How We Use the 5 Hour School Week Homeschooling Method

When we made the decision to homeschool our son, I was overwhelmed by all the different curricula and homeschooling styles.

Most curriculum options sell packages that include each core subject – math, language arts, history, science, geography, and more. So guess what I did? I started buying lots of different textbooks and workbooks.

I quickly realized that my young son’s learning style is not to sit and fill out worksheet pages so we took a break. During the break from homeschooling, our style naturally evolved into a 5 Hour School Week, even though I hadn’t read the book yet.

The 5 Hour School Week by Aaron and Kaleena Amuchastegui is a book about a non-traditional approach to homeschooling that uses one hour of focused, formal learning each day. The rest of the child’s time is spent learning by living life. Examples of learning through life include grocery shopping, creating a budget, opening a bank account, and traveling.

Homeschooling doesn’t have to be rigorous and it certainly shouldn’t take 30+ hours each week.

Read on to learn how the 5 Hour School Week works for us!

What is the 5 Hour School Week?

The 5 Hour School Week is a book written by Aaron and Kaleena Amuchastegui. The book explains how their children were in public schools and were constantly rushing around and exhausted. The school was getting the best of the children’s time and the parents were left with the scraps.

The parents decided to pull their children out of school for a 10-day vacation, much to the school’s dismay. They accidentally forgot their school assignments at home so when they returned home from vacation, they had 10 days of school assignments and homework to make up! Aaron sat down 1 on 1 with his daughter and in less than 2 hours, was able to finish 10 days’ worth of assignments AND he even taught her long division which was a concept being taught while they were away!

They realized that much of their children’s time was being wasted by being in school. If they could teach their children the same information in a fraction of the time, what was the point of going to school? Their evenings were being wasted with homework instead of quality family time. They were rushing to eat dinner in 7 minutes in between school and soccer practice. Something had to give. Finally, the parents chose to homeschool.

Aaron used pieces of The 4 Hour Work Week to create a school version that his family started applying to their lives. They would focus on structured learning for 1 hour each day. The rest of the time, they teach their children through traveling to historical sites, going to business conferences, going grocery shopping, and other real-life experiences.

Our 5 Hour School Week

When I read The 5 Hour School Week, I was blown away. It sounded exactly like what we were doing, but I didn’t even know that it was a method being used by others. Not only that, but their lives sounded very similar to theirs. Same age, same jobs, same mantra. It was refreshing and reassuring to find another family living like us – and succeeding!

Our 5 Hour School Week consists of:

• reading aloud
• writing practice
• traveling
• playing educational games
• watching documentaries

Our goal is to incorporate as many subjects into 1 adventure as possible. For example, when we visited southwest Florida, we took a boat to Cayo Costa Island. Here’s how we incorporated multiple subjects into that adventure.

• Math – We collected shells and sand dollars. My son counted them on the boat ride back.
• Science – We explored the island, found thousands of snails, caught a crab, and watched a hawk sitting in its huge nest.
• Geography – We used the map and boat’s navigation system to determine where the island was located and how to get to it.
• Physical Education – We walked all over the island and swam in the ocean for hours.
• Life Skills – My husband let our son steer the boat and he learned about the controls on the boat and how to tell the depth of the ocean underneath the boat.

While we didn’t cover reading and writing on this adventure, I made sure to practice writing and phonics at home that morning during our 1 hour of focused learning, and we always read at bedtime.

Each adventure will be different. That’s what makes an adventure an adventure!

Our Morning Routine

Our current morning routine is to let my son wake up whenever he naturally wakes up. Usually, this is around 9 AM. While he’s still sleeping, I get a head start on my day – emails, work, writing, exercise, setting up our homeschool day, cleaning, coffee in peace – whatever I need to do that day. Once he wakes up, it’s time for breakfast and morning snuggles or TV. I give him a chance to wake up before we get started on formal lessons.

Before deciding what we will focus on, I look ahead to see what we will be doing the rest of the day so I know what to focus on. For example, if we are going grocery shopping, I know we will be covering: life skills, math, budgeting, organization, reading, and nutrition. That day, our focused learning will end up being science or history.

Next, I break up our structured time into three 20 minute sessions. This helps hold my son’s attention and also helps us switch easily between topics. I make sure to give him plenty of wiggle time. We don’t do the whole hour consecutively either. We may save part of our formal lessons for the evening if it makes sense for our day.

Our homeschool is flexible, casual, fun, and ever-evolving.

Travel Homeschooling

Travel homeschooling, also called roadschooling or world schooling, is a way to learn through experiences. Do you remember learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor in school? With travel schooling, children would also learn about it, but by traveling to the site and walking through the memorial in person. They might talk to a tour guide, listen to recordings of firsthand accounts, and read a plaque with the names of those who lost their lives during the attack.

Travel homeschooling is a unique way to educate children. It truly ignites a passion for learning unlike anything I’ve seen. When we go to a nature preserve, my son begs for me to read the signs so he can learn about the wildlife he should be on the lookout for.

Travel homeschooling doesn’t mean you have to buy an RV or camper and travel full-time! You can have a home base that you choose to stay at as much as you’d like. You can play 2 trips a year or 20! You can fly, drive, boat, take a train – whatever you’d like! Travel homeschooling is completely customizable and doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

For us, there are periods of time we travel nonstop. Actually, we just got back last night from a trip! Now, we plan to stay “home” for at least a month. We have a few other trips planned until October and then plan to stay home for 3 months. Next year may look completely different.

Travel homeschooling requires planning, but it is so worth it. Look ahead to see what your children will be learning about. See if you can turn it into a trip! For example, if your children will be learning about the government, you could plan a trip to Washington D.C. to see the historical monuments. Preparation is key. Get your kids excited about something by talking about it, reading books, and watching videos. By the time you get there, they will be able to connect everything together. This type of education that involves all 5 senses is much more likely to be retained.

Learn by Living Life Together

To be clear, the 5 Hour School Week doesn’t suggest only 1 hour of learning per day. It is 1 hour of STRUCTURED learning per day. This means that you must be intentional to give your kids a well-rounded education.

Here are some ways we learn by living life together.

We take trips to the dollar store with a budget. We let our son decide what he will buy based on a certain budget. He makes decisions on what to purchase. This focuses on money management, budgeting, math, and decision-making skills.

We own a construction company and several rental properties. Our son helps with construction projects such as changing door knobs, taking off light plate covers, and even painting. This helps create an entrepreneur mindset and teaches him life skills.

We let our son help us plan our next adventure by looking at road maps together. He identifies somewhere he wants to go and we see if we can work it out. He knows what are roads, highways, and bodies of water. He knows the longer the distance on the map, the longer it will take to drive there. This helps with planning skills.

We focus on how to do chores, cook, and clean. These are all necessary household skills for children to learn.

My husband flips cars. We let our son helps us work on the cars. He knows how to change a tire at 5 years old. This teaches our son how to be resourceful and handy.

We play educational games such as Snakes & Ladders. This teachers math skills such as addition and counting, but it also teaches how to take turns, healthy competition, and how to be a good sport.

We watch YouTube videos (especially Jack Hartmann) that teach how to count money, what the seasons are, how to count to 100, and so much more.

We go to lots of petting zoos, exhibits, historical monuments, and aquariums. This teaches science and history topics in a hands-on approach.

We go hiking, swimming, and exploring all the time. This focuses on a love for the outdoors and adventure, while working on our physical education.

We take art classes where we learn how to paint ceramics.

We visit the library all the time.

Conclusion

Learning is everywhere and doesn’t have to occur behind a desk or textbook to be effective. Children love to explore and have a natural curiosity and love for learning. Sometimes schools take that love of learning away by making it boring and repetitive.

My goal for my son is to create a lifetime love of learning. Homeschooling is one of the best things that ever happened to our family.

If this lifestyle appeals to you, be sure to check out some of my other blogs below. But just know that the 5 Hour School Week doesn’t have to be travel-based. The goal is to pursue your passions and make time in your schedule to focus on what matters most to your family. For us, we love traveling, but maybe your family loves sports, cooking, or arts. Whatever you want to make more time for in your schedule is absolutely possible. You just have to be intentional.

Happy homeschooling!