A Simple Minimal Homeschool Using Batching

So, you want a simple minimal homeschool, but you’re struggling with reconciling minimalist homeschooling with a rich homeschool because maybe…

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• some subjects just aren’t getting the attention you’d like them to get; or
• you want to do more of the subjects that your child(ren) absolutely love; or
• all of those cool ideas and projects don’t ever seem to get done; or
• you procrastinate on, or dread some subjects because they require a lot of preparation and/or mess, or they are not your strength or favorite.

I have a solution for you…

…Batching!

I often think about batching business tasks – grouping similar tasks together to do all at once.  Other people think about batch-cooking, where you prepare a lot of food all at one time in order to reduce daily cooking obligations.  Basically, when you batch tasks, you do a whole bunch all at once.  Any task that you do repeatedly can be done in excess at one time so you do it less frequently.  That is, any task can be batched, including academic tasks!

 

The benefits of batching

The best reason to batch in order to achieve a simple minimal homeschool is that batching offers mental space a clearer schedule.  When alike tasks are grouped together, and done at one specific time, instead of repeatedly, your schedule is simpler.  Batching a group of tasks means one fewer thing to add to your daily, or weekly lesson plans.  In addition, you have one fewer thing to think about, worry about, and plan on a daily or weekly basis.  That is, you can confidently put those tasks “in their place” both mentally and temporally.

Here are a few more ways batching will help create a simple minimal homeschool:

1. You save time and energy.  It takes some time to get yourself all situated to do something.  Usually once you have started a process, it is more efficient to keep going instead of stopping, cleaning up, and then restarting at another time.  The time involved in stopping and starting may seem trivial, but those seconds and minutes add up.
2. You can enjoy some variety.  When items are batched, and happen less frequently, they feel fresh when you get to them.  Conversely, if you are constantly doing the same tasks over and over again, it’s pretty tedious.
3. You can go more in-depth in your task.  Sometimes, when we study certain subjects regularly, they are bound by the clock, and all of the other activities happening around them.  By batching a topic or activity, you can give your full attention to that subject for an extended period of time – especially with all of those minutes that were saved by batching!

I chose the 24th Mindset Hack from the book for this post: Minimize how you teach for maximum effectiveness.

Batching is a technique that allows us to teach fewer items at a time, and yet teach better than we do when we try to teach a little bit of everything all the time.  It is a great way to achieve a simple minimal homeschool that is also rich.

Read More: What is Minimalist Homeschooling Anyway?

How Batching Looks for Us

I know you are probably eager for an example.  In our house, we batch science experiments.  While we learn all sorts of science through books, videos, and independent exploration all year, formal science experiments tend to fall by the wayside.

I have some theories about why this happens, and none of those theories include a lack of interest or value (I love science and my kids do, too!).  More likely, my perfectionism is getting in the way, because I want to make sure we have enough time to do it right, and do it thoroughly.  Also, my exhaustion may be hindering me: science projects, with their supplies, preparation, and clean-up feel like a lot more work than opening up a book to read.  Whatever the reason, I noticed that experiments weren’t getting the attention that they deserved, and so I began batching.

Now, we read the science text during the year (or explore student-lead topics throughout the year), and then do an “at-home science camp” of experiments and projects when the weather is nice.

This way, the (most valuable, hand-picked) experiments more certainly get done without weekly stress or threat of procrastination.

The experiments can be done at our picnic table to ease clean-up, and the younger kids can run around when they lose interest.

The week or two of experiments feels exciting and fun – instead of feeling like a rushed weekly task.

I actually look forward to planning this intensive course!  I can get all the supplies together at once, and plan the experiments knowing that we will have plenty of time for each.

Finally, batching the experiments serves as a great review of the topics that we learned during the year, which really solidifies that knowledge.

>You Might Also Like: How to Spread the Feast with Less Overwhelm

Most importantly, batching allows me to have a simple minimal homeschool during the rest of the year, but I still get to do all of the subjects and activities that I want to include!  PLUS, the batched subjects are done with even more enthusiasm, and plenty of room for excellence and enjoyment! 

Win-win.

 

What to Batch

When I was in 8th grade, I went to a two-week summer camp to learn etymologies (no, not insects.  Word roots.).  Another summer, I learned Introduction to Psychology for two-weeks.  These were intensive courses with about 3-4 hours of lectures and two hours of Study Hall each day for two weeks.  I’m not suggesting that you follow that schedule, but I am suggesting that there are an unlimited number of subjects ranging from liberal arts to science that lend themselves to an intensive approach.  Here are some other ideas I have:

• US Presidents: Set a goal to learn all of the presidents in order by building upon your knowledge each day.  Find one of those catchy songs to memorize.  Learn some basic facts about several presidents each day.  Play some games, do some crafts or notebooking, or do whatever it takes to learn the information you value most.
• Geography: Take a couple weeks to learn to draw, from memory, some portion of the world.  Meanwhile, learn important cultural, historical, or geographical facts.  You know all those cool cultural projects you drool over all year long?  Batch them, baby.
• Art and Art History: Take a tour through art by spending each day learning about new artists and new techniques.  Of course this “camp” will include lots of hands-on artistic expression.  Compare and contrast techniques.  Pick a favorite and do more.
• History: I think a history activity camp would be fun with each day featuring activities and projects that review what we learned during the year.  History is another subject that lends itself to cool projects and field trips that never seem to get as much time as I’d like.  I think if I set aside a couple weeks, we could do some really cool things that deviate from our more routine studies.
• Poetry:  Immerse yourself in a poet’s work, and learn about their style.  Then, find an inspiring place to try writing your own poetry in that style.  What if you had a one-day poetry intensive once each quarter?

Here are some important tips for batching:

• Choose the dates to get the tasks done (at least approximately) in advance.  Do not just let the tasks accumulate or neglect the subject without a game plan.
• Don’t do all the things just because you are taking a deep dive.  You can still approach this unit study as part of a simple minimal homeschool by being selective.  Choose the items that will be most valuable and most loved.
• Make the batching session fun.  Make sure to include great snacks.  Break-up the day into sessions with strategically-placed changes of scenery.  Even though this is an intensive study, it should not feel like a death march to acquire facts in record time.  Avoid being a drill-sergeant.
• Establish your expectations and goals ahead of time, and make sure that they are realistic.  Be willing to adjust.
• Don’t over-stuff your schedule.  This goes along with being realistic, making it fun, and being selective.  If you have too many things planned for the day to be enjoyable, then you have too many things planned.
• Obviously, don’t batch subjects that benefit from daily practice and growth.

What about you?  Do you batch any topics in your simple minimal homeschool?  Are you going to start?  What would you consider batching?  Comment below…

This post is part of the Minimalist Homeschooling Mindset Series in which I go a little deeper into each mindset hack from the book: Minimalist Homeschooling.  Want more?  The book offers a step-by-step guide (with worksheets!) to create your own minimalist homeschool.

I’m glad you’re here, and I’d love to see more of you.  Come on over and join a growing group of homeschoolers on the same journey toward a simple minimal homeschool in our facebook group.  Don’t miss all the goodies, new posts, and memes by following the facebook page.

Wishing you all of the simple things,
Zara

PS – You can also watch a video about batching here, and subscribe to my youtube channel to receive notices whenever I make new videos.