Guide

Loop scheduling, explained

A loop is a list of subjects you work through in order, one or more per day, starting each day wherever you stopped. It is the simplest fix for the subjects that keep getting skipped because their day was the one that went wrong.

In short

In loop scheduling, subjects take turns in a fixed order instead of having fixed days. Each school day you do the next subject in the loop; if a day is lost, nothing is skipped, because tomorrow starts where today would have. It suits subjects that matter but do not need daily practice: art, music, nature study, a second science.

How a loop works

Say art, music, nature study and handicrafts are in a loop, one per day. Monday is art, Tuesday music. Wednesday is lost to a dentist appointment. Thursday is nature study: not "Thursday's subject" but the next one in the loop. Over a month each subject gets about the same number of turns, whichever days actually happened.

When a loop is the right tool

Subjects that are valuable in regular turns but do not need to be daily.
Weeks that are unpredictable: babies, appointments, part-time work, co-op days.
Families who keep dropping the same subject because it was always scheduled for Friday.

When it is not

Skill subjects that need daily practice, such as early math and reading, usually do better on fixed days.
A class with other people at a set time (a co-op or a tutor) belongs on dates, not in a loop.

Setting one up on paper

Write the loop subjects in order on an index card.
Decide how many loop slots each day has (usually one or two).
Each day, do the next subject on the card and put a tick beside it.
Start tomorrow at the first subject without a tick; when every subject has one, clear the ticks and start again.

How Homeschool Up runs a loop

Give several of a child's subjects the loop rhythm with the same loop name. Each school day, the next subject in the loop is due, in the order you set.
Where the loop stands comes from the last completed lesson in it, so a missed day just waits.
Each subject in the loop keeps its own sequence of lessons, so a turn of art brings up the next art lesson.

Questions people ask

Can I have more than one loop?

Yes. A family might loop the extras and separately loop two history spines. In Homeschool Up each loop has a name and runs independently.

How do I know a loop subject is getting enough time?

Count turns rather than days: if a loop has four subjects with one slot a day, each gets about one turn a week. Add a slot or remove a subject if that is not enough.

Do loop subjects count for attendance and hours?

In Homeschool Up, a recorded loop lesson counts like any other: the day counts and the minutes go to that subject's area.

Put the extras in a loop

Name the loop, add the subjects, and the next one is waiting each day. 15-day free trial on every plan.

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