Developing Your Learning Schedule

 All schools have approached distance learning differently, but most have some flexible time worked in. Students should be encouraged to look at what works best for them in setting up what parts of their schedule they can control. 

I recommend developing the schedule looking at the entire week as a whole, instead of trying to fit everything involved in school into just a daily schedule. Encourage your child to thoughtfully construct their weekly schedule with you (even high school students will benefit from working through this with another person). Think about how they can integrate subjects to make work more meaningful and try to make a larger block focused on project based learning to keep them engaged.

I still remember the nightmare of having AP Calculus the last period of the day. I couldn’t help but fall asleep in class because my body just needs a break at that time of day (still does). Luckily, I had an excellent tutor to make up for that terrible timing. But life got easier in college when I could choose to take my math classes in the morning or early evening. Figuring out when your brain works best is not as simple as being a lark versus a night owl. 

When developing the schedule you should start with how much of a lark the child is. Even larks have a brain start time that may not match exactly when they wake. I need to do my heavy mental work in the mornings between 8 am and noon. If I get up earlier than 7:30 am, I can use the time to work out or do some chores, but I have learned that even as a morning person not to try complex mental stuff before 7:30 am. I regularly start tutoring at 7 am, but I have learned to prep that material the day before, so I’m not trying to work out a difficult problem while my brain is still warming up. It may take some adjusting to the schedule the first weeks, but figure out when your child’s brain is at their best and put in their hardest work then. The emphasis here is the hardest work, not just the hardest subject. If you can include a thirty-minute free study period in their three to four-hour prime working time, it will help them pick what the hardest project is that week. 

Also, they should keep in mind that science supports doing the new learning first and repetitive review later in the day. This is where weekly schedules triumph over daily. Students who can change the days when they do certain subjects can accommodate moving new material to the earlier times of study. So, if new concepts in English (like vocab words and weekly writing concepts) are taught on Mondays, then do your English early on Monday. Move it to later in the day on Wednesdays and Thursdays when you are applying the ideas and words because review learning and creativity are strongest in off-peak times. I've put some sample schedules at the bottom of this post to get the conversation started. I start older students later because the research shows their brains function better with a later start. Modify the schedule to suit your subjects or time frames. 

Ideally, you can look at the work for the week and make a weekly schedule that fits for what will happen in the child’s class that week. But, not everyone has that flexibility or the time to devote to a new weekly schedule. If you need a set schedule, try to be flexible in the first few weeks as you get a feel for the flow of the teachers and school. Then optimize the schedule as best you can for your child’s brain and learning challenges. The biggest key is to encourage your child to try and pick the best times for work within whatever flexibility they have and teach them to work with their brains instead of trying to change their brains to work with someone else’s ideal schedule. 

Sample Middle and High School Schedule              Sample 2nd-6th Grade Schedule