Don't change up, tune in instead

Use this 'check-in list' before you change homeschooling direction, methods or resources

Last night I had a bad dream and woke up feeling anxious. It made for a bad start to my day. I chatted about the dream with Robin, and that helped, but as the day progressed I noticed that little things were bugging more than usual. I was cranky and critical, prone to bumping myself, not enjoying my daily tasks, unable to get into the swing of things.

This got me thinking about my switch off and switch on list that I compiled years ago when homeschooling my kids, and and posted on my website: 'are you inadvertently making it harder for your children to learn?', back when I was first exploring the whole idea of learning styles.

I was a pretty crumby homeschooling mum back then, failing my kids all over the place, making their learning life miserable most days. And it was frustrating me, making me feel like perhaps I should throw the towel in, send the kids to school. On our good days, however, when things went fantastically, nothing could beat the warm fuzzy feelings that emanate when the kids are learning their little heads off!

I knew homeschooling could work, was working. I knew that I had to tweak something. It wasn't what we were doing that was stuffing things up. Well, not everything we were doing, there were some things that didn't make sense in hindsight. Hindsight sucks, but it is what it is! If we pay attention it can be really useful, if we use it to harbour regret and guilt it can waylay us.

Anyway, to cut a long story short (which I won't, but at least you know I'm thinking about it), I realised that there are a lot of things that get in the way of that learning flow, turn it into a turbulent rather than smooth current, throughout the day.

This meme by crazyheadcomics caught my eye because it encourages us to go within, to ask how we're feeling, what is going on that might give rise to those feelings. It says:

"Feeling bad but don't know why? Ask yourself: how was my sleep? Have I properly nourished my body today? How is my social intake? How are the people around me affecting me? How am I doing with hygiene and cleanliness? What am I putting my energy into? What is the tone of my self-talk? Is there a source of stress, or something weighing on me? What is my body craving, what is my heart wishing for? Do I need some rest?"

These are all questions we can ask ourselves of our children when their young lives aren't rocking along happily or smoothly. What is going on with them, their bodies, their social circles? Is there any tension or conflict in the family, the community or world that might be making them anxious?

The list I put together all those years ago helped me become more confident as an educating parent, helped me to become more compassionate to myself and my kids. You can read it here.

Sometimes we don't have to change what we're doing, which resources we're using, or how we're doing it. Sometimes all we need is to be more attentive to our inner needs.

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