What Is Relaxed Homeschooling?

I’ve learned something about myself these past couple years of blogging:

I can have a one-track mind.

I tend to go on and on about things like relaxed homeschooling, yet I realized that I’ve never actually defined what it is- at least not in a way I’m satisfied with.

The fact is, embracing the relaxed homeschooling lifestyle literally saved our homeschool. Would I have quit homeschooling if I had never discovered it? I honestly doubt it because I’m no fan of the school system, and I know what it’s like to have kids enrolled in that mess, BUT it helped us to uncover a sense of peace that can only come when you know you are doing what was willed for you all along. It enabled us to find joy in our learning and contentment as a family.

Relaxed homeschooling has been a gift that I’d love to share with you.

Starting today, I’ll be publishing a 3-part series called “Relaxed Homeschooling 101.” I’ll be covering:

• What Is Relaxed Homeschooling?
• Setting the Stage for a Relaxed Homeschool
• Getting Started with Relaxed Homeschooling

So let’s get started. 🙂

Relaxed homeschooling is known by several names, such as simple homeschooling, minimalist homeschooling, and even hyggeschooling, but the foundation remains the same.

I tend to think of it as a hybrid of eclectic homeschooling and unschooling. While it will look different for each family, relaxed homeschooling, simply put, is a homeschool environment that offers an element of structure with ample time for children to follow their own interests.

One of the basic tenets of relaxed homeschooling (and unschooling, for that matter) is that children learn best through life, whether it’s through pursuing their hobbies or simply going about their day absorbing whatever comes their way.

This may sound very similar to unschooling, because it is, but for varying reasons, relaxed homeschooling families supplement this leisurely learning approach with more structured lessons, which you won’t find in an unschooling household.

Some reasons people may choose to add this bit of structure may include:

• the need for routine in their day
• accountability
• a type-A personality (like me) that likes to have some sort of plan
• living in a stricter state that requires more paperwork (although I will add that unschooling is legal in all 50 states)
• wanting to give their children a good foundation
• wanting to introduce their children to topics they might not otherwise be exposed to

What does this structured learning look like?

Again, it will look different from house to house, but the majority of relaxed homeschoolers tend to focus their structured learning time around the 3 Rs- reading, writing, and arithmetic. 

Other resources used may include:

• unit studies
• living books
• notebooking
• hands-on activities

Additionally, relaxed homeschooling families are often very intentional about keeping their lessons short. After all, spending 5 or 6 hours a day on school work wouldn’t be very relaxing now, would it?

A few months back, I made a video in which I gave a rather thorough explanation of what relaxed homeschooling is and how we implement it in our large family homeschool. I encourage you to watch it if you have any other questions. 🙂

I’ll see you next week when I discuss how to set the stage for a relaxed homeschool. Until then, God bless and happy homeschooling!

If you’ve been on the lookout for a relaxed homeschooling community, join my FB group!