How to Make a School Schedule for Online Students
byAllison Brubaker
5 min to readIf you’ve wondered what a typical day of virtual school is like, you’re not alone! In fact, many families ask us about how to make a schedule for online school. With online school, families get more flexibility with scheduling, as well as other benefits. In fact, one of the most delightful things about online public school is that there doesn’t have to be a typical day!
With online learning, parents and Learning Coaches (adults who support the student’s learning at home) have the flexibility to arrange daily school schedules to fit children’s needs and the family’s lifestyle. Naturally, there are some limits, such as regularly scheduled online classroom sessions and teacher conferences. But the ability to create a daily school schedule that works for you and your student is a primary benefit of enrolling in an online school.
From elementary school through high school, having a more flexible daily schedule might work to benefit your student. It’s true that in online high school, where courses can become more challenging, the number of fixed-schedule online classroom meetings increases. However, even with additional scheduled meetings, distance-learning families enjoy freedom from the typical “bell system” of traditional schools.
In this article, we provide elementary, middle, and high school schedule examples to give you a starting point to create your student’s customized school schedule—plus a free schedule printable to use for your student.
1. Elementary School Schedule Examples
For some online school families, one lesson for each class per day works well. Here’s how one elementary school student uses this type of distance-learning schedule:
Aniyah, fifth grader
- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast, chores
- 9:00 a.m. Language Arts
- 10:00 a.m. Rotate lessons for Education Technology, Music, or other elective course
- 10:30 a.m. Social Studies
- 11:30 a.m. Flexible time, used for projects or learning activities
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch/Relaxation/Play
- 1:00 p.m. Math (extra time allotted)
- 2:30 p.m. Science
- 3:30 p.m. Science Sleuths: Weird Science Club (Thursdays)
- 4:00 p.m. Free time until dinner
![An image of Aniyah's schedule](/content/dam/pvs/ca/resource-hub/infographics/Aniyah-sample-schedule.jpg)
2. Middle School Schedule Examples
For an online school student who is dedicated to performing arts, music, or other challenging extracurricular pursuits, the Learning Coach might reserve chunks of time for lessons or practice during the school day, when the student is fresh and alert.
A student attending traditional school would need to squeeze their extracurriculars into an already crowded afternoon and evening schedule—along with dinner and homework—leaving little time to relax, play, and unwind. Conversely, a schedule for virtual school days might look different, allowing the student to intersperse music, art, or language learning practice into their school days between classes.
An example of an online school daily schedule may look like this:
Melody, concert pianist, online middle school student
- 7:00 a.m. Breakfast
- 7:30 a.m. Piano practice
- 9:00 a.m. Math
- 10:00 a.m. Spanish
- 11:00 a.m. Flexible time for school projects or skills practice
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch/free time
- 1:00 p.m. Language Arts
- 2:00 p.m. Science
- 3:00 p.m. Social Studies
- 4:00 p.m. Piano practice
- 5:30 p.m. Free time until dinner
- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast
- 8:30 a.m. Math
- 9:30 a.m. Social Studies
- 10:00 a.m. Piano lesson
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch/free time
- 1:00 p.m. Language Arts
- 2:00 p.m. Sign Language or other elective
- 3:00 p.m. Science
- 3:30 p.m. Rotating lesson/catch-up time
- 5:30 p.m. Free time until dinner
- Evening Piano practice
![An image of Melodys schedule](/content/dam/pvs/ca/resource-hub/infographics/Melody-sample-schedule.jpg)
3. High School Schedule Example: Sports or After-School Job
A virtual school student who takes part in competitive sports or has an afternoon job might schedule their days to start and finish school early. This type of online daily school schedule also works well for kids who are naturally early birds.
An online high school schedule example could look like this:
Jared, a virtual high school competitive athlete
- 6:00 a.m. Breakfast/workout
- 7:30 a.m. English
- 8:30 a.m. Introduction to Criminal Justice
- 9:00 a.m. AP Calculus
- 10:00 a.m. American Government
- 11:00 a.m. Chinese II
- 12:30 p.m. Lunch/free time
- 1:15 p.m. AP Chemistry (extra time allotted)
- 2:45 p.m. Soccer practice
- 6:00 p.m. Dinner
![An image of Jared's schedule](/content/dam/pvs/ca/resource-hub/infographics/Jared-sample-schedule.jpg)
4. Online School Example: Four-Day School Week
A distance-learning family that is very involved in community service might plan to do extra lessons four days per week in order to have one day mostly free for volunteering. While not all Connections Academy-supported schools allow a four-day schedule, for those that do, this arrangement could also work well for virtual school kids who have regular doctor’s appointments or other weekly commitments.
An example of a daily school schedule can look like this:
Kahlil, third grader
- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast/free time
- 8:30 a.m. Social Studies
- 9:30 a.m. Language Arts
- 10:30 a.m. Math
- 11:30 a.m. Recess
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. Science
- 2:00 p.m. Rotating extra lessons
- 3:30 p.m. Art or Music
- 4:00 p.m. Free time until dinner
- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast/free time
- 8:30 a.m. Finish any remaining lessons for the week
- 11:00 a.m. Volunteering with family
- 4:30 p.m. Free time until dinner
![An image of Kahlil schedule](/content/dam/pvs/ca/resource-hub/infographics/Kahlil-sample-schedule.jpg)
5. Online School Schedule: Block Schedule for Deeper Subject Focus
Some homeschool or distance-learning students prefer to focus on one subject for a longer time period, while other students may struggle with frequent transitions between activities. For these elementary school students, creating a block schedule can be a solution.
Reserving a block of time in which to complete multiple lessons for one subject can be a satisfying and motivating option that allows students to concentrate and delve deeper into their studies.
Here’s an example of how a block schedule works:
Casey, fifth grader
- 8:00 a.m. Breakfast/free time
- 9:00 a.m. Language Arts
- 10:00 a.m. Rotate lessons for Education Technology, Music, or other elective course
- 10:30 a.m. Math
- 11:30 a.m. Flexible time, used for projects or learning activities
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch/Relaxation/Play
- 1:00 p.m. Time Block (Science, 3 days per week, Social Studies, 2 days per week)
- 3:30 p.m. Art Club (Tuesdays), Tennis lessons (Thursdays)
- 4:00 p.m. Free time until dinner
![An image of Casey's schedule](/content/dam/pvs/ca/resource-hub/infographics/Casey-sample-schedule.jpg)
With so many ways to customize the daily online school schedule, you’re sure to find one that enhances your child’s learning and makes family time a priority. Download our free online school schedule template below, and find the flexible schedule that works best for your student!