One thing I’ve been learning as we move into another year of homeschooling is that simpler doesn’t always mean doing less.

Sometimes it means letting go of the things that make everything feel harder than it needs to be.

And this year, I’m trying to do just that.

Last year was our first year homeschooling. I had been public schooled my entire life, and my daughter had been in public school from kindergarten through second grade. So when we started homeschooling, I think we were both learning how to let go of the public school mindset we were used to.

I naturally brought some of those habits with me. Worksheets. Completing assignments. Making sure we were doing enough. Making sure everything got checked off.

And there were definitely more worksheets last year.

There were also more tears.

There were days when getting her to sit down and do a lesson felt like a battle, and plenty of times when neither of us was really enjoying it.

Looking back, I don’t think that means we failed at our first year. We were learning. I was learning how to teach her, she was learning how to learn at home, and we were both figuring out what homeschooling was going to look like for our family.

But I knew I wanted this year to feel different.

A Fresh Start With Our Curriculum

This year, we’re using a new curriculum for every subject.

That might sound like the opposite of simplifying, but for us, it has actually been part of the process.

When I was choosing our curriculum, I wasn’t just looking for something that checked all the boxes. I wanted something that fit the way I want us to learn and the way my daughter learns best.

More books. More discussion. More narration. More hands-on learning. Less busywork.

So far, I am loving the change.

Now, we’re still early in the school year, and I don’t want to pretend we’ve suddenly found the perfect homeschool. We haven’t. We still have hard days, and I’m sure there will be plenty more.

But so far, the difference has been amazing.

There’s less resistance to getting started. We’re having more conversations. She’s more engaged in what we’re learning. And I’m enjoying it more, too.

It’s not perfect.

It’s just so much better than before.

And for this year, that’s exactly what I was hoping for.

Less Worksheets, More Reading and Discussion

One of the biggest changes I’m making this year is moving away from so many worksheets.

Don’t get me wrong, worksheets have their place. But I don’t want my daughter’s education to become a pile of papers that we rush through just so we can check a box.

Instead, we’re spending more time reading good books, talking about what we’re learning, and giving her opportunities to tell me what she remembers in her own words.

Narration has become a bigger part of our homeschool, too. Sometimes she’ll tell me what she learned. Sometimes we’ll have a conversation about it. Sometimes she’ll explain something in her own way.

I’m finding that I learn a lot more about what she actually understands when I slow down and listen instead of simply looking for the right answer on a worksheet.

Making Writing More Interesting

Writing is still important, but it doesn’t always have to look the same.

We do copywork, and I keep a notebook with her daily copywork so we can look back and see her progress.

But when we do need to practice writing, I like changing up the medium to keep things interesting.

We’ve used watercolor pencils, markers, Play-Doh, stamps, chalk outside, and dry-erase boards.

Sometimes something as simple as writing on a dry-erase board instead of a piece of paper is enough to make a lesson feel different.

Spelling doesn’t always have to mean sitting at a table with a pencil, either. We’ve used watercolor pencils for spelling words, along with some of our other supplies.

The goal isn’t to make every lesson elaborate. It’s simply to keep learning from feeling like the exact same thing every day.

Keeping Our Notebooks Simple

I’m also trying to keep the amount of paper we save under control while still giving her a record of her work.

She has one notebook for daily copywork and another for her spelling words.

I like being able to look back through them and see her handwriting improving and remember what she was working on without having folders full of loose worksheets everywhere.

Sometimes simple really is enough.

Making Lessons Memorable

Another thing I’m trying to do more of this year is incorporate crafts, experiments, and hands-on activities when they actually help make a lesson stick.

But this is where I’m giving myself permission to keep things simple.

A memorable homeschool lesson doesn’t have to mean a huge science experiment with a shopping list of supplies and an hour of preparation.

Some of the things we’ve done so far have mostly used things we already had around the house.

And I love that.

If we can use something we already have to make a lesson more hands-on, help her understand a concept, or give her something she can actually remember later, that’s a win.

Because I’m not just trying to get through the lesson.

I’m trying to make memories with my daughter while she’s learning.

Sometimes those memories come from a craft spread across the table. Sometimes it’s an experiment that doesn’t go exactly as planned. And sometimes it’s something as simple as using chalk outside or pulling out the Play-Doh for a lesson.

It doesn’t have to be big to be memorable.

Making Room for Curiosity

I think this is probably the biggest part of simplifying our homeschool this year.

I’m trying to leave room for curiosity.

If something sparks a question, we can talk about it.

If a lesson would be better understood by doing something instead of just reading about it, we’ll try it.

If we need to slow down, we can slow down.

If something isn’t working, I don’t have to force it just because that’s how I planned the day.

There is something freeing about realizing that homeschooling doesn’t have to be perfectly organized to be successful.

I’m not trying to recreate the school experience I grew up with.

I’m trying to create an education that fits the child in front of me.

A Simpler Homeschool Doesn’t Mean Less Learning

I don’t think simplifying our homeschool means that we’re doing less learning.

We’re still learning math, science, history, language arts, spelling, and all the other things that come with school.

I’m just becoming more intentional about how we’re learning them.

More books.

More conversations.

More narration.

More hands-on learning.

More creativity.

Less busywork.

And hopefully, a little less pressure on both of us.

Because when I look back on these years, I don’t want my biggest memory to be how many worksheets we completed.

I want to remember the books we read together, the things she couldn’t wait to tell me about, the silly moments, the experiments that didn’t quite go as planned, the crafts spread across the table, and all the little moments in between.

Last year taught me a lot about what I didn’t want our homeschool to feel like.

This year is teaching me what I do want it to feel like.

Not perfect.

Not Pinterest-worthy.

Just more peaceful, more enjoyable, and more meaningful for both of us.

I’m learning that simplifying our homeschool isn’t about doing less for the sake of doing less.

It’s about making room for the things that matter more.