Todays thought: Never enough, never enough. I had this odd little homeschool habit. See if you can relate. If my kids and I found something wonderful to do in a day, and if that wonderful activity wasnt already on the calendar for a week or more prior to *doing* it, and if that something wonderful dawned on me out of the blue—a fresh, bright idea—and we acted on it that day (not scheduling it for a future date so that I *could* put it on the calendar first), I felt guilty counting that experience toward school. In other words—spontaneous education felt fake (like I was getting away with something, like I was not a serious educator). I imagined that most homeschoolers had schedules and plans and knew what was coming each week. Certainly school teachers must never lecture on the fly or succumb to inspiration of the moment rather than inspiration that led to a plan for some time later. The cycle looked like this. We had our routine—the practices we usually did each day. Then Id get internally, unconsciously fed up with the daily predictability. Wed be studying some cool topic like gems or fingerprints or Vietnam. Bam! Lets go to Little Saigon! And off wed go. Dropping everything. Wed have a fabulous, learning immersed day. That I didnt count. Because it wasnt planned. Because I hadnt thought about the learning values in advance; because good teachers dont string together a bunch of inspiring moments and call that learning; because the event/activity/outing wasnt a part of an integrated unit of study—it felt hap-hazard and too dependent on my flights of fancy. My educational drive came from behind. I didnt know what I wanted to do with a unit study about the the gold rush until we were knee deep in Levis and fools gold. I felt my way. The ideas would come as we read. How could we read about panning for gold and not pan for gold? So we abandoned all our other school work and planned a panning for gold party. The kids even tried to build a sluice (failed, but the effort was awesome!). The fake gold collected was traded for sarsaparilla and licorice. That party project sidelined math, science, read aloud time, and copywork for a month. It was big and disruptive and unplanned. Not in a single one of my books. Just a moment of following this nagging thought: How can we read about the Gold Rush and not try it? Similarly, I didnt know what to do about the solar system and my kids—books didnt quite get it. Small pictures about unimaginable sizes. Once we were reading, though, the scale of the numbers related to planets blew my mind (space is huge!)—I wanted to blow my kids minds. I called my next door homeschooling neighbor to help me. We went outside into our cul-de-sac, and attempted to replicate to scale, the space between the planets and the sun. Discovering wed have to send the youngest child more than a mile away to approximate Plutos relationship to the rest of us ended that project—and made its primary point. And eliminated math pages, phonics, and handwriting time. And nap time. And laundry. That night, still on a solar system high, my kids and I drummed up the idea to host an impromptu planetary tea party (at night! with the stars!). Our neighbors joined us, and the oldest girl surprised us, dressing up like Jupiter! (Red blotch over her eye.) But was this learning? I worried about it. I hadnt made a lesson plan in advance. Were parties and field trips and impromptu experiments enough? Back to the workbooks and planned curricula wed go. However, no matter how many days we logged in the workbooks and planned activities, I couldnt tell if the kids were making the kind of progress they *should* be making. I had no measuring device to reassure me. Eventually wed get bored or restless or the flu would visit and all semblance of the routine would go out the window. After a holiday, Id regroup and start again. What I couldnt know then that I do know now is that is is MORE than enough and life looks like this stitched together variety of practices, habits, and flights of inspiration. Taken together, you work your way around the circle of learning (planned activities, lessons, incremental worksheets for skills, field trips, parties, spontaneous crafts and experiments, wasted days, child-led days, parent-led days). All of it comes together. Its both enough, and never enough. Learning doesnt have an end point—you know that because you are still learning almost as much as your kids are while you educate them. Dont you sometimes wonder how they let you out of college when you cant remember a stitch of information about Manifest Destiny or the Pacific theater in World War 2 (and you were a history major!)? Because of your natural home educator neuroses, you will cycle through these various educational styles over and over again, attempting to hit the target that keeps moving backward from you. Thats how it is supposed to be and is. Even the least schooly among us are still standing by, alert, seizing those moments when they can support and honor the natural curiosity of their children. When you feel the anxiety of never enough creep up, remind yourself that every day—no matter what you do—your intention is the good of your children and their educational advance. Research and buy curricula, plan amazing experiences, follow your flights of fancy, be inspired by your childrens curiosity and ambition to try things, provide resources, set up a routine... ...and trust the process. In the end, its all learning and it all counts and its enough. Your kids will take what you give them and expand it beyond what you ever imagined. They will know how to do that because you will have modeled so many different ways to learn right in front of them for their whole lives. Theyll be comfortable with structure, freedom, exploration, testing, routine, inspiration, abstraction, practical application, curiosity, expertise, practice, performance, and achievement. The subject areas are merely opportunities to show your kids what it is to learn through a variety of means so that they can continue that journey on their own after they leave home. So hats off to you! On the calendar or not, it all counts. Its enough.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:22:45 +0000
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