WELCOME TO THE FUTURE LEARNERS PODCAST
Join us, as we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of education, schooling and what it takes to grow and succeed in today’s world. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, guidance, or practical tips, the “Future Learners” podcast is here to support you every step of your homeschooling journey.
Planning Your Homeschool Week: How Many Days, Hours and Lessons You Need | 56
How long does a homeschooling day take? In the Euka program, Ellen estimates lessons for Foundation to Grade 2 take about an hour a day, building to about two hours by Grades 9 and 10.
Subscribe to
How long does a homeschooling day take? In the Euka program, Ellen estimates lessons for Foundation to Grade 2 take about an hour a day, building to about two hours by Grades 9 and 10. Practice activities, such as games, experiments, and art projects, take additional time and vary based on the volume you complete and how in-depth you go.
You also choose how many days a week you homeschool. You can move lessons around sport, social days, and appointments, so you can fit a week's lessons into fewer days or spread them across the whole week.
If you're unsure how to structure your homeschool week, how much time to set aside for lessons, or how many practice activities to fit in, Brett Campbell and Ellen Brown walk through it from Foundation to Grade 12.
Key discussion points
- Plan around the time you really have. Brett suggests working out how many days and hours your family can realistically give to homeschooling first, so your plan doesn't stretch you too thin.
- You choose how many days a week to homeschool. You can move lessons around other commitments, as long as the core subjects are covered across the week.
- Lesson time builds through the grades. Expect about an hour of lessons a day in Foundation to Grade 2 and around two hours by Grades 9 and 10, with practice activities requiring extra time.
- Choose a few practice activities each week. Doing a practice activity in every subject every day would be too much. Brett suggests an absolute minimum of a couple a week, and Ellen finds one creative activity a day works well.
- Everyday life is part of the learning. A bike ride, team sport or ballet class can be the practical part of a PE lesson, and a museum trip can bring a history topic to life.
- School terms are a guide. Follow them, set your own timeline, or move ahead faster.
- Tips for planning your homeschool week. Brett and Ellen share their top tips for planning your homeschooling week.
How to start planning your homeschooling day
Work out how much time you have
Before making a homeschooling plan, Brett suggests working out how many days and hours your family can realistically dedicate to it, and who will guide your child's progress. Younger children will often need a parent beside them. Many senior students work independently and contact Euka's team when they need help.
If one hour a day is what you have, start there and build the plan around it. Brett recommends being realistic so you don't stretch yourself too thin. If you're scraping time together around appointments and swimming lessons, he says you're setting the day up for failure before it starts.
Check your child's level in each subject
Ellen's first step is working out which grade level suits your child. A child leaving Grade 4 might be ready for Grade 5 in most subjects and still need support in maths, especially if they missed key concepts at school.
A Personalised Learning Plan lets you set English, Maths or Science at a different grade level from the rest of the program. If you aren't sure where your child sits, Brett says to start anyway and adjust as you go.
Take advice from other families lightly
Ellen compares starting homeschooling to having a first baby: everyone has a story and plenty of advice. She recommends joining homeschooling groups, while remembering that what works for another family's child may not suit yours.
| So, you know, smile and nod and take the gems where they come. But start by looking at your own family and realise that that might work for one but not for another. — Ellen Brown, Co-founder and Head of Education |
Episode 51 covers where to find support when you are starting out.
Do you have to homeschool every day?
No. Brett says families can choose how many days a week they homeschool. As one example, Ellen's family usually kept at least one or two days a week for social activities and outings.
Ellen recommends a Maths and an English lesson each day when you can, because short daily lessons help children build on what they learned the day before. In her family, if a social day was coming up, they might move Friday's lessons to Thursday and do two of each, so Maths and English were still covered across the week.
Everyday activities can be part of the learning too. If your child goes for a bike ride, plays a weekly team sport or does ballet, Ellen says that can be the practical part of that week's PE lesson. Your child can still read the Learn section and complete the Apply section.
How many hours a day does homeschooling take?
Ellen shares the lesson times below as a rough guide for the Euka program, and adds that every child is different. Practice activities take additional time beyond the lessons. Our article How Many Hours a Day Should You Spend Homeschooling? goes into more detail.
Foundation to Grade 2: about an hour of lessons
Children do Maths, English and one other subject each day, with lessons designed to take around 20 minutes each. Ellen says that matches most young children's attention span. There's no bell at home, so a child absorbed in a project can keep going.
You will usually read the lesson together at this age. Brett says a 20-minute lesson can take him an hour, because he likes to stop and explore new words with his daughter. On other days, they might do three short English lessons in a row.
For Brett, understanding matters more than the number of lessons done. If your child can't answer any of the short questions at the end of a lesson, go back over it.
Grades 3 to 6: about an hour and a half of lessons
The daily mix is still Maths, English and one other subject, with lessons designed to take about 30 minutes each. Each lesson has a Learn section with a read-aloud option, a Practise activity and an Apply section. Episode 41 walks through how Euka lessons are set up.
Grades 7 and 8: one and a half to two hours of lessons
In high school, history, geography and business become separate subjects, so the program can look bigger. Ellen says a typical day includes Maths, English, and two other subjects, and the time spent on each can vary.
If your child can't stand a subject, she says not to let it be a roadblock: go through the Learn section, move to the Apply section and move on. A child who works through the Learn section and finishes the Apply section in a subject they aren't keen on has done really well.
Grades 9 and 10: about two hours of lessons
Students do Maths, English, one core subject and one elective each day. Your child chooses their electives with you, ideally something they're interested in. Brett says you'll probably find them leaning towards that subject a lot more and wanting to do a lot more of its practical activities, and that's totally fine.
Grades 11 and 12: one subject block a day
Senior students choose five subjects plus English, on either the University Pathway or the Assessment-Free Pathway. Ellen says most do English and one other subject each day, though seniors set their own timetable. Episode 46 covers the senior pathways.
Do you have to do every practice activity?
Not every day. Many practice activities are designed to get children deeply involved, so Ellen says trying to get three done could take all day. Brett suggests choosing at least a couple across the week, and Ellen finds one creative activity a day can help.
Families can also adapt them. Ellen's son turned a Grade 6 gold rush poster into a rap song the family still remembers.
If you swap a practice activity for something else, Brett recommends noting what was done in the Reflect section, so there's a record to back it up. His one caution: depending on your child's personality, skipping can become a habit, so keep an eye on how many get done each week.
Homeschooling children in different grades
Ellen had three children in three grades and wasn't going to run three art activities in one day. Each child did their own Learn section, then they all did the one practice activity that suited most of them.
When a baby or younger sibling needs you mid-lesson, Brett keeps backup activities ready, such as handwriting practice or drawing. He found it helped his daughter learn to work independently for short stretches.
Assignments for children who like longer projects
Each subject has an assignment each term that can run across the whole term, which Ellen suggests for children who aren't into daily practice activities or who learn best by working on a bigger project. Assignments can be used as work samples, and with Premium Reporting you can upload them to help with government reporting. Episode 34 explains registration and reporting.
Can you set your own homeschooling timeline?
Yes. Euka's program is set out in four terms because that is how most parents think about the school year. Brett says some families follow the school terms, while others keep their own timeline or put in extra hours to move ahead.
Travelling families might take a week off, then work for two. Episode 40 follows one family learning on the road.
Tips for planning your homeschooling week
- Look ahead. Ellen suggests taking half an hour to look over the week's lessons and gather what you need for the practice activities.
- Write the plan down. Brett uses Google Calendar, while others prefer a wall planner or a whiteboard. He says his family completes the planned week about 80% of the time.
- Involve your child. Ellen asks high schoolers to block out what they love first, like bike rides, hikes and time with friends, then fit lessons and assignments around them.
- Save favourites for later. Brett puts the subjects his daughter enjoys most at the end of the day. Starting with favourites, he says, makes momentum drop off once the harder subjects arrive.
- Start fresh when you need to. Even after many years of homeschooling, Ellen found a new routine usually lasted about three days before she had to adapt it.
| But you know what's exciting? There's always another week, the start of a new week, there's a start of a new day, start of a new term. — Ellen Brown, Co-founder and Head of Education |
For more ideas, see Creating a Homeschool Schedule that Works. Each grade also has a Parent Handbook with day-to-day guidance.
Why this episode matters
This episode gives parents a realistic picture of a homeschooling day at each stage, from about an hour of lessons in the early years to one subject block a day in the senior years, plus practice activities. It also shows how much room there is to be flexible, choose your days, pick your practice activities and change the plan from one week to the next.
Brett closes with a reflection on parenting itself, and the pressure parents can put on themselves.
| Being a parent is unbelievably hard. You get the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And sometimes you're like, am I failing as a parent? Am I doing this wrong? This is not good enough. I'm not meeting expectations. Like, go easy on yourself. It's hard enough as it is. — Brett Campbell, Co-founder and CEO |
Start the free homeschooling course
If you are working out what homeschooling could look like for your family, our Complete Guide to Confident Homeschooling covers registering legally in your state, choosing and structuring a program, building a daily rhythm, supporting a child who learns differently, and knowing your child is progressing.
Nine short video modules, about two and a half hours, hosted by Brett and Ellen. Free and self-paced. Start the free homeschooling course.
Questions answered in this episode
Ellen's rough guide for lessons in the Euka program is about an hour a day for Foundation to Grade 2, an hour and a half for Grades 3 to 6, and up to two hours for Grades 7 to 10. Practice activities take additional time, and every child is different.
No. Families choose how many days a week they homeschool and can move lessons around sport, social days and appointments. Ellen recommends covering Maths and English across the week.
Not every day. Doing every subject's practice activity each day would be too much. Brett recommends an absolute minimum of a couple a week, and Ellen finds one creative activity a day works well.
Yes. Ellen says a bike ride, weekly team sport or ballet class can be the practical part of that week's PE lesson. Your child can still read the Learn section and complete the Apply section.
A Personalised Learning Plan lets you set English, Maths or Science at a different grade level. If you are unsure, Brett suggests starting and adjusting as you go.
No. Euka's program is set out in four terms as a guide. Families can follow the school terms, set their own timeline, or move ahead faster.
About the hosts
Brett Campbell is Euka's co-founder and CEO. Ellen Brown is Euka's co-founder and Head of Education. She is a qualified teacher, a mother of five and a long-time homeschooler.
Future Learners is the podcast for parents and students learning to thrive with homeschooling in Australia.
Episode 055
NAPLAN Results 2026: Is Screen Time to Blame?
Episode 054
Raising mentally healthy kids: What a psychologist wants you to know
Episode 053
NSW 2026 draft homeschooling policy: What does it mean for families?
Episode 052
The Social and Academic Advantages of Homeschooling
Episode 051
You’re Not Alone: Finding Support on Your Homeschooling Journey
Episode 050
Do I need to be a teacher to homeschool?
Episode 049
The Real Benefits of Homeschooling: A Euka Graduate’s Honest Answer
Episode 048
Is Homeschooling Worth It? David’s Story of Homeschooling 3 Kids Over 8 Years
Episode 047
Preparing Your Children for the Real World: 6 Life Skills Homeschooling Can Teach
Episode 046
Starting Homeschooling Mid-Year in Grade 11 or 12: Senior Pathways Available at Euka
Episode 045
School Refusal in 2026: What It Really Is, and How to Help Your Child
Episode 044
Can I Start Homeschooling in the Middle of the School Year?
Episode 043
From School Bullying to Homeschooling Across 40 Countries as a Single Mum with 3 Daughters
Episode 042
How Young Athletes Train Full-Time Without Falling Behind in School
Episode 041
Meet the Upgraded Euka Learning Experience
Episode 040
The World Is Your Classroom: Travel Schooling with The Slow Road
Episode 039
Inside the NSW Homeschooling Audit: What It Means for Families
Episode 038
He earns 30K a year and homeschools
Episode 037
What you need to know about homeschooling in 2025
Episode 036
Is School Going “WOKE”?
Episode 035
The “True” Reasons families homeschool?
Episode 034
What you need to know about Registration and Reporting when Homeschooling
Episode 033
Travel Schooling: Everything you need to know
Episode 032
Raising young boys
Episode 031
Sleep! Are you and your kids getting enough?
Episode 030
Setting your pre-schooler up for success
Episode 029
Should children under 16 be banned from using social media?
Episode 028
Should children learn handwriting in this digital world?
Episode 027
The #1 Skill for children to learn
Episode 026
When should your child do work experience?
Episode 025
How to build a strong family unit
Episode 024
How to retain 90% of everything you learn!
Episode 023
Homeschooling with Dyslexia, ASD, and ADHD: A Mother’s Inspirational Journey
Episode 022
Unlock funding for homeschooling
Episode 021
Moving from School to Homeschooling in term 2
Want to have a positive impact on thousands of families like you?
Leave us an audio question or share your homeschooling journey — anonymously if you like. Real questions from real families help us bring more value to every episode.
Listen on
Watch on
Listen on
Meet Brett Campbell
Brett Campbell is a visionary leader, serving as Chairman and CEO of Euka, an innovative education provider who’s building the future of education. As a bestselling author and award-winning entrepreneur, Brett brings a wealth of expertise to his role, driving Euka’s mission to bring real world individualised experiential learning.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Brett is a dedicated family man, cherishing his roles as a loving father and husband. With a passion for lifelong learning, he embodies a commitment to personal and professional growth, continually seeking to expand his knowledge and skills.
As the esteemed host of the Future Learners Podcast, Brett shares his insights and inspiration with audiences worldwide, empowering individuals to embrace the transformative power of education. Brett aims to shape a brighter, more enlightened future for learners everywhere.
Follow Brett on:
Meet Ellen Brown
Ellen Brown is a mother of 5 and the founder and Head of Education at Euka. With over 25 years of teaching experience, Ellen is the original visionary behind Euka and has committed years of her life ideating, writing and overseeing the entire teaching curriculum, ranging from Foundation – Grade 12. Ellen has been featured in and on multiple publications including Channel 9, ABC, SKY News and is often called upon for her expert commentary surrounding the future of Education.
Follow Euka on social platforms
The complete solution to schooling online
