How We Schedule Homeschool Around Therapy Appointments

If you’re trying to figure out how to homeschool with therapy appointments filling up your week, you’re not alone. Between speech, OT, ABA, and medical visits, it can feel impossible to fit in real learning — but with the right structure, it is absolutely doable. Here’s exactly how we schedule our homeschool around 15 hours of weekly therapy appointments without burning out.

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Our Reality: 15 Hours of Therapy Per Week

In the last year, my two oldest sons started going to a lot of regularly scheduled appointments. Between the two of them, it’s about 15 hours of therapy every week — speech, OT, ABA, and more. Combined with homeschooling, we’re looking at close to 40 hours a week of structured commitments. That’s essentially a full-time job.

If that sounds familiar, here’s the most important thing I want you to know: you have more time than you think. It took me mapping everything out on paper to realize we were actually meeting our state’s requirements — and then some. Let me show you how.

Step 1: Block Out the Non-Negotiables First

Start by blocking out every appointment, commute, and meal on your weekly calendar. Don’t try to schedule school first — find your fixed points and then look for the gaps.

For us, most appointments are in the morning on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We also have in-home therapy four afternoons a week — no commute required, which helps a lot. Once those blocks are marked off, the available school windows become much clearer.

Even short 30-minute windows count. A focused half hour of math or language arts is real school — don’t discount it.

Step 2: Prioritize Math and Language Arts Every Day

When you’re homeschooling with therapy appointments eating up your week, you can’t do everything every day — and that’s okay. Math and language arts get top priority because they require the most consistency to build skills. Everything else can flex.

For the remaining subjects — history, science, art — you have two good options:

• Assigned days: Pick a specific day for each subject and stick to it. For example — Science on Monday, History audio on Tuesday, Map work on Wednesday.
• Loop schedule: Rotate subjects regardless of the day. You might loop Science, Science lab, History, and Map work through a daily 30-minute block. When the loop finishes, start over. This keeps learning balanced even when weeks aren’t consistent — which is most weeks when you’re managing appointments.

In Charlotte Mason circles, “Beauty Loops” work the same way — poetry, music, composer study, art study, then repeat. This approach is especially freeing for families who need flexibility built into their structure.

Step 3: Use Appointment Time for Learning

This was a game changer for us. Appointment days don’t have to be lost school days — they’re built-in listening and one-on-one time.

• Audiobooks in the car: I download MP3 audio files from our history curriculum onto Google Drive and play that week’s lesson while the kids follow along or color in their journals. For other drives we listen to whatever history audiobook we’re currently enjoying — mostly through Hoopla via our library, or occasionally Audible.
• One-on-one lessons in the waiting room or car: While one child is in their appointment, I do a focused lesson with the other. That’s a full hour of individual instruction I wouldn’t otherwise get.
• Verbal games while driving: Math facts, spelling practice, phonemic awareness games — these count and they’re low prep.
• Lunch videos: On days when we’re not eating in the car, I play educational or religious videos during lunch prep or mealtime. I’ve compiled YouTube playlists by subject through our Homeschool Study Hub for easy use.

Explore my curated subject playlists:

• Medieval & Renaissance History for Kids → Watch on YouTube
• Ancient History for Kids (4000 BC – AD 33) → Watch on YouTube
• Egypt Unit Study for Kids (K–4) → Watch on YouTube
• 1st Grade Math & Reading Read-Alouds → Watch on YouTube
• 2nd Grade Math Read-Alouds → Watch on YouTube

What Our Homeschool with Therapy Appointments Weekly Schedule Actually Looks Like

Here’s how we structure a typical week around our appointment schedule:

Heavy appointment days like Wednesday get lighter academics — that’s intentional. On those days the kids are working hard in therapy, using a lot of cognitive load, and they need breathing room afterward.

Do the Math: You Probably Have Enough Time

This was the most reassuring thing I did — actually add up our available school hours. In Georgia, homeschoolers are required to log 4.5 hours per day, or 22.5 hours for a 5-day week.

When I added up our sit-down school time plus lunch videos, we had 21.5 hours of structured learning available weekly. Add in roughly 1 hour 45 minutes of driving time used for history audio, and we’re already meeting Georgia’s requirement — with room to spare. And that doesn’t even count evening reading or the incidental learning that happens through therapy itself.

It’s also worth keeping perspective: kids in public school who receive therapy services often have those sessions pulled from their academic day. Our kids are getting their full academic time in addition to their therapies — not instead of it. So while I always make sure we’re meeting our state’s requirements, I’ve stopped feeling guilty about lighter days. The hours are there.

Your numbers will look different, but I’d encourage you to do this exercise. Seeing it on paper takes away a lot of the guilt and anxiety around whether you’re doing enough.

Step 4: Protect Rest and Decompression Time

Neurodivergent kids need decompression time after appointments — it’s not optional, it’s essential. Protect it like a subject on your schedule. My kids especially need transition breaks after appointments, between subjects, and at the end of the day.

Quiet play, sensory activities, drawing, leisure reading, outdoor time, building with blocks — it all counts toward their development. If mornings are your hardest transition, our Morning Routine Checklist for Neurodivergent Kids can help.

Step 5: Give Yourself Permission to Flex

Not every week looks the same — and it doesn’t have to. Progress happens even in the pauses. A few things that help us stay sane while homeschooling with therapy appointments:

• On heavy appointment days, lighten the academic load or just do audiobooks
• Take mental health days when needed — they’re legitimate
• Say yes to playdates and family days
• We school year-round (mostly just math and language arts in summer) so we’re not stressed about hitting 180 days
• If a curriculum isn’t working, change it — don’t white-knuckle through something that’s adding stress

It’s okay to have a season where you’re just doing what’s required. A flexible rhythm keeps your family thriving instead of burning out — and that matters more than checking every box.

Related Videos

• Why Loop Schedules Make Homeschooling So Much Easier
• Homeschool Hack: Simple Trick to Fight Fatigue

How do you manage homeschooling around a busy appointment schedule?

Leave a comment below — I’d love to hear what’s working for your family!