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| Walnut Ships that really float! |
I was reading my by line this morning.... something about the "tempestuous sea of liberty" and having to navigate through it. How true! Homeschooling is like that. You learn quickly to think of what you are doing as an adventure... The kids get sick, errands call and yet there is a home to manage and bookwork to do.... and worse of all you do not always know where this homeschooling journey will end up, and then you end up wonder if it's all just some strange experiment you want to run aground.
Things can seem quite unsure as you are homeschooling... and worse....there is no one to tell you want to do and not do. How do you even know if you can be sure that the kids are learning enough? How can you know for sure that they are learning what they need to know... to keep up with kids in school... or more importantly to live?
Yes, well, we "know" they are learning "everything they need to know"... and how "to live " in regular school..... well, maybe. Seems a bit of and experiment there as well. But there is certainly a tug at every homeschoolers heart to wonder if "school" and "school experts" really do know best. Rest assured... it's anybody's guess. There are simply no guarantees...either way and chances are if you are reading this, interested in homeschool or if you have been homeschooling for more than a month, it is because you already decided that school was just as experimental as homeschooling ever could be. The important thing to do what you have given heed to homeschooling past that kindergarten mark is be confident that homeschooling is what you would like to do.
So here you stand, label now as a "homeschooler." Now what? What lies ahead? IS there any end in sight, and what if you set sail and don;t like it? Is it possibly to fail?
Truth is, you just never know what a day will bring, and each day, in a public schoolroom or not, has enough trouble of it's own.... but still there you are, standing. Good. Look before you and see that there is a whole world to explore and learn about!
With such a seemingly daunting task before you, if you are like me, you probably think to yourself, "I do not even know where to begin!" This is where you simply tie a knot onto the idea of homeschooling and hang on! (Just be careful what it is you tie your knot to!) And remember this: There are no guarantees in life. IT really is all the grace of God. It is a matter of one thing at a time and then that thing will lead you to the next. Your journey, each child's journey, is bound to be very different from anybody else's too. So begin with the basics and let your learning branch out from there. If you need to regroup, get back to the basics. Go back and look to see what your rope is tied to.
Whatever you do, love your kids. Try to make every moment with your kids special, memorable or meaningful and they will do just fine. One thing is certain, the adventure you embark on in homeschooling is uniquely yours and because it is yours you can pretty much do any curriculum or learning activities and experiences that you would like...as long as you have the conviction of heart that what you are doing is worth your while. IT really is your boat, and the open sea is calling.
As you travel the seas, no doubt there will be a lot of books and resources vying for your attention, offering to help you navigate along the way. Everyone wants to sell you their shiny little trinket... and make a profit, so remember, in terms of your kids, the very best resource is... you, and not only that, it's your ship. You can land it, beach it, dock it, winter it, whenever you like. You can toss unnecessary things overboard or get new cargo anytime you like, and more importantly, these are your kids.
Where will you end up? Where will this adventure take you? God only knows for sure, but one this for sure, it will take you to that place where your child is older and much wiser, ready to embark on his or her own individual journey into some aspect of the outside world with a trusty rope tied to the most important things in life...and it will be love, family... a love of learning and best of all, a sense of home.
How long will you be "homeschooling" is never predetermined. Most people only get to do it until the child is age five or six....then they send them off to be schooled. Some only homeschool until their are six weeks old... then they send them off to nursery or preschool; but for homeschoolers, it can be till twelve or fourteen, even college, that is, if your homeschooling spirit doth persist!
Wherever your homeschooling journey begins, or whenever you find yourself in the doldrums... (been there a few times myself) one thing you can be sure of is the freedom to homeschool your own children, to select your own curriculum, to have the time to learn things interesting to you without school bell interruptions and school board calendars to keep... even to build or to rebuild the "sailing ship" you are on... is awesome.
For me, as I look to the horizon from where my ship sails as it has for the last 17 years... I now find myself feeling a bit like an old rugged sailor, and I find myself saying something new and quite foreign to me....
"Land Ho!"
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