Minimalist Homeschooling: A values-based approach to maximize learning and minimize stress

by Zara Fagen

Make things as simple as possible but no simpler. -Albert Einstein

Minimalism offers freedom through the removal of the clutter in our homes. Minimalist homeschooling offers freedom by the removal of clutter in our children’s education; through thoughtful planning to create an uncluttered education plan based on values and goals.

Minimalist homeschooling is not about taking the easy route or being lazy! Minimalist homeschooling is not squeaking by with the bare minimum, or ignoring education until it is a necessity. It is not just going through the books that have the appropriate grade number in the top right corner and checking off a list that somebody else has made. Minimalist homeschoolers invest their time and energy in the front-end of the process, carefully choosing subjects and resources to best achieve specific values and goals. It is an incredibly thoughtful and intentional approach to homeschooling.

Learn to see the value in empty space. That unfilled space lowers your cortisol levels and creates a welcoming and serene atmosphere. That open space represents time diverted from dusting and organizing that can be redirected to being who you’d like to be.

Hard work and good intentions, without priorities and focus are a quick way to overwhelm.

You can hoard the supplies and knowledge with the attitude of owning it, getting it, and having it. The focus is on having – on passing to the next book, the next grade, or the next project. Instead of focusing on educational values like self-discipline, creativity, curiosity, service, and hard work, you are looking for value in the completion of tasks and the assimilation of facts.

It is difficult to keep from screaming some days, but it is easier to calm down when the focus is on who we are rather than what we are accomplishing. This is not to say that minimalist homeschooling doesn’t value accomplishment. Instead, it is an understanding that if someone is being who they want to be, with goals and values in the forefront of their minds, then doing appropriate things automatically flows from that mindset. Furthermore, if you are being who you want to be, and therefore doing what you want to do, then having the appropriate skills and knowledge necessarily follows. We want to keep homeschooling simple, yet squeeze every drop of goodness from each minute we spend schooling… or living. For this reason, minimalist homeschooling starts with a foundation of personal educational values.

Children are watching your example. Research shows that the best indicator of what a person will do is what their parents did. That is a heavy realization. One reason I minimally homeschool is because I want my children to grow up working with meaning. I want my children to be people who intentionally choose how they will work, with a goal and a reason in mind.

Since minimalism is a mindset and a new way of living and thinking, it is important to make it a positive change. It is important to embrace it as a philosophy; an ideal aligned with your values. It is important to give minimalist homeschooling an accurate name that will be encouraging and sustainable. If you would like to have more free time, be less doubtful of your progress, or would like less stress, then you have great motivation. There are countless reasons to homeschool minimally. It’s time to find yours. What appeals to you about being minimalist? Why do you homeschool?

Minimalism necessitates saying goodbye to some things that are not currently of value to us. Things that may have been of value in the past, or may be of value in the future, are not serving us now. We are living in the now.

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we live our lives. Priority management is the key to maximizing the time we have. -John C. Maxwell

Minimalist homeschooling focuses on what is most valuable right now.

Minimalist homeschooling demands that we do the most important things first.

You have managed to get everyone fed, clothed, and clean for more days in a row than you can count. And guess what? It took 110% of your energy every day. You are tired. Exhausted, even. Your motivation is dwindling. You find yourself escaping to mindless activities like web-surfing, Facebook, phone calls, circles around the house picking up random items, Candy Crush, binge-watching Hulu, or any other number of things that are not mentally or physically challenging. Then, you realize how much time you have “wasted” on these mindless activities. You notice that your schedule is falling off-task more and more often. You are still tired. You are even less motivated. And now, on top of it all, you feel guilty about wasting your time. The fact is, you need down time. But, if you are not deliberate about your relaxation, it will be a waste of time.

Some time ago, somebody started glorifying mothers who burn the candle at both ends. It has to stop. Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for self-centered mothering (which is a complete oxymoron). There will absolutely be times when the needs of those in your family, your business, or your home will supersede your own needs – probably on a daily basis. But being super-mom means setting a good example of what a healthy and content life looks like. Would you want your daughter to grow up to believe that her value lies in how much of her health she sacrifices for others? Then why is that an appropriate mindset for you? Why would it be admirable to sacrifice your sleep, your exercise, your rest, or your meals in order to complete tasks? Rest is a priority so that you stay healthy; and, it is a priority so that you can act with positive energy, ease, efficiency, and quality. Accept it – rest is required, and it is a priority.

Teachers in elementary schools send their classes off to other parts of the building at least once each day for lunch and recess. The teachers sit in a quiet room and eat, meet with other teachers, complete tasks in peace, and make assessments. Sometimes, they do it more than once, while the students have music, gym, computer lab, art, science, or foreign language lessons. One school that I toured drove this point home: Students were with their home room teacher just 2-3 hours each day. The rest of the day was allocated to other rooms for enrichment classes, lunch, and 2 recesses. In older grades, teachers are given a “planning period.” This is not because a traditional teacher is lazy, but because down time is practical and necessary.

As a homeschooler, your schedule is an important tool. If you have ever spent your days wondering why you worked so hard, yet got nothing done, it could be because your schedule was unrealistic, unfocused, or even nonexistent. Chaotic, cluttered, and stressful days seem to be the norm among many homeschoolers. Now you are prepared to make your time work for you. Guarding time for your priorities, purging your schedule, allocating sufficient time, building in contingency time, avoiding multitasking, and taking quality breaks will make your time more relaxed and productive. Waking up each day knowing that your time will be meaningfully allocated and tasks can be realistically accomplished offers a sense of peace that many homeschoolers desperately want.

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. -Lin Yutang, 1895

Minimalist homeschooling is about how you school, not what you teach, or what you use.

For your self-reflection: What do you love teaching? How do you love teaching? What do you dislike teaching? How do you dislike teaching? How much time can you spend teaching without getting grumpy in a day? In a week? In a month? In a school year? What motivates or inspires you? What relaxes you? What stresses you out? What do you most want your child(ren) to gain from their education? What makes teaching more difficult? What are the best ways to refuel yourself? What support do you have? What do you need? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? For each of your children: What is their best learning style? What do they like learning? How do they like learning? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Is there a profession that they are motivated to pursue? Any other goals? What do they love? How much time can they spend focusing without getting distracted or grumpy in a day? In a week? In a month? In a year? What do they dislike learning? How do they dislike learning? What motivates or inspires them? What are they reluctant about? What makes learning more difficult? Distractions? Low blood sugar? Time of day?

Minimalism avoids the lure of “greener grass.” I am acutely aware of the consumerism that exists in the homeschooling arena, and it is downright suffocating. We have all been tempted by that awesome resource that somebody recommended, or that was promoted at the last convention. Minimalist homeschooling is remembering that “want for nothing” is a far more useful cliché than “the next big thing” if you truly want to establish a mindset conducive to satisfaction, contentment, and ultimately, happiness.

When you are deciding whether to use a resource, it is useful to apply a minimalist homeschooling filter: Do I already have plenty in order to achieve our goals in that subject? Does this resource suit our preferred schooling methods? Is this the most valuable resource for achieving my goals in that subject? Am I willing to replace what I already have? Will this resource keep my child moving forward in their body of knowledge, love for it, and/or use of it; progressing my child toward our educational goals and values? Does this cover the specific things that I want my child to know, or that my child loves? Can our schedule accommodate this resource? Can I afford the space, time, and energetic cost of this resource?

“Should” is a dirty word in minimalist homeschooling. Keep your eye on the goal and prevent busywork done just for the sake of doing it. Minimalist homeschoolers do not think that a child should complete the whole workbook, or that they should do everything on a page: only whether we want our child to do tasks because they are valuable.

When you homeschool, your home is your school. If you want to simplify and declutter your homeschool, you must simplify and declutter your home.

Items that cannot be easily retrieved and put away are less likely to be retrieved or put away.

Items are wasted when they are rejected or forgotten, not when they are discarded or donated.

Look specifically at the items that are most likely to accumulate in your home and figure out why. Clutter is a symptom of some barrier to clean-up. Maybe those items do not have a proper home yet, or maybe their home is inconveniently located. Maybe your husband is more likely to put papers in a box than in a hanging folder. Maybe your son does not want to carry his toys back to his room when he only plays in the living room. Maybe you have been overly ambitious thinking you would sew the buttons back on all of those pants for the past five years. Look critically at your messes to identify the underlying cause and address the root problem.