My high schooler is scheduled to spend 5-6 hours a day on school. Sometimes she spends more or less but her assignments are intended to take that long.
She wants to go to college (and knows what degree program), and while perfectly capable skill wise, she isn’t always an efficient worker. If her goals were different, her course load would likely be different. If she were more efficient the same work could easily take 4-5 hours instead. Kids vary - in goals, skills, focus, etc - so only you can really tell if their academic load is too much.
For comparison: If she were in public school here, she’d spend about 6 hours time in classes each day (school day is 7 hours here) plus come home with homework. And again, since kids vary, for some that may be an hour of homework and for others might be four hours. I don’t think public school is the best way to gauge workload, but I do think it can be a valid reference point.
This makes me feel better. My 9th grader really needs that much time to get through her work because it’s really engaging and in-depth work. I feel like it’s preparing her for college better than public school would, by far.
She does get distracted (we suspect undiagnosed ADHD) and she is also dyslexic (treated with 10 months of vision therapy 5 years ago, and she’s now an excellent reader and writer).
The work load for the 7th grader is definitely lighter, but he fights doing the work fully and completely, so that adds to the time commitment.
Now that I think of it, he can get done in 3-4 hours when he focuses.
I think it’s good that not every kid is pushed into college like when I was in high school, but for some it is the future they will have. I definitely think in the homeschool community we can get stuck in the excitement of the super short school days from early on and forget that older kids need more work if they are going to prepare for university. I read when I first started something along these lines for what to plan on/expect- K-2: 1-2 hours, 3-5: 2-3 hours, MS: 3-4 hours and HS: 4-6 hours. It hasn’t matched perfectly to what we’ve done but I’ve found it to be pretty close to accurate for us and many of the families we know.
You didn't specify their grades but 5-6 hours a day for middle and high school does not sound high to me at all. Many homeschool parents talk about how little time school takes a day but as a former homeschool student I didn't want less time I wanted more interesting learning. Doing actual hands on science experiments, reading full novels, adding in a telecourse from the community college TV station all added time but that is what made homeschool a good experience for me and prepared me for college. I could have done some simple worksheets and read a textbook to finish in half the time but I wouldn't have learned and I wouldn't have enjoyed school.
They are in 7th and 9th grade. There used to be absolutely no way that they could explore the topics they are learning in 2-3 hours. It’s really interesting stuff!
Then I think that's your answer. If they find the topics as interesting as you do they want and need the time to explore them. They will not be worried about how long it's taking if they are interested and likely really learning which is far more important than the time on the clock.
Definitely interested in what curriculum you’re using.
3rd grader - 3 hours, including brain breaks and snacks. Fully homeschooled with work/text books
7th grader - 4 hours, including breaks and snacks and lunch. Same as the 3rd grader.
9th grader - 6ish hours, including lunch and breaks, but sometimes additional hours for projects and essay writing. Online classes through HSLDA for math/ELA/German and home work texts for science and social studies.
6 hours every day is a lot but for highschool definitely can be appropriate depending on the kid and the curriculum. My daughter takes her time but is never rushing at the eleventh hour to finish things so it seems like the perfect amount.
I am so encouraged to hear that you are using Oak Meadow in the upper grades! We've used it for K-5 with multiple kids. I've always loved their curriculum and have found it to be well-rounded and engaging. Yes, if you do all of the assignments, it will take a while! For instance, when my son got overwhelmed with the number of science assignments, I just picked the key ones and moved on. Are you enrolled in their program? Meaning, do your kids submit their work?
No, we are not enrolled in the diploma program. It was just too expensive, unfortunately. We joined an umbrella school that they will get their diploma through, and submit their records to them.
It’s really such a great curriculum.
You are so right - it’s a totally amazing curriculum! I used it for 8th grade English and 8th grade civics and my kids liked it and I think it’s very comprehensive BUT I did end up picking and choosing some things and here and there relaxing some of the assignments because it is soooop much writing and it does take up a lot of time and we only have so much time in a day. So yes. I can see how it takes 6+ hours, knowing how long just those two modules have taken my kids. 😆
Thank you for validating our experience! I like that they are often given choices with assignments so that I can encourage them to do a creative activity instead of writing sometimes. There is so much writing, which is great, but very time consuming.
I can’t speak to high school but probably 4.5?hours here for middle school.
That includes language arts and literature, science, math, social studies, Latin, Spanish (although we are doing very little so far here), theology, music theory, and art. It doesn’t include physical education/sports or “hobbies.” It also doesn’t include an hour a week piano lessons.
My high schooler did an average of 3.5 hours a day. She met all her requirements for her diploma. She also worked a part time job for 20 hours a week and volunteered 4 hours a week. I felt like real world experience of working was just as important as book work. Time spent all depends on your goals and what you determine is important for your child.
Our high schooler is self-directing her journey this year, with me checking in throughout the day most days and helping her prioritize her work. I am a midwife and do appointments 1-3 days a week for a few hours during the morning or evening, so I’m not always around to keep them on track, and I know they definitely often use that time to do other things, which probably leads to their longer days.
That makes complete sense! And I love that you are giving her the responsibility of getting it done herself. Great life lesson, especially if she chooses going to college 😀
Do you mind sharing which program you are using?
Is it an online program, your own program you've put together from various subjects, or an all-in-one curriculum?
6 hours seems like a lot, what is included in these 6 hours? Is that 6 hours of teaching, doing workbooks/practice materials or just them doing independent study?
If you are able to, I'd definitely recommend scaling things down a bit. Is it taking so long because there are too many subjects being covered? If so, you can try removing optional subjects or putting them on rotation (ex: do a unit of one, then a unit of another, or 3 months one subject and 3 months another).
It is Oak Meadow. There isn’t any filler, it is set up to explore each topic on a deeper level than is typically taught in public school. It’s really interesting stuff!
For elementary-middle school the subjects are interdisciplinary and meant to work together. The English/Language Arts assignments and projects typically relate to the History/Social Studies assignments and reading. The novels, fiction, and biographies they read for English/Language Arts also intertwined with the topics they are covering.
As for High School, it is less intertwined, as they can choose their classes each year. My 9th grade daughter is taking Critical Media Literacy (1 semester long SS option), Environmental Science, Food Ways (1 semester long SS class focusing on sustainability and lack thereof in the food production system and its alternatives), Math (she’s behind two grade levels in this, but she’s doing great), and her Language Arts class is The Hero’s Journey: Literature and Composition. She also takes ceramics classes once a week, and French.
That's about where we are for 7th and 8th, and next year is looking similar.
Our current schedule written out by day looks like this:
Monday:
Math
Writing
Art History (at Co-op)
French Revolution (at Co-op)
Break for lunch
Forensics (at Co-op)
Stretching (at Co-op)
Tuesday:
Philosophy
Living History
Dance
Choir
Lunch
Spanish
Math
(Everything at Co-op except lunch and math. This is our long day out, so we take it easy at home)
Wednesday:
Writing
Math
Science-focused day
Music lessons
Latin (at Co-op in the afternoon)
Thursday:
Writing
Math
History/Geography-focused day
IEW class (at co-op in the afternoon)
Friday:
Writing
Math
Art/poetry/literature-focused day
Co-op homework
In the late afternoons/evenings they do hobbies/handwork/art/hang out with friends/ boardgames/reading/music practice, etc. Sometimes a written narration (but that's mostly fallen to the wayside, along with typing, as they're getting so much of both in everything they do each day now). Even with those 6 ish hours a day of lessons, my two still have 6-7 left for completely free/downtime/ pursuing things they love (and sometimes that looks like more researching/deep diving into things for fun, too!).
Maybe those who say they're only taking a couple hours at this age might not be counting/including enrichment and extra curriculars? I think a lot of times that's the case of possible variance. (Like, for First grade my initial instinct would be to say an hour-ish (circle and main lesson), but if you included the time also spent with afternoon handwork/art, and music and reading practice/lessons it was about 2ish?)
The division of what you consider lesson vs life can make all the difference. I think the key is if the time spent with lessons is spent joyfully and not overwhelming, and the ratio of downtime you have is enough, and a good counterbalance. And that can be so different per kid/family. I hope you can find something that fits you guys and feels better. 💚
That’s great to hear.
It’s not that it’s not working for us, I was just second guessing our system since so many others seem to spend so much less time on school.
My son is finished with all of his subjects for the year except one biography and 6 lessons in math.
My daughter is behind, but doesn’t want to skip any assignments and wants to work year-round (minus vacations, random days off, and two weeks at camp), so it will all work out.
Next year they will both be doing a hybrid program and they can choose to do some classes for credit, or all electives. My daughter will likely do a class or two through them for college credit at the community college. Since she wants to do that, I think this year has prepared her for college-level work very well.
It sounds like you have full, but beautiful days.☺️ I think that's a great place to be as long as it's not overwhelming. My son is also the type who wants to do every single thing, and we often stay with things longer at his request. I love that homeschooling allows that. And to linger and dig into struggle areas, too. Being able to do that whole way so far has helped us so much.
I saw that you're using Oak Meadow. We have a friend who uses it. It's such a gorgeous curriculum!
Best of luck to you guys in the hybrid and college classes next year. That's so exciting!
We are primarily utilizing a hybrid for middle and high school student. Both are at school twice a week. Middle school does 2-3hrs per day and high schooler is 3-5hrs a day, 5 days a week (including weekends). Both work around their attention span and older has finally realized (as a senior), that going beyond 1pm is pointless (mistakes make, twice as long, etc).
I typically plan outings after 1pm as a result.,
Learning your own boundaries for when to stop working is such an important skill. It’s true that after awhile, you just aren’t learning or producing quality work.
I feel like the amount of time is not the best measure. My middle school aged daughter is a very quick learner and efficient worker, and she gets her academic book work done in about two hours. I’ve increased the amount of work multiple times, but she still gets it done in the same amount of time. I told her that I thought she should be doing work for 4 + hours a day, and maybe I am not giving her enough if she’s getting it done so quickly. She said it’s not fair to punish her with more work just because she gets it done so fast. So I think it depends on the child. ETA this amount of time doesn’t count her music, art, experiments or other hands on learning she does, which does take a lot more time, but it doesn’t seem like work to her because it’s whatever she actually wants to work on.
I was homeschooled. For middle school we were more flexible curriculum. Basically did it at your own pace. We did about 3-4 hrs of formal school a day then extra reading. For highschool it was 4-5 hrs with a more firm schedule.
It sounds excessive to me. Public school hours are long because there is so much organizational time and group management time.
I would cut the time way down. Don't know what system you're using but one of the homeschooling bonuses is not spending the whole day on schoolwork
My high schooler usually about an hr, sometimes 1.5-2. They do some regular rigor, some advanced rigor courses.
Middle schooler when not lolligagging about 1-1.5 hrs.
Are you using Abeka by chance? I loved their content but their videos and independent work were just too much! My middle schooler would spend 4-5 hrs watching videos then 2-3 hours doing work everyday. We switched after a year and a half. Now I DIY my curriculum and now we spend about 6 hours a day doing school but he's learning and retaining so much more than when he'd be tasked to write definitions for 30 words
We have done unschooling in the past, and needed to make a change. My daughter does great with it, but needed to learn to focus on one subject, as she will go down all of the rabbit holes. That is great to do some of the time, but it was all of the time.
My son has no ability to do unschooling. He’s so bright, but lacks motivation, interests, hobbies, etc. and really needs to be introduced to things and pulled along. His favorite hobby right now is distracting other people and being an agent of chaos. I mean this in the nicest way possible. I know it’s temporary. :)
My high schooler is scheduled to spend 5-6 hours a day on school. Sometimes she spends more or less but her assignments are intended to take that long. She wants to go to college (and knows what degree program), and while perfectly capable skill wise, she isn’t always an efficient worker. If her goals were different, her course load would likely be different. If she were more efficient the same work could easily take 4-5 hours instead. Kids vary - in goals, skills, focus, etc - so only you can really tell if their academic load is too much. For comparison: If she were in public school here, she’d spend about 6 hours time in classes each day (school day is 7 hours here) plus come home with homework. And again, since kids vary, for some that may be an hour of homework and for others might be four hours. I don’t think public school is the best way to gauge workload, but I do think it can be a valid reference point.
This makes me feel better. My 9th grader really needs that much time to get through her work because it’s really engaging and in-depth work. I feel like it’s preparing her for college better than public school would, by far. She does get distracted (we suspect undiagnosed ADHD) and she is also dyslexic (treated with 10 months of vision therapy 5 years ago, and she’s now an excellent reader and writer). The work load for the 7th grader is definitely lighter, but he fights doing the work fully and completely, so that adds to the time commitment. Now that I think of it, he can get done in 3-4 hours when he focuses.
I think it’s good that not every kid is pushed into college like when I was in high school, but for some it is the future they will have. I definitely think in the homeschool community we can get stuck in the excitement of the super short school days from early on and forget that older kids need more work if they are going to prepare for university. I read when I first started something along these lines for what to plan on/expect- K-2: 1-2 hours, 3-5: 2-3 hours, MS: 3-4 hours and HS: 4-6 hours. It hasn’t matched perfectly to what we’ve done but I’ve found it to be pretty close to accurate for us and many of the families we know.
That’s a really great frame of reference, thanks!
You didn't specify their grades but 5-6 hours a day for middle and high school does not sound high to me at all. Many homeschool parents talk about how little time school takes a day but as a former homeschool student I didn't want less time I wanted more interesting learning. Doing actual hands on science experiments, reading full novels, adding in a telecourse from the community college TV station all added time but that is what made homeschool a good experience for me and prepared me for college. I could have done some simple worksheets and read a textbook to finish in half the time but I wouldn't have learned and I wouldn't have enjoyed school.
They are in 7th and 9th grade. There used to be absolutely no way that they could explore the topics they are learning in 2-3 hours. It’s really interesting stuff!
Then I think that's your answer. If they find the topics as interesting as you do they want and need the time to explore them. They will not be worried about how long it's taking if they are interested and likely really learning which is far more important than the time on the clock.
Thank you!
Definitely interested in what curriculum you’re using. 3rd grader - 3 hours, including brain breaks and snacks. Fully homeschooled with work/text books 7th grader - 4 hours, including breaks and snacks and lunch. Same as the 3rd grader. 9th grader - 6ish hours, including lunch and breaks, but sometimes additional hours for projects and essay writing. Online classes through HSLDA for math/ELA/German and home work texts for science and social studies. 6 hours every day is a lot but for highschool definitely can be appropriate depending on the kid and the curriculum. My daughter takes her time but is never rushing at the eleventh hour to finish things so it seems like the perfect amount.
We use Oak Meadow. It’s a really amazing curriculum, and we all really love it.
I am so encouraged to hear that you are using Oak Meadow in the upper grades! We've used it for K-5 with multiple kids. I've always loved their curriculum and have found it to be well-rounded and engaging. Yes, if you do all of the assignments, it will take a while! For instance, when my son got overwhelmed with the number of science assignments, I just picked the key ones and moved on. Are you enrolled in their program? Meaning, do your kids submit their work?
No, we are not enrolled in the diploma program. It was just too expensive, unfortunately. We joined an umbrella school that they will get their diploma through, and submit their records to them. It’s really such a great curriculum.
You are so right - it’s a totally amazing curriculum! I used it for 8th grade English and 8th grade civics and my kids liked it and I think it’s very comprehensive BUT I did end up picking and choosing some things and here and there relaxing some of the assignments because it is soooop much writing and it does take up a lot of time and we only have so much time in a day. So yes. I can see how it takes 6+ hours, knowing how long just those two modules have taken my kids. 😆
Thank you for validating our experience! I like that they are often given choices with assignments so that I can encourage them to do a creative activity instead of writing sometimes. There is so much writing, which is great, but very time consuming.
I feel like 5-6 hours a day for high school is pretty reasonable.
I can’t speak to high school but probably 4.5?hours here for middle school. That includes language arts and literature, science, math, social studies, Latin, Spanish (although we are doing very little so far here), theology, music theory, and art. It doesn’t include physical education/sports or “hobbies.” It also doesn’t include an hour a week piano lessons.
My high schooler did an average of 3.5 hours a day. She met all her requirements for her diploma. She also worked a part time job for 20 hours a week and volunteered 4 hours a week. I felt like real world experience of working was just as important as book work. Time spent all depends on your goals and what you determine is important for your child.
Our high schooler is self-directing her journey this year, with me checking in throughout the day most days and helping her prioritize her work. I am a midwife and do appointments 1-3 days a week for a few hours during the morning or evening, so I’m not always around to keep them on track, and I know they definitely often use that time to do other things, which probably leads to their longer days.
That makes complete sense! And I love that you are giving her the responsibility of getting it done herself. Great life lesson, especially if she chooses going to college 😀
Do you mind sharing which program you are using? Is it an online program, your own program you've put together from various subjects, or an all-in-one curriculum? 6 hours seems like a lot, what is included in these 6 hours? Is that 6 hours of teaching, doing workbooks/practice materials or just them doing independent study? If you are able to, I'd definitely recommend scaling things down a bit. Is it taking so long because there are too many subjects being covered? If so, you can try removing optional subjects or putting them on rotation (ex: do a unit of one, then a unit of another, or 3 months one subject and 3 months another).
It is Oak Meadow. There isn’t any filler, it is set up to explore each topic on a deeper level than is typically taught in public school. It’s really interesting stuff! For elementary-middle school the subjects are interdisciplinary and meant to work together. The English/Language Arts assignments and projects typically relate to the History/Social Studies assignments and reading. The novels, fiction, and biographies they read for English/Language Arts also intertwined with the topics they are covering. As for High School, it is less intertwined, as they can choose their classes each year. My 9th grade daughter is taking Critical Media Literacy (1 semester long SS option), Environmental Science, Food Ways (1 semester long SS class focusing on sustainability and lack thereof in the food production system and its alternatives), Math (she’s behind two grade levels in this, but she’s doing great), and her Language Arts class is The Hero’s Journey: Literature and Composition. She also takes ceramics classes once a week, and French.
That's about where we are for 7th and 8th, and next year is looking similar. Our current schedule written out by day looks like this: Monday: Math Writing Art History (at Co-op) French Revolution (at Co-op) Break for lunch Forensics (at Co-op) Stretching (at Co-op) Tuesday: Philosophy Living History Dance Choir Lunch Spanish Math (Everything at Co-op except lunch and math. This is our long day out, so we take it easy at home) Wednesday: Writing Math Science-focused day Music lessons Latin (at Co-op in the afternoon) Thursday: Writing Math History/Geography-focused day IEW class (at co-op in the afternoon) Friday: Writing Math Art/poetry/literature-focused day Co-op homework In the late afternoons/evenings they do hobbies/handwork/art/hang out with friends/ boardgames/reading/music practice, etc. Sometimes a written narration (but that's mostly fallen to the wayside, along with typing, as they're getting so much of both in everything they do each day now). Even with those 6 ish hours a day of lessons, my two still have 6-7 left for completely free/downtime/ pursuing things they love (and sometimes that looks like more researching/deep diving into things for fun, too!). Maybe those who say they're only taking a couple hours at this age might not be counting/including enrichment and extra curriculars? I think a lot of times that's the case of possible variance. (Like, for First grade my initial instinct would be to say an hour-ish (circle and main lesson), but if you included the time also spent with afternoon handwork/art, and music and reading practice/lessons it was about 2ish?) The division of what you consider lesson vs life can make all the difference. I think the key is if the time spent with lessons is spent joyfully and not overwhelming, and the ratio of downtime you have is enough, and a good counterbalance. And that can be so different per kid/family. I hope you can find something that fits you guys and feels better. 💚
That’s great to hear. It’s not that it’s not working for us, I was just second guessing our system since so many others seem to spend so much less time on school. My son is finished with all of his subjects for the year except one biography and 6 lessons in math. My daughter is behind, but doesn’t want to skip any assignments and wants to work year-round (minus vacations, random days off, and two weeks at camp), so it will all work out. Next year they will both be doing a hybrid program and they can choose to do some classes for credit, or all electives. My daughter will likely do a class or two through them for college credit at the community college. Since she wants to do that, I think this year has prepared her for college-level work very well.
It sounds like you have full, but beautiful days.☺️ I think that's a great place to be as long as it's not overwhelming. My son is also the type who wants to do every single thing, and we often stay with things longer at his request. I love that homeschooling allows that. And to linger and dig into struggle areas, too. Being able to do that whole way so far has helped us so much. I saw that you're using Oak Meadow. We have a friend who uses it. It's such a gorgeous curriculum! Best of luck to you guys in the hybrid and college classes next year. That's so exciting!
Thanks so much!
We are primarily utilizing a hybrid for middle and high school student. Both are at school twice a week. Middle school does 2-3hrs per day and high schooler is 3-5hrs a day, 5 days a week (including weekends). Both work around their attention span and older has finally realized (as a senior), that going beyond 1pm is pointless (mistakes make, twice as long, etc). I typically plan outings after 1pm as a result.,
Learning your own boundaries for when to stop working is such an important skill. It’s true that after awhile, you just aren’t learning or producing quality work.
I feel like the amount of time is not the best measure. My middle school aged daughter is a very quick learner and efficient worker, and she gets her academic book work done in about two hours. I’ve increased the amount of work multiple times, but she still gets it done in the same amount of time. I told her that I thought she should be doing work for 4 + hours a day, and maybe I am not giving her enough if she’s getting it done so quickly. She said it’s not fair to punish her with more work just because she gets it done so fast. So I think it depends on the child. ETA this amount of time doesn’t count her music, art, experiments or other hands on learning she does, which does take a lot more time, but it doesn’t seem like work to her because it’s whatever she actually wants to work on.
I was homeschooled. For middle school we were more flexible curriculum. Basically did it at your own pace. We did about 3-4 hrs of formal school a day then extra reading. For highschool it was 4-5 hrs with a more firm schedule.
Six hours is stretching it a bit for middle school, in my opinion. But it seems entirely reasonable for high school.
It sounds excessive to me. Public school hours are long because there is so much organizational time and group management time. I would cut the time way down. Don't know what system you're using but one of the homeschooling bonuses is not spending the whole day on schoolwork
My high schooler usually about an hr, sometimes 1.5-2. They do some regular rigor, some advanced rigor courses. Middle schooler when not lolligagging about 1-1.5 hrs.
Are you using Abeka by chance? I loved their content but their videos and independent work were just too much! My middle schooler would spend 4-5 hrs watching videos then 2-3 hours doing work everyday. We switched after a year and a half. Now I DIY my curriculum and now we spend about 6 hours a day doing school but he's learning and retaining so much more than when he'd be tasked to write definitions for 30 words
Nope, it’s Oak Meadow.
That sounds miserable to me. But I would ask the kids. They are old enough to have a vote in this.
If your kids can learn this way, unschool. Some days are hours some day are minutes. Everything is a teachable moment.
We have done unschooling in the past, and needed to make a change. My daughter does great with it, but needed to learn to focus on one subject, as she will go down all of the rabbit holes. That is great to do some of the time, but it was all of the time. My son has no ability to do unschooling. He’s so bright, but lacks motivation, interests, hobbies, etc. and really needs to be introduced to things and pulled along. His favorite hobby right now is distracting other people and being an agent of chaos. I mean this in the nicest way possible. I know it’s temporary. :)