📄Margin

Hey Reader,

Homeschool moms are very good at adding things.

✅New curriculum.

✅New routines.

✅A new read-aloud.

✅A new printable.

✅A new plan for finally organizing all the new things you just added. 😉

We add because we care.

We want our children to have rich experiences, strong skills, meaningful memories, and every possible opportunity.

But eventually, all that adding can leave very little room for actually experiencing the homeschool we’re trying so hard to create.

Do you have margin in your homeschool? Extra Space

During my active homeschool years, I read (affiliate link) Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard A. Swenson, M.D.

The central idea is that overloaded lives leave no breathing room, and that we need intentional space between our commitments and our limits.

Margin leaves room for connection, curiosity, interruptions, and actual human beings, which are notoriously difficult to fit into an overstuffed planner.

Simplifying doesn’t mean you’ve lowered your standards.

It doesn’t mean you’ve stopped caring.

And it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve given up.

There is a big difference between doing less because you feel defeated and choosing less because you’re being intentional.

When you know what your family needs most, you can begin making space for it.

If connection matters most right now, you may decide that completing every workbook page is less important than having time to read together.

If your child needs confidence, you may pause the extra assignments that keep reinforcing the feeling that they’re behind.

If your family needs a calmer rhythm, you may choose one meaningful activity instead of trying to fit in four.

If curiosity matters, you may leave enough room in the schedule for a question to become a conversation instead of rushing everyone to the next subject.

You don’t need to recreate every beautiful homeschool you see.

You need enough space to experience your own.

That can be hard to remember when someone online appears to be teaching Latin, baking sourdough, identifying wildflowers, and reenacting the entire Revolutionary War before lunch.

Meanwhile, you’re trying to locate the math book that was definitely on the table five minutes ago.

Choosing less can feel uncomfortable because it often brings up the question:

What if I remove something essential?

This is one of the places where support can make a real difference.

Having someone help you sort through what matters can make it easier to simplify without constantly wondering whether you’ve made the wrong choice.

If you’re trying to decide what your homeschool can release, you can reply to this email and tell me what you’re considering.

Or you’re welcome to book a free 20-minute clarity call, and we can talk through it together.

​[Book your free clarity call]​

You’re not giving your children less; you're giving them margin.

Reader, you are the most important part of my job. You are not interrupting my day when asking a question, replying to an email, or reaching out for support. I am honored to offer you help as you homeschool.

📝Christy's Corner📝

Where can you intentionally leave margin this week (or next week)?

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