The other day, I told my husband I felt like I could sleep for days. On second thought, maybe make it a few weeks. Just ship me off to some little bungalow somewhere with nothing but a hammock, pile of coconuts, and duffel full of sunscreen. I don’t actually think it’s my body that is so tired. It’s my brain. Much like my fair skin, it fries easily.
There is simply so much to remember every day as a parent, home-keeper, and home educator. Order that book, mail that check, dictate that prompt, return that package, make that grocery list, edit that essay, feed the dogs, correct that math sheet, schedule that appointment, get to that activity, clear out that closet, sign up for that club, plant those seed trays, dethaw that giant vat of chili… whoops I forgot, ok quesadillas for dinner it is, again. And we wonder why we feel burned out? We wonder what is happening to our memories when we’re in bed asking the ceiling if we turned off the oven and locked the front door. We just had to remember a thousand other things today is all, no biggie.
“I think I’m losing my mind,” we moms often say to each other. But if we look at it objectively, I’m not sure that sharper minds would help us any more than larger closets. No, I don’t believe we moms are in need of better or bigger vessels, even if they couldn’t hurt. What we really need, I believe, is less clutter and more headspace.
Today’s content seeks to answer this question: can we give our children a rich and wonderful home education, for less? Can we apply a minimalist mindset to our homeschools and family routines? Can we offer our kids deep and wide content in less time, for less effort, and with less overwhelm for everyone involved? Can we declutter our schedules and brains the way we clear out a junk drawer? Ruthlessly?
I know from experience that we can. All it takes is a bit of pluck and some regular maintenance. While a trip to a remote island isn’t probably an option for most of us right now, we can still lighten up by giving our homeschools a little spring clean to the tune of, “I’m gonna soak up the sun, I’m gonna tell everyone to lighten up!” And I think our brains will thank us.
Our “Five B’s Strategies” to Simplify the Homeschool Routine
Before reading and integrating any of these strategies… before feeling the sweet relief of a lightened homeschool load… you will need to make a list of everything (and I mean everything) that your family is currently tackling. Think of it like taking everything out of the closet before deciding what stays, what goes, and what needs to be relocated, item by item.
To help make this as effective and enjoyable as possible, I typed up a little delegation chart for the occasion.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Brew yourself a piping cup of something, and treat yourself to a lovely, party-of-one planning session.
- Print this little chart (you may need more than one copy of the first page depending on your family’s load), and fill it in. Include academic lessons, co-op classes, extracurriculars, family time, social groups, etc. Don’t leave anything out.
- One item at a time on the chart, see if you can mark it with a B.
- Transfer each marked item to the brainstorm sections and write detailed ideas on how and when you will bounce, bump, bundle, block, and bolster.
- Gradually over the course of days and weeks, implement your strategies and feel the sweet relief. Adjust as needed.
Strategy #1: BOUNCE
Picture that bouncer at the back of the club or arena scanning the crowd for troublemakers, ready to throw down and throw out as needed. That’s who you are right now, Mama! Look at your list. What items need to be “bounced” right on outta here? In other words, what needs to simply be edited out of your schedule entirely?
Strategy #2: BUMP
If the item passes the bounce step and you would like to keep the item/activity in question, is now the right time for it? Can it be bumped into another season? Does your child need to be in soccer and swim at the same time, for example? What if speech and debate club waited another year? “Bump” doesn’t mean “never,” it just means not now.
Strategy #3: BUNDLE
Bundle is a happy word. I love a good bundle product on Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers. One purchase for a cohesive little collection? Yes, please. Read through that list again, slowly. Are there any items you are currently tackling in isolation from each other that could be “womped up together,” so to speak, and tackled two or three at a time?
Do writing, grammar, cursive, and spelling all need to be stand-alone subjects with their own course books and spot on the schedule? Could spelling be implemented through editing writing assignments? What subjects or activities could be bundled into your read-aloud time? Our family, for example, takes on science, history, Bible, logic, and literature all in one sitting in our Treasures & Teatime. We also like to bundle our extracurriculars so that we have fewer trips to town each week. For example, if that playdate window can be scheduled for right after swim, or if gymnastics can be scheduled to follow that piano lesson, these are bundling wins.
Strategy #4: BLOCK
There isn’t time every day for every subject and activity. Attempting to cover too many things on any one day is a sure way to burn yourself (and your kids) out. Schools love to utilize block schedules, and our homeschools can utilize them, too!
Look over your list again. You may need a second cup of tea. Which things on it might be done just once a week or even once a month? Could your family tackle an Arts & Crafts window on Sunday afternoons? Could science experiments be relegated to one Saturday a month? Could Mondays be blocked off for big projects like dioramas, research essays, and Science Fair hoopla? Could the first Friday of every month be a Skill School day?
Shuffle things around until your days feel calm and comfortable.
Strategy #5: BOLSTER
In addition to a lightened load, what if we also brightened our load?
Get more bang for your blocks by bolstering them! Think of this strategy as utilizing more vertical space in a closet or cupboard to maximize storage capacity. What are you already doing that with a few small tweaks could integrate (or sneak in) more enrichment that you are attempting to cover elsewhere or never seem to have time or energy for?
For example, if your child is already listening to audiobooks on a daily basis, could Fridays become “Historical Fiction Fridays”? Could breakfast be eaten while listening to classical music pieces? Could read-aloud windows be bolstered by adding a bit more cross-curricular content to the treasury basket? Could chore time be enriched with learning songs, such as multiplication tables, continents, and states & capitals? Could Latin be listened to on the way to play practice?
There are so many possibilities, and the above ideas are only ways to bolster through listening! Brainstorm ways to also bolster visually, verbally, and vocationally, and then things really start to get interesting. What memory work could be placed above the bathroom sink to be practiced when washing hands and brushing teeth? What hand-skill activities might your child practice during read-aloud time? Knitting, whittling, fly tying, sketching, carving? Bible or poetry passages could be recited during lunch. Documentaries could be watched while the kids do squats and jump rope for “gym.”
The sky is honestly the limit here. Get creative with bolstering your existing blocks and reap more enrichment all for less time.
Thank you for reading and considering to “lighten up” with me!
Power on, power strong!
Love, ~Candace Arden~
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