How to Use a Loop Schedule in Your Homeschool
I have always struggled with organization and perfectionism. I want to do everything perfectly, and homeschooling my kids is no exception. But, life often gets in the way. We have appointments, kids get sick, babies don’t sleep at night, and our perfect homeschool schedule and plans just don’t get finished. Recently I discovered an alternative that allows me to give myself grace in this situation. Using a loop schedule in our homeschool allows us not to get behind even when life gets in the way. Here’s everything you need to know about loop schedules, and how loop scheduling can help you in your homeschool, too. And, you can download a free loop schedule template to try it out for yourself!
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What is a loop schedule?
A loop schedule is a different way of thinking about scheduling that focuses on the order that you complete tasks instead of the time that you will complete them. Loop schedules are more flexible, allowing you to accommodate interruptions to the schedule without skipping subjects that are important to you.
When you create a loop schedule, you list all the topics or subjects that you want to cover. Then, you work through the list from top to bottom. When you get to the bottom of the list, you loop back up to the top and start again, which is where the name loop schedule comes from.
In homeschooling, a loop schedule would include all of the subjects that you want to teach in your homeschool. When you have time for homeschooling, you would simply start at the next subject in the list and go down the list in order, for as much time as you have.
Some homeschoolers use a basket or box to keep all the resources for their loop schedule subjects. This is known as a morning basket, since they often work on this loop schedule first thing in the morning with their kids.
A homeschool loop schedule might look something like this:
Math
Science
Reading
Art
History
Music
So when you repeat the schedule over and over you would have:
Math
Science
Reading
Art
History
Music
Math
Science
Reading
Art
History
Music
Math
Science
Reading
Art
History
Music
Benefits of loop schedules
Loop schedules allow you to cover more subjects in your homeschool.
One of the greatest benefits of loop schedules is that they allow you to cover more subjects, because you might not be doing everything every day. Homeschoolers often use loop schedules to add in subjects like nature study, fine arts, technology and STEM lessons, or foreign language study. Loop schedules are perfect for subjects like those that you may want to cover, but you just don’t have time to get to every day. Adding those subjects to a loop schedule will allow you to study them without getting overwhelmed trying to do too many things daily.
Loop schedules help when you can’t do it all.
If you feel like you are always getting to the end of your homeschool time before you get to the end of your lesson plan, a loop schedule may be helpful. Loop scheduling allows families to alternate subjects so there is never one thing that keeps getting left until last, and then skipped or forgotten.
Loop scheduling allows you to accommodate interruptions.
If you have been homeschooling for even a little while, you know that life gets in the way sometimes. Kids get sick, appointments get scheduled, things break, and all of these things can get in the way of following a homeschool schedule. Loop scheduling can allow you the flexibility to work around distractions and still get to everything on the list.
Let’s say that you have a traditional schedule that says that you do art lessons every Friday. But, on the first Friday of the month your family plans a special long weekend trip. And then the next week you need to go to the grocery store on Friday. And then the next week your child gets sick and isn’t feeling up to lessons. It would be easy to go a month without ever doing an art lesson.
Instead, if you used a loop schedule that included art, you would just include your art lesson on the next day that you did homeschool. None of these distractions would prevent you from getting the art lesson done.
Loop schedules keep you on track when interruptions occur.
With a loop schedule, you never have to worry about getting behind. Simply plan to complete the lessons the next time you homeschool. You will never completely skip a subject, which means that it is much harder to get really behind.
Related post: Keep track of when you homeschool with this free printable homeschool attendance sheet!
Loop scheduling is simple to use.
With a loop schedule, you never have to spend time figuring out what subjects you will be doing next, and in what order. Simply check your list, and complete the next subject on the list.
Using a loop schedule gives grace for perfectionism.
It is easy for perfectionism to create stress and overwhelm in homeschooling. When we missed a lesson in our traditional schedule, I used to try to make up the lesson by adding it to another day. This created some really long homeschool days and a lot of stress for both me and my kids. With a loop schedule, I never have to try to schedule make up lessons, or try to catch up when we are behind. I just start with the next lesson on the loop, and I can relax knowing that we aren’t skipping anything important.
How to Create a Loop Schedule
Making a loop schedule for homeschooling is very easy. Here are the steps:
1. List your homeschool subjects.
What would you like to cover with your kids in your homeschool? Make a complete list of all the homeschool subjects you would like to study.
Related post: 5 Factors to Consider when Choosing Subjects for Homeschool
2. Prioritize the list.
For each of the subjects listed, take a minute to think about how much of a priority it is to study that subject. Do you need to make sure that subject is covered every day? Or would once a week be sufficient? This will help you figure out how often to include the subject in your loop.
3. List the subjects in order.
On a sheet of paper, write down the order that you will work through the subjects in your loop schedule.
Subjects to cover every day
There are some homeschool subjects that need to be covered daily. This list will be different for each family and often for each child, depending on your priorities for that child. Sequential subjects like math where topics build on each other are important to study every day. Kids who are learning to read, or learning to speak a foreign language, will often need daily practice as well. It is important to make sure that your loop schedule accommodates daily practice for these subjects. There are several ways to do this:
List the subjects to be covered daily separately.
You might choose to use a loop schedule for some of the subjects in your homeschool, and to practice others daily. This is how we use loop scheduling in my homeschool. We study math and reading every day, but subjects like science and history are part of our loop. Each day that we do homeschool, we include both our daily subjects and some additional time to work through our loop schedule.
Include daily subjects in the loop multiple times.
Another possible solution is to create a loop that includes subjects that you want to cover daily multiple times. For example, a loop that includes math daily might look something like this:
Math
Science
Art
Math
History
Music
Math
Foreign Language
Nature Study
Using multiple loops
Another way to customize how often your subjects get covered is to create multiple loops. Let’s say that you want to cover math and reading daily, science and history twice a week, and several different fine arts topics once a week. Your loop schedule might look like this:
Daily subjects
Math
Reading
Loop #1
Science
History
Loop #2
Painting
Music listening
Drama
Sculpting
Music composer study
In this example, each day you might choose to do your daily subjects, plus one lesson from each of the loops. This would allow you to do 4 lessons per day, complete reading and math daily, study history and science twice a week, and work through the fine arts loop about once a week.
Looping for multiple curriculum resources
Another way to use loops is for subjects where you are using multiple curriculum resources. You can use a loop to alternate when you use each curriculum. For example, suppose you are studying history by reading a textbook, creating a lapbook, and watching a video series online. You might create a loop for your history studies that looks like this:
Textbook
Lapbook
Video
This would allow you to make sure you are using all of the resources equally.
Customizing Your Loop Schedule
Once you start to see how your loop schedule is working, it is important to tweak it as needed. Take some time after a few weeks to analyze and adapt your schedule to fit the needs of your family. Because each family is unique and has different priorities and needs, each family’s loop schedule will be unique as well.
Related Post: Our Homeschool Schedule for Kindergarten
Using a loop schedule
To use your loop schedule, simply look at the list. Find the next subject and start there. Go through as many of the subjects in order as you can during your homeschool time. At the end of your homeschool time, record where you left off. On your next homeschool day, start there and keep going down the list.
Getting off schedule
The great thing about loop schedules is that it really isn’t possible to get “off schedule.” With a traditional schedule, if you miss a day of homeschooling, you will get behind and need to rework your schedule or figure out how to make up the lessons that you missed. With a loop schedule, just start where you left off the next time you are homeschooling.
Keeping track of loops
There are several ways to keep track of where you are in your loop schedule. One way that works well for many families is to use a sticky note flag. Simply move the flag to the next subject to be completed.
Other families may prefer to laminate their loop schedule with contact paper or a single page laminator. You can also put your schedule in a page protector sheet. This will allow you to write on the schedule with a dry erase maker. You can create a checklist for your schedule and mark off lessons as you complete them. This will allow you to keep track of what subject needs to be completed next.
Is a loop schedule right for you?
When choosing a homeschool schedule for your family, it is important to remember that each family, and each child is unique. What works well for one family may not work at all for another. That is why it is very important to create your own homeschool schedule, rather than relying on what works for someone else. If someone else’s schedule doesn’t work for you, that doesn’t mean you have failed at homeschooling- it just means that their family has different needs than yours.
It is also important to find a schedule that works for the style of homeschooling you choose. For example, Charlotte Mason homeschoolers should follow a Charlotte Mason schedule.
For some families, the routine of doing the same subjects every day or even at the same time each week is very helpful. Those families might benefit from trying a different option, such as block scheduling.
Loop scheduling vs block scheduling
A common alternative to loop scheduling is block scheduling. Figuring out which one works best for your family will depend on your priorities and your personality.
What is block scheduling?
Block scheduling is another way of incorporating subjects into your homeschool schedule when you don’t want to study that subject every day of the year. In block scheduling, you can take subjects and assign them to study daily for a certain block of weeks or months. When you finish one subject’s block, you start a new block to replace it. So, if you want to study science and history with a block schedule you might study science for the first half of your homeschool year. You would try to finish the curriculum halfway through the year, and then you could switch to studying history for the second half, or block, of the year.
Block scheduling and loop scheduling are two different alternatives that both help families create a schedule that includes more subjects, without getting overwhelmed. Block scheduling might work better for families who like the routine of studying the same subject every day. It might also help kids who need lots of reinforcement and review and tend to forget what they have learned when they don’t study a subject daily. However, it can be tricky for kids who don’t study a subject for a long period of time to remember what they have learned when they pick it up again. Families who choose block scheduling will need to incorporate some time for review during the first days and weeks of a new block.
When should you try a loop schedule?
There are a few situations where loop schedules can be particularly helpful in homeschooling. You might want to try a loop schedule if:
- You are in a season in your life where there are lots of disruptions to homeschool time. Loop schedules work especially well for families with babies or toddlers. They can also be a good fit for homeschool moms struggling with health challenges or chronic illness. Loop schedules can allow you to make the most of the time that you have for homeschooling, even if your schedule is inconsistent.
- You feel like you aren’t getting everything done every day. If you feel like you never quite get to everything you have planned for your homeschool day, loop scheduling can be a helpful tool. It allows you to structure your schedule so that nothing important gets missed.
- You want to study a lot of different subjects. A loop schedule can be a good solution for families who want to expose their kids to a wide variety of different lessons and subjects, even if they aren’t doing them every day.
- You like variety. Loop schedules can work well for families who feel like they are getting into a rut doing the same things at the same time every day, and are looking to change things up. A loop schedule allows you to add in variety while still making sure that each subject is covered systematically and completely.
Other ways to use loop schedules
Loop scheduling is a powerful tool because it can be used for more than just homeschool schedules! Loop schedules can be helpful for moms when organizing housework and planning meals. Moms can also use them for their own freetime activities, or for Bible study resources if you are interested in studying more than one thing at once. A loop schedule can also be used for kids to keep track of who is doing which chores, or whose turn it is for something special that they all enjoy.
Loop schedule template
Try a loop schedule for yourself with this loop schedule template! Download your free template today to try loop scheduling in your homeschool!
