Minimalism & Homeschooling
Minimalism and homeschooling aren't often seen to be things that would go together well.
We've been on our minimalism journey for almost four years now and we've found that, as life changes for us and our family, we always find the 'minimalistic approach' to things.
When we made the decision to homeschool, it was met with a massive list of tasks that needed to be completed to make our home, schedule and overall lifestyle, more 'homeschool friendly'.
I decided we needed a tonne of stationery, all the NSW syllabus books, loads of readers for the kids, and we needed ALL THE CRAFT SUPPLIES.
I honestly had absolutely NO IDEA what I was doing.
I had no idea what we needed and I had no idea where to start.
Having seen out the school year as a homeschooling family, I now have a better idea of how we're going to do things in the new year. But one thing is for damn sure..
We DO NOT need ALL the craft supplies!
I shit you not, when Havanah was small, we had an entire room in our home DEDICATED to craft supplies. We called it the 'Craft Room'. Glues, glitters, paints, buttons, little wooden scrabble letters.. the stuff you find on Pinterest.. and that was BEFORE homeschooling!
Now, we have a little craft 'tool box'. That's it!
It holds..
a couple of glue sticks and glue pots - we sure as heck don't need one for each child.. but if you're a parent of 2+ children, you'll know the struggle
watercolour paint set - we're currently down to one.. and we're scraping pan.. but Santa tells me he's going to get that sorted for us
a couple of sheets of these foam sticker 'pains in the ass' things. You know the ones. They never stick to the paper but you find them on the bottom of every pair of socks.. yeah.. so some of those..
stamps & ink pads
fishing line - think 'art-projecty' stuff.. you can hang things with it..
now, the minimalism of the box.. ONLY PRIMARY COLOUR PAINTS!
A tube of red, a tube of blue and a tube of yellow.
We used to have a tube of white as well, so we could play around with shades.. but we had a huge tube that eventually went yuck before we had the chance to use it all. We had that tube for YEARS!
This, my friends, is homeschooling at it's finest!
Havanah knows which colours she needs, in order to make the colours she's after. Brooklyn, on the other hand, "Mommy, do you know which colours make green?.. BLUE & RED!".. No, son.. no. He's three.. but I can only say that for a couple more months 😬
They're learning without realising! They also become more comfortable with experimenting with what they're trying to achieve.. and those are the kinds of people John and I are trying to raise!
Whenever we've found the need for specific crafting items that we don't have on hand, we just head to Spotlight.
The momma in me says that we need the bulk packs because 'we'll use them!'.
The minimalist in me says that we certainly won't use them and they'll probably sit in a draw for years before I face the fact that it was money wasted (Remember our massive tube of white paint?)
Havanah's apron was part of a set that I had made for her and I one Christmas, before the boys were born.
They're mostly used for baking, and when she wants to play 'cafes', but they're awesome at protecting her clothes from paint and glue.. and pastel covered fingers.. so I think I'll definitely look into buying a couple for the boys as well. Terri from Momento in Georgia over in the U.S made me our set, along with a set for my sister and her son, and my sister-in-law and her daughter.. FIVE YEARS AGO! I'm not sure she still sells them, but it's worth a look! She's great!!
Havanah's good at thinking of creative ways to make something special.
She cut a heart out of the top piece of paper, creating a template that she could paint over.
..but what I love most about her little cards.. there's always a heavily detailed picture of a special event in her life.
She manages to remember all the tiny details which usually go unnoticed.. maybe she'll grow up to be a photographer like her momma?!
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