The parents may construct the lessons around classical and famous literature. Depending on the age of the children, parents may read from classics such as "Aesop's Fables," "Fifty Famous Fairy Tales" or "101 Arabian Nights." The children might listen to the stories and complete activity pages about that evening's story. As the children mature and reading skills improve, the parents might allow the students to take a turn at reading the story. This type of reading improves the reading and listening skills of the children and exposes them to classical literature. Verbal skills also improve.
The parents might choose to use the evening lesson time to teach the children about their faith. The parents might choose Bible stories from "The Children's Illustrated Bible" or "The Young Reader's Bible" when the children are young and may appreciate more simplistic language. The parents might choose to use materials specifically written for home study by their church or a Christian home school organization. The parents may focus on character themes or follow a lexicon that gears stories to match the religious calendar. The lessons might include activity pages, written assignments or questions to gauge comprehension.
With schools dropping music and arts classes to focus on hard academics, parents might direct evening home lessons around the fine arts. The family might listen to classical or contemporary music and learn about the composers. Students who are learning to play an instrument may work on musical compositions with other family members. The family might sing together and learn songs for presentation or just for enjoyment. The children might learn to paint, draw or create crafts. The parents may teach the children themselves or arrange to have an instructor come in once or twice a week for lessons and practice on the other evenings.
A home school family might choose to include academics in the evening sessions when a working parent can provide instruction on topics not provided by the other parent. The family might follow lessons provided by correspondence or home school curriculum school, or work on material not included in a prepared curriculum. The lessons might include advanced technology studies or information needed to learn a trade.