Time Blocking for Christian Unschooling

While we love the unbound ideals of an unschooling life, as a Christian family, we also are bound to the call to live as good stewards of the days and hours we have been given.

Therefore (and this sounds utterly counterintuitive for an unschooler), I actually time block our days. It’s just what works for our Christian unschooling crew in being able to live intentional, gospel-powered lives. And

Reasons for Time Blocking

For one, we like having a predictable rhythm of ordered chunks of time so we can actually do the things we need to, like maintaining our home and mastering good habits. It’s hard to do those things when you are flying by the seat of your pants every day!

Also, I believe we need to allocate focused and intentional time to accomplish the objectives we have set for ourselves, and blocking out time in our days/weeks/months is how we make that happen. One of the best things I’ve learned as an adult is that we need to be proactive (not reactive) in our lives, and I want to impart that same value to my children.

I can’t remember where I first heard this, but we should always be asking ourselves, “How am I investing my time?”, recognizing that we can either utilize the minutes and hours given to us in a wasteful way or we can be utilizing them in a way that brings a future return, both for ourselves or others (note: this isn’t just about work, but rest as well).

Benefits of Time Blocking

In a weird way, time blocking actually gives me the freedom as the manager of our home and homeschool to be able to say yes or no to things without burden or guilt, because I already know what is on our plate in any given week, and especially where we have margin.

And though the term itself sounds constrictive (especially within the context of a relaxed homeschool!), time blocking actually allows me to be flexible while mitigating the stress that comes from unexpected or spontaneous circumstances that may prop up (which is often!). For instance, if we get a last-minute invitation to get together with friends or the a medical office calls to reschedule an appointment, I can easily see if and when we are able rearrange our chunks of time on the calendar.

Time blocking practically helps me in my role of lifeschooling mom to:

• Ensure my kids have ample time to both master habits/skills, as well as make headway with their goals
• Ensure we are factoring margin into our week
• Train up and model to my kids how to be intentional with their time

Important things to note with my time blocking, that makes our rhythm work well overall:

• I structure time, NOT content (a tenet of the Leadership Education model, which we are highly influenced by)
• I am super open-handed with our time, knowing that “life happens” or that God may call us on any given day to serve Him and others in a way we didn’t plan for

What Time Blocking Looks Like for Our Family

Each season of learning looks different, but we have typically blocked out time for the following:

• Collective Blocks/Family Read-Aloud Blocks: This is when we gather all together for 1) administrative purposes, like going over our calendar, 2) doing family learning, like family devotionals, or like when the kids all wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship through Gather ‘Round Homeschool’s Entrepreneurship study, or if I simply want to impart some information that any of the kids may be interested in or should be aware of (namely,current events), and 3) for reading our family read-aloud.
• Self-Directed Learning Blocks: Basically, time for each of the kids to pursue interests (I’m usually doing the same but am available to assist them as they need it).
• Fitness/Outdoor Blocks: Our family values our health (knowing that our healthy and strong bodies help us do our best work) so we make sure we are moving our bodies and getting outside throughout the week.
• Home Maintenance (aks Blessing Hour) Blocks: Those bathrooms aren’t going to clean themselves! Nor are our clothes going to magically make their way to the washing machine, then the dryer, then back in out closets!
• Errands/Appointment/Social Blocks: You know, life stuff, like getting to the doc/dentist, buying food, and being in community.
• Margin & Organic Discipleship Opportunities: Peppered throughout the week, I have empty spaces just for margin. I’m not blocking out every single hour for productive, in-the-home or outside-the-home activities; that’s unsustainable! I like making sure we have these chunks of “down time” factored in throughout the week because sometimes personal project pursuits can take longer than anticipated, or someone gets sick, or someone simply just wants to relax, or we spontaneously stumble upon a cool show or YouTube video that we all want to watch (and maybe even binge on, LOL), or “organic discipleship opportunities” prop up where we have to slow our roll and speak the truths of the gospel in that moment (which is usually rooted in someone’s selfishness or pride). These empty spaces on the calendar provide that margin and help me easily see where we can re-adjust any blocks in order to accommodate our real life.

Between all these blocks, we’ve been able to maintain a relatively balanced homeschool and life. There have certainly been more stressful or demanding seasons, but overall, this strategy has been one of the main anchors in our Christian unschooling lifestyle.

Time Blocking Templates

If you’ve never time blocked before, and/or need help to get started, this website offers different kinds of time blocking templates that you can use!

Our Day-in-the-Life Posts Over the Years

To give you an example of what time blocking has looked like for us in the past, you can read about our day-in-the-life posts:

Jan 2023: A Day in the Life of Christian Unschoolers (11-, 14-, and 16-Years Old)

Jan 2022: We didn’t do a day-in-the-life post for this specific year, because we were still wrapping up with our house build. Literally our days were consumed with finishing up our home build, peppered with reading aloud. And teaching Big Bro to drive!

Jan 2021: A Day in the Life of a Christian Unschooling Family (9-, 12-, and 14-Years Old)

Jan 2020: A Day in the Life of Lifeschoolers (8-, 11-, and 13-Years Old)

Nov 2018: A Day in the Life of a Lifeschooling Family (7-, 10-, and 12-Years Old)