So let’s chat declutter tips for homeschool moms with Emily from Simple by Emmy so we can declutter our homes, heads, and hearts too.

If you haven’t figured this out, you’re definitely not alone. Recognize that the small steps count to decluttering your head, your home, your heart.

Check out my recent Instagram posts on cleaning your floor twice a day here.

Sign up for Emily’s weekly Decluttering Tips and Resources for Overwhelmed Moms Newsletter.

Get more personalized support with in-person or virtual decluttering coaching! 

And check out my non-staged messy kitchen (case you need to see someone else’s beyond your own:)

This can be a self-coaching workbook can be a self-coaching tool to help you discover the barriers getting in the way of your satisfying homeschool life, create a plan to address your relationships, needs & homeschools, and thereby, shift your homeschool experience.

I help overwhelmed homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life, so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.

Call to Adventure by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3470-call-to-adventure
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The post 10 Declutter Tips for Homeschool Moms with Simple by Emmy appeared first on Capturing the Charmed Life.

So what is the connection between self-care & deschooling?

I think deschooling is a highly effective tool that helps us release doubt, uncertainty, and that not-good-enough feeling that so many homeschool moms discuss with me during coaching.

Deschooling helps us (& our kids) zero in on the most important elements of learning, education & life. So both our kids AND their parents can live their lives on purpose.

Learning about learning, learning about living with my kids, and learning about what an education is anyway isn’t what I thought it was.

(Has that been your experience too?)

I’ve had to learn how to get comfortable with boredom, understand genuine motivation, be flexible in my homeschool intentions, choose curriculum and resources based on the real children in front of me, and begin to unpack that unhelpful, oxymoronic word, homeschool. 

Are these activities serving our children’s home education, remember the “raising up” of our child(ren)?

Sometimes. Sometimes not.

Do you know how?

I could go on and on and on here…

And though I think we homeschool mamas should incorporate our interests into our homeschools, my goal in homeschooling was to give them a private school experience, or an even better than private school experience, because I knew I was capable.

My ultimate goal was NOT to look into their eyes, listen to who THEY were, and what THEY needed, or consider where life might be leading them. 

I also assumed I had to homeschool the way I did because that’s what everyone did in their homeschools, and what I was doing seemed familiar to the schooled experiences I had, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything, or be behind anything, or not disappoint the neighbours or my in-laws.

That’s why I know that you need to be clear on what an education is anyway, so you can create an individualized education that will raise your children to do and be who they were meant to do.

All my deschool transitions throughout my homeschool years have helped me do this:

If you want to practically release yourself from the schooled mindset that’s interfering with your homeschool satisfaction, join me for teaching and perspective-shifting coaching to live the homeschool life with more freedom and purpose here. 

Bring your notebook and pen!

Teresa

ps If you’re joining the Patreon Support Group (or already part of the Support Group), make sure to use your discount coupon!

The Deschool Your Homeschool Journaling Workbook is a self-coaching tool designed to help you redefine your homeschooling journey with clarity and confidence. Through thoughtful prompts and guided exercises, this workbook empowers you to:

Discover how to shift your mindset, reconnect with your children, and design a homeschool life that aligns with your values. Start building a meaningful, purposeful homeschool today!

I help homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life, so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.

The post Self-Care & Deschooling: Is there a Helpful Connection? appeared first on Capturing the Charmed Life.

Search online, likely on Facebook. Use the search term: Homeschool in “my place”. (But you’ve probably already thought of this step.)

When you make something, they will come. (Well, not always. Sometimes homeschool families don’t show when they said they would, in my experience, but you won’t know unless you try).

You can always head to a public play place, aka a trampoline gym, a swimming pool, a museum, or a park during school hours and you’re likely to find new friends there too.

I’ve spent a lifetime moving — so I learned most people aren’t threatening, and we can connect with anyone if we do this one thing: listen. 

(And if they are threatening, they’re not your friends, so move on.)

Listen to their stories, listen to their interests, (& learn from them), and listen to their challenges.

Be interested in other’s experiences, in how they see their world, or in what they enjoy doing.

Every human that crosses our path has something to offer each of us. When a new person is in your presence, take notice, listen, and learn.

So I don’t necessarily want to share my deepest darkest secrets with them. I could choose to take that risk, though.

I can build long, true friendships if I risk being the real me, being vulnerable at times, and consistently spending time with those new friends. 

I know how to introduce myself unobtrusively in a group, though this has been a learned skill for me.

From my insecurities, I either didn’t speak at all, or I came across too outspoken.

Somewhere in my relational learning, I realized everyone is nervous to connect with new people so just being myself was the fastest way of connecting the real me with someone new.

Present the fake me and even if they liked me, I wouldn’t feel connected to them. (Because I knew they didn’t know and like the real me).

If you like reading self-development books and homeschool books, this is a space we can discuss interesting books, connect with other homeschool moms around the world, and even consider how these books can inform our homeschools.

What you allow yourself to think & consider influences how you feel…which influences how you act & engage in your homeschool. Because you want to SHOW UP in your homeschool intentionally.

You will quickly begin to recognize the people in your neighbourhood: your grocery cashier, the post office clerk, and the piano teacher’s booking assistant: this will help you feel more at home.

But those who are living in their own world (& have lived there for a while) might not notice you as you do them.

So be patient.

You’ll begin to be acknowledged and seen too. Gradually.

Keep showing up! It will happen when you’re first asked to join in on activities.

Engage in local community activities or volunteer your time.

Check with your local library, community center, or organizations that align with your interests. Not only will this help you meet new people, but it will also provide opportunities for your children to interact with others.

Explore activities or classes that align with your interests or your children’s hobbies.

This can include sports teams, music lessons, art classes, or other extracurricular activities.

Engaging with other parents who share similar interests can lead to meaningful connections.

If you want to show up in your homeschool (& life) authentically, purposefully, and confidently, join our community.

Why join the Homeschool Mama Self-Care Patreon Community?

Both, of course.

Perhaps because we spend so much time with our children, some of us may not be as extroverted as we once were, or even more introverted than we once were because we are comfortable and content in our own worlds. 

Even if you’re not an extrovert, people need people, so if you’re not connected with people you feel supported by, you need to build stronger connections.

The one thing I’ve learned about making friends is that everyone needs friends, extroverts or introverts. Just because we’re introverted doesn’t mean we can or should do life without others.

Make sure you’re connected with people that know the true you and are available when you really need them. 

Read more if you need to take care of homeschool mama’s socialization.

Make a date with yourself. Your relationship with yourself is the most important thing.

Remember, building a community takes time, effort, and reaching out. Be proactive in seeking connections, attending events, and engaging with others. Don’t be afraid to initiate conversations and invite other homeschooling families for playdates or meet-ups.

Introducing the Daily Homeschool Mama Journal, your perfect companion to build time for yourself! With daily journal questions, weekly planner, and self-care activities, enhance your self-awareness and explore your identity while taking care of yourself. Start practicing self-awareness today!

I help homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life, so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.

Call to Adventure by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3470-call-to-adventure
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The post Crack the Loneliness Code: How to Find Homeschool Community appeared first on Capturing the Charmed Life.

Let’s chat about how to deschool 101. Here are 7 lessons that propelled me toward more satisfaction, individualization, and freedom in my homeschool.

Despite being invited to a not-back-to-school picnic last fall, it did not dawn on me that public school started that same day. Summer activities still occupied our schedule until the first week of September, because the weather was still, well, summery.

Since our family is not bound by provincial outcomes or guidelines, we don’t follow conventional school schedules or curricula.

FYI this was not always so. I began with a private school-at-home approach.

(And it didn’t last long, because it was exhausting and impossible. It wasn’t just me that didn’t like it.)

For many years, autumn has been our season to travel.

I find it challenging to reign in energies before Christmas, so we don’t do traditional learning most of December.

Family birthdays are equivalent to school holidays for us, so no traditional learning either.

Since there’s so much to do outside in May, we direct our energies toward botany (gardening & nature drawing) and weather study (just a good excuse to use outdoor activity in science).

Textbooks, workbooks, novels. Bookstores, homeschool mama blogs, Facebook threads. Curriculum fairs and websites abound. I have 3 suggestions about buying a curriculum here.

During our first year of homeschooling, I overbought, assuming we were able to cover more than we could. Every year in the last eleven, I have bought less and less, sometimes relying on the previous year’s purchases. Sometimes I heavily rely on library cards.

I have even heard my kids comment on curriculum: “I don’t want to get a curriculum that I don’t want to use.” They know they will be expected to follow through with the use of their purchase. (This is also a way to discover how they learn and encourages them to take responsibility in choosing useful resources.)

I am often asked about our less-than-conventional approach, and if we’re not following public education outcomes, where do we find curriculum?

When they are engaged in their educational choices, they are engaged in their learning.

Who are we educating? Only our specific children.

If we’re educating that specific child, then we should allow that child to lead the learning. They should be our point of reference for what curriculum we choose, how we assign their time, or whether we assign their time at all.

Not every resource we think we’ll use is quite what we thought. There are some wasted resources.

Every child is different and every year is different.

When I think back to my school experience, I remember tucking my new outfits into a bunk bed drawer that I wasn’t allowed to touch until the first day of school. I still have that blue plaid, two-button shirt.

We visited Zellers for grade-specific supply lists: another box of non-broken crayons and a package of those smelly markers.

I buy what I need, like I purchase kids’ clothing based on need when seasonal shifts require it, and not on the latest style (though my kids are old enough to inform me).

However, I don’t buy indoor shoes, though every Christmas I provide fluffy socks.

How much does it cost to homeschool anyway?

If I thought of education as solely ‘in the classroom’, ‘textbook driven’, ‘test proven’, or ‘teacher taught,’ I would follow the system, its schedule, and its curriculum.

Google is called Google for a reason, and it contains more knowledge than the most knowledgeable human might embody. Is our goal for education to enable our children to match Google?

Our family might not be going to school, but we’re still learning in our way.

Learn more about the 5-Day Deschool your Homeschool Challenge.

We plan our daily schedules in rainbow-colored pens, take grade photos, and discuss our academic plans.

Each of the kids finds a box of Smarties at the bottom of their new book stack…because they are about to get smarter.

You can find 15 ways to incorporate fun into your homeschool here.

“There isn’t a right way to become educated, there are as many ways as there are fingerprints.”

In the meantime, we have Legos to play with, dogs to walk, chickens to coral, trampolines to bounce on, a garden bounty to process, and a few more late evenings.

There are one million and one things we’re going to learn from the moment we’re born to the moment we die.

We might work at…

(A few of my iterations.)

The Deschool Your Homeschool Journaling Workbook is a self-coaching tool designed to help you redefine your homeschooling journey with clarity and confidence. Through thoughtful prompts and guided exercises, this workbook empowers you to:

Discover how to shift your mindset, reconnect with your children, and design a homeschool life that aligns with your values. Start building a meaningful, purposeful homeschool today!

I help homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life, so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.