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Homeschooling is the most rewarding, overwhelming, frustrating, and beautiful thing we’ll ever do for our kids. Sometimes, though the balance is off and it’s all teeth clenching all the time!
Not good for them or you, so here are 5 steps to creating a minimalist homeschool to streamline your days and make them fun again.
Here are the First 5 Rewarding Steps to a Minimalist Homeschool
1. Figure out your homeschooling goals, for you and your children.
Sounds like a blinding flash of the obvious, I know, but you can’t pare down until you give some thought to what your goals are…and aren’t. Sometimes we just get caught in an endless loop of getting-it-done-no-matter-what, and we stop looking at the big picture. It’s especially hard for those of us who are box checkers to think about why we’re doing All.The.Things even if it’s not really something we value. So think about it, pray over it, and write down what your goals are and why. It’ll help you in the future.
2. Lighten the homeschooling load.
Now that you know what you want and why – you can remove any curricula or activities that don’t fit into those goals and dreams. That’s right; even the things you spent money on and feel like you should finish. If it doesn’t align with what you need, out it goes. I like to take my unloaded items to the next homeschool group meeting and bless other parents with something. Some people prefer to sell their stuff online. As long as you eliminate it from your own homeschool and don’t look back, you’re already on the path to creating a minimalist homeschool.
As an added benefit, you declutter your house and create some breathing room. Ahhhhhh.
3. Combine, combine, combine.
Take a look at the subjects you still do want to include, and see where they can be combined. This might be by doing the same thing with children close in age. It may mean taking up notebooking and getting multiple subjects covered in one fell swoop. It may look like interest-led learning, where children grab an idea and run with it, covering many subjects over time.
4. Bring in nature. Or rather, get out into it.
In my book, nothing simplifies homeschooling like spending regular time outdoors. The benefits of fresh air, natural science, outdoor play, motor skill development, and peaceful reflection are what keep us on track even on the bad weeks. Every minimalist homeschool should be spending a good amount of time outdoors, enjoying simple pleasures and the turn of the seasons.
5. Add in some fun.
Your minimalist homeschool isn’t going to look like anyone else’s, and that’s ok. Now that you’ve pared down to the essentials, you can think about what kinds of fun you can get up together with some of the time you’ve freed up. Maybe you want to play board games together. Maybe you want to add the kids into meal prep every afternoon. Perhaps you want to declare quiet time and take some dedicated time for yourselves every day. Maybe you want to buy a drum set and take turns driving the neighbors crazy! As long as it adds pleasure and doesn’t complicate your newly refreshed days, your minimalist homeschool will be well underway.
How have you simplified your homeschool days?
