Parent Guide Chapter 5
Weekly Rhythms Across Classical Programs
Plan the weekly rhythm between community, table practice, review, and rest.
Different classical programs structure the school week very differently. Here's what a typical week looks like for each major approach. The right rhythm depends on how much community you want and how much of the planning you want to do yourself.
🤝 Classical Conversations — Community Day + at-home drill
CC families gather once a week (usually a weekday morning) for a structured Community Day with a tutor: opening assembly, new Grammar Stage memory work, a science experiment, fine arts, and a review game. The other 4 days are spent at home drilling the new memory work — typically 10–15 minutes per day per subject. Programs run for 24 weeks (12 fall + 12 spring).
Weekly time commitment: ~3 hours Community Day + ~30–60 min/day at home.
📚 Memoria Press — Daily lesson plans, optional co-op
MP families follow Memoria Press's pre-built day-by-day lesson plans, spending roughly 4–5 hours per day on the curriculum (Latin, math, history, literature, etc.). Some families join a local MP co-op that meets weekly for group accountability and discussion, but it's optional — many MP families homeschool entirely independently.
Weekly time commitment: ~4–5 hours/day, 5 days/week. Optional weekly co-op.
💻 Veritas Press — Live online classes on a fixed schedule
VP students attend live online classes with a teacher 2–4 times per week per subject (each class ~50 minutes), with homework completed at home between sessions. The Scholars Academy operates like a virtual school: set class times, real teachers, real grades. Younger students can use VP's self-paced online courses with no live class component.
Weekly time commitment: Varies by enrolled classes; full-time loads ~25 hrs/week.
📖 Well-Trained Mind / Eclectic — Parent-designed schedule
WTM and eclectic families build their own week around the curricula they've selected. The WTM book gives recommended time blocks by subject and stage (e.g., 30 min Latin daily + 60 min math + 45 min reading at the Logic Stage). Families may join optional discussion groups, online seminars (WTMA), or local co-ops, but the core homeschool happens at home on a parent-set rhythm.
Weekly time commitment: Whatever you build it to be — typically 3–5 hours/day.
💡 Important: Memory-work programs (CC especially) are not complete curricula. They provide the memory framework and a like-minded community, but families still need their own curriculum for reading instruction, writing, math, and content subjects. Memoria Press, Veritas Press, and the Well-Trained Mind framework ARE complete curricula — you can use them as your full homeschool program without needing to layer anything else.