The “loop schedule” is my secret weapon for preventing homeschool mom burnout. This brilliant homeschool schedule idea has saved my sanity.
Why is a loop schedule so great?
It relieves the feeling that you’re not doing enough. Also, when we’re using a loop schedule, we actually get more done!
What Is a Homeschool Loop Schedule?
A loop schedule is basically just a list of subjects that you do in order. When you’re done for the day, you stop at that point on the list and pick up at the same spot the next day.
Here’s an very basic example of how a loop schedule might look:
LOOP SCHEDULE EXAMPLE:
- math
- reading
- science
- language arts
- history
- math
- reading
- science
- language arts
- history
See how the list just repeats?
If you finish the school day on language arts, you simply start the next day with history and keep working through the list in order.
Traditional Schedule vs Loop Schedule
We used to follow a traditional schedule with a certain order of subjects each day and the “extras,” like science and history, scheduled for certain days of the week.
Homeschooling life is busy. Every day can be different for me homeschooling my four kids.
Things would often come up to throw our schedule off. This caused me stress.
If science was scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday and we didn’t get to it on Tuesday, that meant we would only do one day of science that week.
A loop schedule is different. It works around your schedule and you’ll get to everything because it’s on your loop.
3 Benefits of a Loop Schedule
1. You’ll Get More Done
It seems like you would get less done with a loop schedule, but we actually get more done.
Previous to using a loop schedule, we rarely covered geography, art or music. These are on my loop schedule though, so we get to them now.
2. You Don’t Feel Rushed
With a traditional schedule, I often felt like I was rushing through all the material so we would get everything done on my schedule for that day.
Since starting a loop schedule, we’ve been able to slow down and really enjoy what we’re learning.
3. It’s SO Simple
The loop schedule is minimalist homeschooling at its finest.
You don’t need a fancy weekly schedule. This is just a list! Simply check off each subject as you complete it. No more complex, color-coded schedules with each child’s name.
How to Make a Loop Schedule
Make a List
List all the subjects you want to cover. You can keep it very simple and basic or throw in all the fun “extras,” like art, music and foreign language.
Loop All the Subjects…. Or Only Some
You can customize a loop schedule to meet your needs. You can loop all or only some of the subjects.
1. Loop All of the Subjects
You can create a loop schedule that loops all the subjects. This is the simplest way to do it.
2. Loop Some of the Subjects
Another option is to loop some of the subjects, but not all.
You can cover core subjects daily, like math and language. Start the day with those and then loop the rest.
My Loop Schedule
I use a loop schedule where I loop only some subjects.
I have four children in the second, fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades. My twelfth grader makes her own schedule since she’s dual-enrolled in college classes.
My other three children complete math, reading, and language arts daily in the morning. Then, we move on to our loop schedule.
Here’s what our schedule looks like:
DAILY CORE SUBJECTS
- Math
- Reading
- Language Arts
LOOP
- Science
- Art
- History
- Foreign Language
- Geography
- Music
If you’ve been dealing with the stress of feeling like you just can’t get everything done, I hope you’ll give loop scheduling a try!
—oOo—
A big thank you to Tracy of Happy Homeschool Mom for writing this article.
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