I originally posted this series to my Instagram account, but this is something I feel pretty strongly about, so I figured it was worth cross posting here.
Sometimes it’s easy to feel discontent in our homeschool. I do it too. One minute I’ll see all the planners and think, “Should I have a pretty planer too? It looks so amazing and I’d love to have it to hold on to as a keepsake.” But then I remember there’s a reason I use my ugly weekly tables printed from Google Docs – they work perfectly for me.
The next day I may run into a post from a Mama who has a different schedule, maybe closer to unschooling and I think about how much I love the simplicity and ability to make the most of every moment. But then I remember my kids, the ones in my home, thrive on structure, on knowing what to expect, and on staying VERY consistent with key subjects.
Then, there’s all the homeschooling stuff. Beautifully staged and lighted pictures make these trinkets particularly enticing. Yet, just before I press the “confirm” button in my cart I realize, “I’ve tried things like this before. They look pretty but my kids don’t use them and they end up sitting on a shelf.”
But, the biggest one for me . . . the one that catches me every time – it’s all the hands on projects. You have to understand, when I was in school, I LIVED for this stuff. And the keepsakes! Having something my kids can keep forever and ever and look back on fondly saying, “I made that” . . . be still my beating heart. 💗 My kids – they don’t feel the same way. They like to read and discuss and watch documentaries, and very occasionally make a project that inspires them. And you know what . . . That’s OK!
It’s great to be inspired by other mamas, to even be challenged to grow by them. However, we must learn to let go of all the things we think we SHOULD be doing. We have to let go of the perfect image of homeschool that springs to life in our minds. Instead we must embrace the messy, imperfect reality that is our kids, our lives, our circumstances. Only then will we see our children and our homeschools come fully alive.
So feel free mama, free to fully embrace the uniqueness that is YOUR homeschool!
Ticket to Learning 