Do you feel like you're drowning in a sea of curriculum choices, wondering how many activities are too many as your calendar overflows, exhausted from trying to balance it all while juggling the never ending socialization demands for your kids? And by the end of the day, are you sitting there overwhelmed and asking yourself, how did I get here? Listen, I've been there. It is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of homeschooling, trying to curate a really great experience for your kiddos. With homeschooling, it's so easy to fall prey to shiny object syndrome.

That constant pull to add more. Co op, field trips, every sport, that new curriculum that looks so good, and the endless Pinterest ideas that seem like they are the thing that will finally make all of this work. And then before you know it, your calendar is overflowing. Your to do list is never ending and what once was an exciting homeschool journey kinda starts feeling like a never ending checklist. And you know what I wanna talk about today?

When everything feels important, nothing actually is anymore. I wanna talk about this secret to meaningful homeschooling and it isn't about doing more. It's not even about necessarily doing less. It's about doing the right things and the right things well. We're gonna talk about two simple things today that can help you make that shift, making a clear plan and cutting some of that clutter.

This is something we're super passionate about in Thrive Homeschool Community. I believe in supporting you with intentional homeschooling strategies that help you reclaim your time and your peace. And today, what we're gonna talk about is how to simplify your homeschool so you can bring back all that joy that you want, the reason why you were doing this in the first place without sacrificing what really matters. Hi. Welcome back.

Before we start the show, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Christy Faith, author of Homeschool Rising, founder of Thrive Homeschool Community, and I am here today to help you navigate the overwhelm and to find a sustainable, enjoyable approach to homeschooling that works for you and your family. So I know you might be there right now. I have been there myself. How do we end up feeling so buried under stacks of curriculum and this packed schedule?

Well, I wanna take a closer look for a moment about shiny object syndrome and some of the other reasons why we fall into the more is more trap. I often talk about my curriculum dungeon down in the basement. Do you have a stash of barely used homeschool curriculum sitting on a shelf somewhere? Or maybe you were really excited to start homeschooling and you bought the hottest curriculum on the market only to realize that it didn't really work for your kiddos? And you think, well, no big deal.

Right? I can use it for maybe some other kids in my family. So you pivot. You grab the second hottest curriculum convinced this will be the one. This will be the solution, but it doesn't quite land either.

Does that sound familiar to you at all? Because it certainly does to me. And now before we know it, we've tested, we've tweaked, we've accumulated. Now, this massive library of almost right programs when all we really wanted in the first place was something that works. If any of this sounds familiar, please know I am not judging girl.

I am speaking from experience. Curriculum hoarding both intentional and accidental is a huge contributor to homeschool overwhelm. And honestly, it's a trap that many of us fall into because we just wanna get it right. And then sometimes we feel guilty about not using it all because we paid for it, and we can easily overwhelm our kids and pack too much on them too. Here's the thing, deep breath, more curriculum doesn't mean better homeschooling.

And in many cases, it actually can make things harder, not easier. And another reason why we end up doing too much is because of a very real fear that we all have, the fear of learning gaps. After all, there's no one to blame if our kids' education fails but us. This is heavy. And I know we're all researchers.

Right? So we see all these incredible homeschoolers on social media sharing their tips, tricks, hacks, and resources and their kids are mastering Latin. They're baking sourdough baked from scratch while reciting poetry and doing hands on science experiments every single week. And you think, maybe we need to be doing that too. So naturally, you quite literally click add to cart and then the package arrives.

But you're too busy to dive into it right away. So maybe it sits in the closet Or maybe you do actually end up opening it immediately, squeezing it into your already packed schedule without actually thinking through if you have time for it or not or even if it fits into your homeschool vision. This is where frustration sets in because with shiny object syndrome, everything is good and everything is wonderful. And you know what? One thing that I teach in my master classes is that we can actually do everything that we wanna do in our homeschools.

We absolutely can. We just can't do it all right now. And let's not forget the pressure of making sure we are covering all the essential skills. This is a massive worry for a lot of homeschooling parents, especially in the first five years of homeschooling. We wanna make sure our kids don't have any gaps.

After all, what if we do end up mainstreaming them and matriculating them into the schools later? We wanna make sure that they're gonna be prepared for it, or maybe you have pressure from a spouse or family members to make sure that your kids are on track. I totally get it. You know how critical certain subjects are, and so sometimes you feel even more guilty if you're not getting to those. The beautiful thing to understand about learning gaps is that no education doesn't have the gaps.

Even if you are a teacher that is covering absolutely everything in the school year, you know why you're gonna have gaps? You're gonna have gaps because you covered everything too fast. There is no way to educate a child without gaps. This is why I focus so much in the Thrive Masterclasses and when I go and do speaking engagements on, okay, well, what are those essential skills? Since we know our kids are gonna have gaps, maybe we should switch our approach to a more skills based approach to education.

And those are the types of things that I love to teach that we're gonna touch on today too. Which leads us to our next topic of discussion, how important it is to know your why, to know why you're doing this homeschooling thing. Because if you don't have that, you will be distracted by everything amazing out there and you won't be able to filter things into your family's priorities. I'm a huge believer in having a framework before I hit add to cart on anything and I have a little checklist that I like to use and I will share it with you right after a word from our sponsors. As a homeschool mom who values a family together approach and leans towards the classical and Charlotte Mason styles, I often struggle to bring my educational vision to life with my kids' diverse ages and learning needs.

With all our interests and super packed schedule, bridging that gap between the dreamy homeschool I want and reality, I gotta be honest. It's a challenge. Now, yes, I know perfection isn't the goal. But if you're listening and you could use a little easing of your mental load in your day to day, I found a resource that has become the quiet hero of our routine, and it could be a really great option for you too. BJU Press homeschool curriculum.

Now many think that BJU Press homeschool is solely an all in one option, and though it does excel in that role, did you know you can also opt for specific courses and tailor them to fit your family's needs just as I have? BJU Press Homeschool provides the perfect balance of structure and flexibility and easily complements my family's mixed age family together on the couch learning style. They are second to none in integrating a biblical worldview, stimulating critical thinking, and offering tons of hands on activities in the lessons. To find out how BJU Homeschool can come alongside you in your homeschooling goals too, visit bjupresshomeschool.com or click the link in the show notes. Is your child struggling with attention, memory, reading, writing, or math?

If you're experiencing this, you know how heart wrenching it is to watch them face these hurdles. You've poured love, time, and attention into their education, yet the struggle persists, leaving you feeling stuck and desperately searching for answers. You guys, I want you to know about LearningRx, a proven program designed to help your child's cognitive skills, enabling them to think faster, learn more easily, and perform at their best. I'm talking getting real long term help here with things like ADHD and dyslexia. LearningRx is backed by thirty five years of research, and their results are transformative.

Use code HOME 50 for $50 off your cognitive skills assessment. Go to learningrx.com or click the link in the show notes. Okay. Welcome back. So I promised you that we would go over a checklist that I use to figure out if that new amazing resource is actually gonna work for me, and I think maybe this could be helpful for you too.

So one question I ask myself is does this align with my homeschooling goals? If you're all about a relaxed interest led approach, maybe fifteen hours a week of Latin and poetry just isn't gonna be your jam. The next question I ask myself is, will I actually use this? Can I? Do I have the time?

Does it fit into my schedule, Or is it just another well intentioned unopened box in my closet? And then the last question I ask myself is, is this going to be sustainable? You want to thrive in your homeschooling and not burn out. So you can ask yourself, will this add to my overwhelm or will this actually help me simplify my homeschooling life? I wanna tell you a funny story about this.

A while back, a mom invited us to, it was a youth group event. And then while the kids were all doing their thing, they were all junior hires, I went out to dinner with this new mom that I didn't really know all that well. And as soon as we sat down to dinner, she started ambushing me with homeschool coaching questions. And I was like, oh, okay. I guess I'm doing a free consult right now while I'm eating my Chipotle.

Sure. Now look, I was happy to help, what I will say is as she started describing her son's homeschool day, I was this close to losing my ever loving mind. Her son was working from 8AM to 6PM every day. She wanted advice on how to get it all done faster. My internal response, well, just stop.

Stop doing all of it, but you'll be happy to know that I did actually stay calm. I gently explained to her the research of what kids actually need and spoiler alert, it's not ten hours of schoolwork a day, but this woman was gripped with fear. And as I was talking, I could just see her doubt in my advice. She just kept feeling unsure about cutting things back and she was so worried about giving her son enough. Here's my point.

So many of us get stuck in thinking that more equals better. If we don't do this, they won't be equipped and all of those things. And we don't wanna fall short, and we all want our kids set up for a successful life. But it's not possible and it's not sustainable, and quite frankly, it's a formula to make mom hate homeschooling and kid hate learning. And I didn't ask her this, but I would put money on the fact that she started homeschooling because she wanted to foster a love of learning in her son.

Don't we all just had dreams of curling up on the couch and watching our kids eyes light up as they explore history through engaging read alouds? This is why if you want that magic, you have to simplify. We don't want our homeschools to be a burden. We want them to be a joyful experience for everybody. When it comes to homeschooling, the bottom line is more isn't better.

Better is better. Learning happens best when it's focused and meaningful, not when it's packed with endless subjects and rushed lessons. Your children don't need more subjects and extra busy work. What they truly need is depth, consistency, and connection. The foundation for what real learning is that lasts.

You will get so much further with a depth over checklist mentality. Look, skimming through a long list of topics just to cover them isn't effective learning. Instead of memorizing isolated facts, we can allow our children to immerse themselves in a particular subject. And by the way, I'm not a checklist hater. We actually use checklists in our homeschool.

Me and checklists, we go way back. The checklist and I are best friends. There is a time and a place for checklists. So what's a solution that can actually work? We will get into that right after this word from our sponsors.

Before we continue, I wanna share with you a program that's been a game changer for our homeschool. At our center, we instructed and helped kids through pretty much every math program on the market and know firsthand just how important a solid math foundation is for our kids' futures. As a career educator with high standards, finding the right program that checked all the boxes felt like too tall of an order. Until one day, I tried CTC Math. CTC Math is an online math curriculum for k to 12 students with motivating interactive lessons that allow kids to learn at their own pace.

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If you're thinking fun and games sounds a little too good to be true, it's not. Ninety eight percent of children improved their reading test scores in just six weeks with the reading skill set by Lovevery. It's a phonics based program that follows a science of reading, but makes learning to read fun, motivating, and confidence boosting because it happens by playing games and then practicing with just right skill level books. Kids love it and parent educators love it, and it works. Visit lovevery.com/ChristyFaith today and use code Christy 10 to get 10% off your purchase of the reading skill set by Lovevery.

That's lovevery.com/christyfaith. Hey. Welcome back. Okay. So as promised, the first thing I think we all could do is declutter.

It doesn't matter if we're on the downhill slope of the school year. Our sanity matters more than sticking to any rigid plan. There is never a bad time to simplify our homeschools. And while I absolutely believe in decluttering our homes, that's not what I'm talking about today. Today, I wanna tackle our homeschooling materials, the books, the curricula, maybe all the activities and the commitments that might be weighing you down right now.

If you can't give yourself permission to let it go, I am. I am giving you permission right now. This is a great time. If you have written a homeschool vision, bring it out. And if you have no idea what your homeschool vision is or your why, I highly encourage you to check out Thrive Homeschool Community because the first step of my homeschool success framework is a forty five minute webinar that helps you find your why.

And at the end of that forty five minutes, you have an amazing statement that is so personal that anybody who comes up against you can't argue against it. And you will realize without a shadow of a doubt that the school system can never provide what you really want for your family. So having that mission statement or that why statement is so important, and it helps you make all of your future decisions. But let's talk about four questions that we can ask ourselves before we keep something. The first, is this curriculum activity or commitment actually serving our family?

Or is it here because I feel like we should do it? That's a biggie. How many things do we do because we feel like we should? Ugh. Number two is does this align with my homeschool vision?

Or did I just add it because it seemed cool or another family did it and it was really working for them? Making sure that our resources and activities and the time that we spend aligns with our homeschooling vision or our homeschooling why is vital. And the next question is, does this particular curriculum keep my child engaged? Do I like teaching it? Yes.

By the way, that does really matter. Mama, do you like teaching this curriculum? Or is it a constant struggle for you, your kid, or both of you? And the last one, am I holding onto this out of guilt? Spending money on something and not using it feels awful, but keeping it doesn't magically make it useful.

If it's just sitting there making you feel bad every time you look at it, just let it go. Man, I need to go down to thy basement actually. I need to take my own advice. I'm thinking of all the curriculum down there. When I go down there, I'm like, oh, no.

How much money did I spend on all this? Right? And if you don't have the bandwidth to sort through everything right now, you can just strip it down to the bare essentials. What does this mean? Well, it means you can have a season where you simply focus on the core subjects, reading, writing, and arithmetic.

It's okay to do just those for a while and kind of evaluate when you're ready to add things back in and be very picky about what you do add back in. And here is a pro tip when simplifying, consider switching to be a time based homeschooler rather than a lesson based homeschooler. What does this mean? It means you set a timer for each subject. And when that timer is up, it's done and you shut the book.

This allows us to know when homeschooling will be over. It allows us time for our kids to go outside and have that free play that we know that they need. Ultimately, I also wanna empower you to be able to say no. Not every co op, field trip, sport, or extracurricular is necessary. It's okay if you limit your child to one sport per season or just a couple of sports seasons a year.

The point here is that if you're overwhelmed, something needs to change and you gotta pair things back. And here is a beautiful reminder that I have to tell myself as well. The best homeschools are not the busiest. The best homeschools are the ones that fit your family's needs, values, and rhythms, not the ones packed with the most activities, the most worksheets, the most curriculum, and the most outside commitments. You are not lazy if you're focusing just on the essentials right now.

You know what you are? You're intentional. You don't need to drown in overwhelm in order to be a good parent or a good homeschooler, and you have nothing to prove. Not to the random person at the grocery store who quizzes your child on the state capitals and not to the well meaning relative who wants a detailed list of everything you're doing to prove that you're doing things right. You got this.

You know what your kids need. Deep down, you know what you need. And once you set your priorities, all those decisions will become a lot easier. If you're listening to this right now and tears are streaming down your face, I wanna say maybe just this one week you pick one thing to let go of and see how it feels. See if your day feels lighter.

If learning feels just that much more joyful. If your home feels a little bit more peaceful. It might be surprising how much just one little shift can make. And again, if you need encouragement with this and help along the way and reminders of all of the research, consider joining Thrive Homeschool Community. My team of ventures and I are here to support you through direct messaging, our office hours or by posting in the group forums.

We have so many cool things going on in there from master classes to clubs within clubs. You will love it. But most importantly, for the topic of today's episode, we are here to help you simplify, to get clear on your goals, and to make homeschooling feel a lot more manageable. So with that, we'll see you next time. Happy homeschooling.

Doctor. Gazelka: