How many hours a day should a Foundation to Year 2 homeschooler do formal work?

60-90 minutes of focused work most days, supplemented by 2-4 hours of play-based learning, reading aloud, outdoor activity and hands-on projects. Children this age learn best through movement, conversation, song and stories - the focused work is the literacy and numeracy spine, not the whole curriculum.

What does the Australian Curriculum say Foundation students should learn?

Foundation expects letter-sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, reading high-frequency words, oral storytelling, counting and quantity to at least 20, basic shape and pattern recognition, expressing scientific observations, naming family and community, basic safe-and-active habits, and simple making and creating. Years 1 and 2 build on these with longer texts, addition and subtraction within 100, and richer integrated topics.

Do I need a phonics program in Foundation?

A structured synthetic phonics program is the single highest-impact investment for early primary homeschoolers. Australian Curriculum F-2 explicitly expects phonics-first reading instruction. Options include Letters & Sounds (free), Jolly Phonics, Sound Waves, or commercial programs like Reading Eggs. Any structured systematic phonics approach delivered daily will work.

Should I do worksheets or unschool at this age?

Most successful Australian Foundation-Year 2 homeschoolers blend both. Roughly 60-90 minutes of structured literacy and numeracy daily (workbooks, phonics, manipulatives) plus 3-4 hours of play, conversation, read-alouds, outdoor exploration, hands-on art and integrated science. Pure unschooling at this age is accepted by every state but the documentation burden is high.

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Year-level template · F–2 · Ages 5–79 min readReviewed 2026-05-20

Homeschool curriculum template: Foundation to Year 2

A starting-point Australian-Curriculum-aligned scope and sequence for homeschooling Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2. Daily literacy and numeracy, a weekly timetable, and the specific outcomes Australian authorities expect in early primary.

What Foundation to Year 2 looks like at home

The youngest years are when home education is most relaxed, most play-based, and most often confused for "not really teaching." Don't be fooled. Foundation through Year 2 is where reading takes hold, where number sense forms, and where children develop their lifelong relationship with learning. The Australian Curriculum acknowledges this: Foundation through Year 2 has lighter content load than Year 3 onwards because depth of foundational skills matters more than breadth of content.

The shape of these years:

Daily literacy block (30-45 minutes): phonics, reading, writing, talking
Daily numeracy block (20-40 minutes): counting, operations, hands-on maths
One integrated topic per term: science, HASS, art, technology all rolled together
Lots of play, outdoor time, read-alouds, hands-on activities

That's it. Total focused work: 60-90 minutes a day. The rest is the curriculum - picture books, board games, baking, nature walks, building, drawing, music, sport.

A sample weekly timetable for Foundation–Year 2

Time     | Mon          | Tue          | Wed          | Thu          | Fri
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
9:00     | Calendar +   | Calendar +   | Calendar +   | Calendar +   | Calendar +
9:30     | read-aloud   | read-aloud   | read-aloud   | read-aloud   | read-aloud
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
9:30     | Phonics      | Phonics      | Phonics      | Phonics      | Reading
10:00    | + writing    | + writing    | + writing    | + writing    | review
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
10:00    | Snack &      | Snack &      | Snack &      | Snack &      | Snack &
10:30    | outdoor      | outdoor      | outdoor      | outdoor      | outdoor
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
10:30    | Maths        | Maths        | Maths        | Maths        | Maths
11:00    | (counting,   | (operations) | (geometry,   | (measurement)| games &
         | place value) |              | patterns)    |              | review
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
11:00    | Integrated   | Integrated   | Co-op /      | Integrated   | Project /
12:30    | project /    | science /    | excursion /  | HASS /       | art / music
         | art          | discovery    | sport        | story         |
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
12:30    | Lunch & outdoor (every day - long and unrushed)
14:00    |
---------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------
14:00    | Free play, books, library, park, friends, rest, screen time within limits

Adjust freely. The principle is: every day has a literacy block, a numeracy block, an integrated topic, lots of outdoor and play, and a long lunch.

Scope and sequence: a one-page year template

Use this as a basis for your learning plan. Adjust to your child's level and your state's specific framework.

A note on the tables. Early-primary content is highly spiral: every term revisits letter-sound knowledge, counting, observational science. The table shows the term in which a new element is introduced; the foundational practices (reading aloud, counting, hands-on exploration) happen every day across every term.

Foundation

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
English: Letter-sound knowledge, oral storytelling, name writing	English: CVC words, sight words, sentence formation	English: Decodable readers, simple comprehension	English: Picture-book retelling, beginning writing
Maths: Counting to 20, one-to-one correspondence, shapes	Maths: Numbers to 30, addition with objects, patterns	Maths: Numbers to 50, subtraction, measurement	Maths: Numbers to 100, simple data, money intro
Science: Living things - family, pets, plants	Science: Materials - properties and uses	Science: Earth and sky - weather	Science: Forces - push, pull, move
HASS: Family, home, community	HASS: Past and present in your family	HASS: Places near and far	HASS: Celebrations and traditions
Arts: Drawing, painting, singing daily	Arts: Dance, drama, clay	Arts: Music, rhythm	Arts: Visual arts focus, display work
HPE: Daily movement, food groups, body parts	HPE: Safe and kind, friendships	HPE: Rules, fair play	HPE: Body and feelings
Tech: Simple making (kitchen, building blocks)	Tech: Digital - mouse, keyboard basics	Tech: Designing for a purpose	Tech: Online safety basics
Languages: Auslan or other LOTE - greetings, songs	LOTE - family vocabulary	LOTE - counting and colours	LOTE - short phrases

Year 1

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
English: Blending and segmenting, simple sentences	English: Short texts, comprehension questions	English: Information texts, descriptive writing	English: Story sequencing, retelling, poetry
Maths: Numbers to 100, addition to 20, time (hour)	Maths: Subtraction to 20, doubles, 2D shapes	Maths: Length, mass, capacity (informal units)	Maths: Skip counting, simple fractions (halves)
Science: Living things - needs of plants and animals	Science: Properties of materials	Science: Sky - day/night, sun, moon	Science: Light and sound basics
HASS: Family stories across generations	HASS: Places - mapping the school/home	HASS: Significant local people	HASS: Trade, exchange, basic economics
Arts: Visual arts - line, shape, colour	Arts: Music - beat, rhythm, notation intro	Arts: Drama - role play	Arts: Dance - moving with music
HPE: Healthy eating, brushing teeth, sleep	HPE: Inclusive play, conflict resolution	HPE: Personal safety, body autonomy	HPE: Sun safety, water safety
Tech: Hands-on making with simple tools	Tech: Simple coding (Bee-Bot, ScratchJr)	Tech: Design challenges	Tech: Digital citizenship intro
Languages: LOTE - extending family vocabulary	LOTE - common verbs (run, eat, play)	LOTE - counting to 20	LOTE - short conversations

Year 2

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
English: Fluent reading of simple texts, paragraph writing	English: Narratives - orientation, complication, resolution	English: Information reports	English: Procedures and persuasion
Maths: Numbers to 1000, addition/subtraction within 100	Maths: Multiplication intro (groups of), division (sharing)	Maths: 3D shapes, fractions (halves, quarters)	Maths: Time (5-min), money (counting change), data
Science: Living things - life cycles	Science: Mixing and separating materials	Science: Earth's resources (water, soil)	Science: Pushes, pulls, simple machines
HASS: History of toys, technology change	HASS: Geography - local features, maps	HASS: Civics - rules, fairness	HASS: Economics - work, money, trade
Arts: Visual arts portfolio	Arts: Music - simple instruments	Arts: Drama - short performances	Arts: Dance - choreography
HPE: Healthy choices, screen-time balance	HPE: Emotions, asking for help	HPE: Outdoor games and sport	HPE: Active transport, environment
Tech: Cooking, sewing, gardening projects	Tech: Block coding (Scratch)	Tech: Design with criteria	Tech: Information sharing safely
Languages: LOTE - daily routines	LOTE - describing things	LOTE - reading short texts	LOTE - short performances or projects

What every Australian state expects to see for F–2

Across NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT, the common ask for early primary is:

Daily literacy and numeracy. Both addressed every weekday.
Coverage of all eight learning areas across the year, even if not every week.
Evidence of progress - work samples, photographs, observation notes, simple assessments.
Reasonable parent supervision - children this age aren't independent for long.

NSW (NESA) and WA expect the most documentation; VIC (VRQA), QLD (HEU) and the smaller states are lighter touch. See your state's homeschool page for specifics.

Resources worth knowing about

These are starting points; nothing on this list is required. Most are free.

Australian Curriculum - the national reference. Filter by year and learning area; outcomes are written in plain language.
State libraries - free children's collections, reading programs, often access to Story Box Library and other digital read-aloud platforms.
Local council - free school-holiday programs, library story time, music and movement classes.
ABC Education - free Australian-curriculum-aligned video and activities, including a strong early-primary collection.
Reading Eggs - paid; widely used by Australian homeschool families for systematic phonics.
Mathletics - paid; popular for daily maths practice in primary years.
Local homeschool co-ops - the social and creative side of early primary is best done in groups; most metro areas have weekly or fortnightly co-ops.

What's next

Move into Year 3 to Year 6 when your child is ready - fluent reading and addition within 100 are the natural transition markers, usually somewhere between age 7 and 9. For step-by-step on writing your learning plan, see Curriculum planning.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours a day should a Foundation to Year 2 homeschooler do formal work?: 60-90 minutes of focused work most days, supplemented by 2-4 hours of play-based learning, reading aloud, outdoor activity and hands-on projects. Children this age learn best through movement, conversation, song and stories - the focused work is the literacy and numeracy spine, not the whole curriculum.
What does the Australian Curriculum say Foundation students should learn?: Foundation expects letter-sound knowledge, phonemic awareness, reading high-frequency words, oral storytelling, counting and quantity to at least 20, basic shape and pattern recognition, expressing scientific observations, naming family and community, basic safe-and-active habits, and simple making and creating. Years 1 and 2 build on these with longer texts, addition and subtraction within 100, and richer integrated topics.
Do I need a phonics program in Foundation?: A structured synthetic phonics program is the single highest-impact investment for early primary homeschoolers. Australian Curriculum F-2 explicitly expects phonics-first reading instruction. Options include Letters & Sounds (free), Jolly Phonics, Sound Waves, or commercial programs like Reading Eggs. Any structured systematic phonics approach delivered daily will work.
Should I do worksheets or unschool at this age?: Most successful Australian Foundation-Year 2 homeschoolers blend both. Roughly 60-90 minutes of structured literacy and numeracy daily (workbooks, phonics, manipulatives) plus 3-4 hours of play, conversation, read-alouds, outdoor exploration, hands-on art and integrated science. Pure unschooling at this age is accepted by every state but the documentation burden is high.

Glossary — Australian homeschooling terms

Registration: The legal act of recording a child with the state authority as a home-educated student. Required in every Australian state.
Authorised Person (AP): The reviewer NESA (NSW) sends to visit registered families. Other states use different titles — "moderator" in WA, "registrar" in TAS.
Learning plan / educational program: The document you submit describing what your child will learn over the registration period.
Scope and sequence: A planning table showing roughly what content each learning area covers, by term, across the registration period.
KLA / learning area: One of the broad subject groupings every Australian curriculum is organised into. NSW uses six Key Learning Areas (KLAs); most other states use the eight learning areas of the Australian Curriculum.
Dual enrolment: When a child is registered for home education and enrolled in some school subjects (typically by distance) at the same time.
Distance education school: A state government school that delivers schooling at distance. NSW has SDEHS, VIC has VSV, QLD has BSDE, WA has SIDE, SA/NT use OAC, TAS uses eSchool.
Provisional registration: Time-limited registration granted before the full review is complete. Available in NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and TAS; SA, NT and WA require full written approval before commencing.
Deschooling: The transitional period after a child leaves school during which formal academic expectations are reduced and the child resets to a home-based rhythm. Typically weeks to months depending on time in school.

Sources

Every regulatory claim on this page is sourced. Verify against the relevant authority before acting on anything material. Last reviewed 2026-05-20.