Learning to Simplify Life: Homeschool, Meals, Housework, Schedule, WAHM Life

I’ve been thinking a lot about our homeschool life the last few days and weeks.  The end of the year always brings a time of reflection, trying to determine what was successful and what wasn’t so hot.

As I think back over our days and months of this school year, there’s one theme that is glaring at me:

I make things too complicated.

I make schedules and routines that we can’t keep.

I choose curriculum that’s not the best fit.  There’s too much planning involved or it’s too teacher-intensive (not every subject can be super teacher intensive!)

I choose to serve my family meals that take too long to make.

In short, my expectations are too high.

The Complicated Mindset

Things have exploded in our homeschool (in a good way!) since we started with my oldest in Kindergarten over 5 years ago.  I can no longer do things as I once did in terms of scheduling and implementation.

In this 5 years, I’ve developed a mindset of choosing the less simple way.

But why?

Because I’m reluctant to change?  

Because I don’t know a better way?  

Because I think my way is best and I’m not willing to bend? (I think that’s called pride, by the way.)

Because trying to change my thinking feels too hard?

Learning to Simplify

Regardless of my reasons, I’m on a mission to simplify my life.

Our life gets super busy every spring with Birthday Season, finishing up school, doctor/dentist/eye doctor appointments, church commitments, and more.

And each Spring I have the thought: I am not going to drown this year.

So this year, I’m working hard on simplifying my days.

What does that mean?

Figuring out how to make 5 specific areas of my life more simple:

→ Meals and snacks

→ Our daily schedule

→ Housework

→ Homeschool

→ My Work at Home Life

Why Simplify?

I was washing dishes the other night, pondering about this simple life that I want.

Why simplify?  What’s the point?

The rest of the American world seems to be just fine racing from activity to activity.

But that’s not what I want, and the Lord has impressed upon me that this Schedule Craziness is not what He wants for me either.

At the moment, we have several days each week where we can linger at home and do as we wish.  The girls can make mud pies for hours in the backyard.  My son can ride his bike or read a book in the grass for as long as he chooses.

I want my children’s lives to stay this way.

And for me?

It’s me that tends to run from thing to thing – dishes to laundry to work at home to playing games with the kids to homeschool.

My biggest reason for wanting to simplify is so I can enjoy my family and our life together.

I’ve allowed too much to creep in and I want to get rid of it so I can truly enjoy spending time with my family and not always have something going on the back burner of my mind.

Join Me in Learning to Simplify!

Over the next two weeks, I’m going to share practical ways in which I am simplifying my life in those 5 areas I listed above.

So make sure you stop back by and share the ways that make it easy for you to simplify in those areas.

Are you on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter?  Use the hashtag #simplelife and share your best tips and ideas and little victories so we can all cheer along with you!

The next post will be on Monday and the topic is Learning to Simplify: Meals, Snacks, and Grocery Shopping.

See y’all then!  In the meantime, I’ll be looking for your #simplelife Facebook posts, Instagram pics, and Tweets!

Lauren Hill

Lauren Hill is a Christian mom to 5, ages 19 to 7. She homeschools her children in the classical education tradition and is currently in her 15th year of homeschool. She creates engaging worksheets and hands-on printable activities for Preschool and Elementary age children to supplement their daily studies.

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Homeschool Classical Education Worksheets Printable Activities