subjects every day, give each day one subject that gets real attention and let the others rotate. Children go deeper, and you prepare less.

Short, then stop. End each piece while it is still going well. Younger children in particular learn more from several short, happy stretches than from one long one.

A sample week for Pre-K and Kindergarten

At this age learning happens through play, talk and real objects. Aim for short stretches, lots of reading aloud and plenty of time outside.

  1. Monday: counting at snack time with snack count, a picture book, a walk
  2. Tuesday: sorting with sock sort, painting, the park
  3. Wednesday: a nature morning with what do you notice?
  4. Thursday: my day in order, building blocks, songs
  5. Friday: baking together, then looking at the week's drawings

See every Pre-K activity and every Kindergarten activity.

A sample week for Grades 1 to 4

Children at this age can hold a longer focus, especially when they can touch and move things. Add a daily reading time on their own, and let one day be a project day.

  1. Monday: math with bundle builders, independent reading, a read-aloud
  2. Tuesday: science with ramp race, writing about what happened
  3. Wednesday: geography with treasure walk, a library visit
  4. Thursday: math with make the amount, history with ask a grown-up
  5. Friday: a project day, and a short look back together

See the activities for Grades 1 and 2 and Grades 3 and 4.

A sample week for Grades 5 to 8

Older children can plan part of their own week. Give them a list of what needs doing and let them choose the order. Keep one day for a longer investigation.

  1. Monday: math with balance the beast, a chapter of a novel
  2. Tuesday: history with detective of the past, writing
  3. Wednesday: science with kitchen changes
  4. Thursday: geography with where did this come from?, math practice
  5. Friday: their own project, then a check-in about the week

See the activities for Grades 5 and 6 and Grades 7 and 8.

More than one child

Two children at one ramp: the older measures it with a tape, the younger lets a toy car go.

With children of different ages, share what you can. A science activity or a history story can include everyone, with the older child taking a harder part: many of MyEdora's activities have a version for each grade band, so siblings can do the same activity at their own level. Then split for math and reading, where levels differ most, and have the older child work alone while you sit with the younger one.

When the week falls apart

A rainy day: a parent reads to the younger child under a blanket while the older one draws raindrops on the window.

Some weeks will. Illness, a move, a new baby or simply a hard stretch can empty a plan. Keep the anchors, drop everything else, and count reading together and time outside as a real day. Pick the plan back up the next Monday without trying to catch up everything at once.

Keep it where everyone can see it

Two children point at a paper week of picture cards on the fridge while their parent watches with a cup of coffee.

A schedule works better when the whole household can see it. Pin a paper week to the fridge, or put it in MyEdora, where each child's week, the family calendar and anyone helping can all see the same plan. For what to record as the weeks go by, read homeschool record keeping. If you are just starting, begin with how to start homeschooling.

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