Homeschooling can take over your home, and not in a good way. There can be so much stuff that can go along with homeschooling. Which is why taking a more minimalist homeschooling approach can be so beneficial. It is something we are working on more and I want to share how we’re doing it so that homeschool materials aren’t taking over your home anymore, if you don’t want them too that is.
Minimalist Homeschooling Homeschooling Without the Stuff
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I wanted to make sure that I had it right so I looked it up. Honesty first right? I want to be more minimalist but it’s hard when you have a husband who doesn’t necessarily feel the same way. So what is minimalist living, it is:
Minimalist living is about living with less.
Ways to take a More Minimalist Approach:
Visit the library.
If you have read this blog for any amount of time you know that the library is our saving grace. Why should we buy every book we need for our homeschool lessons when we can borrow them from the library?
Books from the library can be borrowed, placed on your bookshelf, and then returned to the library not taking up your limited book space.
Don’t buy school supplies you don’t need.
Back to school time school supply sales doesn’t mean you need to stock up on supplies. I did that once and will never have to buy crayons again. True story, they have moved four times with us, once across the country. They are just taking up space.
Only buy the crayons, paper and pencils, etc. that you are going to be able to use right away or in the near future.
Leave the school behind
You don’t need to have a school room in your house to make homeschooling work. In fact, it might work a whole lot better when you are more relaxed in different areas of your home, like the living room or kitchen. Learning is possible and perhaps more likely to happen outside of the (work)books. And if you do have a homeschool room, try for a minimalist homeschool room. Limit all the stuff – posters, books, desks/tables, etc.
Let go of the old
I admit, this one can be hard, especially when you have younger children but hear me out.
Let go, pass on that old curriculum. The one you used with your older children and might use with your younger children. See what I did there? Might. You might use it, so you are going to hang on to it. If you have doubts about using it, you aren’t going to so pass it along to someone who will or sell it.
The books your kids have out grown? Say goodbye. While I love the idea of passing them along to another family, if you sell them you can then use that money to buy books that you actually need/want… or to pay off your library fines.
Go digital
This has been the best, and first, step in minimalist homeschooling for our family. Minimal homeschool curriculum hoarding. It started with Teaching Textbooks last year, this year we’re also using digital copies of Grammar Galaxy (and I’m not printing much).
E-books are a great way to have all your books but not all the bookshelf space. You can buy your own, or borrow e-books from the library which helps to eliminate the late fees as well.
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