All About Homeschool Loop Scheduling + Free Printable Planner

Inside: Learn how to use loop scheduling in your homeschool to accomplish all your goals. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, read my disclosure.

When it comes to homeschooling, I can be a bit…enthusiastic about what subjects I think I can cover in a year. There are so many fun, exciting, and interesting things to learn I want to choose them all!

Poetry reading and memorization? Of course!

Famous artists and composers study? Can’t leave it out.

Latin? Definitely!

I could go on and on with subjects to add. And worse, sometimes I do.

It used to really trouble me when my desire to introduce my kids to all the good and beautiful subjects would get shoved aside by all the necessary ones.

I would get so overwhelmed by trying to accomplish everything I’d quit trying. Or I’d find myself short on time and only ever getting to the same subject.

My failed plans for adding goodness and beauty to our day would leave me feeling discouraged.

And then I learned about Loop Scheduling. The magical concept allowed me to incorporate all the things and do them. Suddenly the stress and guilt I was feeling melted away.

What is Loop Scheduling?

Let’s begin with the basics.

Loop scheduling is taking a series of subjects and then following them in circular order, instead of assigning them to a specific day or time. Instead of starting at the beginning each time, you would just pick up where you left off, eventually looping back to the first topic.

For example, let’s say you have three subjects you would like to include:

1. Poetry
2. Music
3. Art

You would start with poetry and then move to the next topic. However, if you left off with music, then the next time you would begin with art and so on.

The Benefits of a Homeschool Loop Schedule

In your ideal homeschool, these topics would be covered together as a family every week. You have charted out your week, assigned them all a day, and know you can reasonably get to all of them.

But then life happens. An unexpected phone call, a doctor’s appointment, the toddler dumping cheerios all over the floor. You get the drift. And before you realize it, you’re having trouble fitting in all those subjects.

Without a loop schedule in place, you may find you always have time for poetry, but never get to composer study. Let alone art and music. And maybe you start to feel guilty about never getting to the others. Or you just decide it’s impossible and get rid of them entirely.

With a loop schedule, you are guaranteed to cover each topic.

And, there is no pressure for how fast you get through the loop. In her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakeable Peace, Sarah Mackenzie says,

Using a loop schedule means we make progress on all of our planned subjects, no matter how many days we’ve had to forgo school in favor of real-life interruptions. During a particularly busy time, we may get through the loop only once over two weeks. When things are running well we might get through the entire loop in a single week.

Sarah Mackenzie, Teaching from Rest

A loop schedule lets you give up the guilt. It works for you, regardless of the season of life you’re in.

A Few Tips For a Successful Homeschool Loop Schedule

Loop scheduling can add great peace of mind to your homeschool. To get the most out of it, follow these simple tips:

1. Keep your loop between 3-4 subjects. Too few and it’s not a loop, too many and it may take too long to get back to the beginning.
2. You can have more than one loop schedule. Create a loop schedule for read-alouds and another for electives. You can even have loop schedules for specific subjects.
3. Set up loop schedules for the whole family and for individual children. (Think language arts–writing, spelling, grammar, vocabulary)
4. Switch it up! You don’t have to keep the same loop schedule for the whole year. Feel free to switch it up to fit the needs of your homeschool.

Cover Homeschool Subjects Stress-Free with Loop Scheduling

Loop scheduling is the perfect way to remove a little stress from your homeschool. After all, there are plenty of other things to feel stressed out about. Finding a way to fit in enriching activities should not be one of them.

Let loop scheduling find a home in your homeschool. Pick your subjects, set up your loop, and enjoy the time spent doing each one with your children.

And lose the guilt and stress that comes from putting pressure on yourself to do all the things at once.

Free Homeschool Loop Schedule Planner

With a Loop Schedule Planner, you can easily plan out your loop subjects in the order to wish to cover them. You can also detail what you wish to cover in each cycle. This is perfect for jogging your memory to remember just where you left of or for keeping track of what you covered.

You can also create a loop schedule for each child and they can use the planner to help them keep track of where they are.