The Grass Is Always Greener...

the key to our homeschool success isn't what you think

No matter what I say, or how I phrase our story, others say “you are lucky you have that...” and describe our home learning situation as idyllic.

We live in the country on a beautiful scenic hillside, full of wide-open spaces, plenty of room and lots of mature trees. Add to this the extra time Robin is able to put in, our crafting of an ‘alternative lifestyle’, the fact we have three children, our fantastic LEGO collection, our farmyard collection of small animals, have built our own house, have grown our own forest, and the result is an enviable situation.

People seem to want to construe these elements in our lives as the reasons for our perceived success as home educators. As though these things give us the edge, an advantage others can’t seem to find in their own lives, to create the same level of success for themselves.

I find at this point people seem to stop listening to what I am saying, which usually goes to the heart of the true reasons we are successful. These are the ones that have nothing to do with access to particular resources or the quality of the physical environment.

They are the ones that cycle and recycle endlessly in my conversations with people: we conscientiously and consistently practice trust, faith, and patience.

We trust that the children can and will learn, we have faith that it will happen, and we practice patience to allow the learning process to unfold without too much unnecessary interference or intervention.

That is the real secret of our success.

Not where we live, not our lifestyle choice, not how much money we have, or how we spend it.

It is working with our children with awareness. And our willingness to learn to work from the centre, where the child is at, who they are, placing them at the centre and building our educational plans and activities around their developmental needs.

We’ve learned to listen with our hearts to our children’s needs, not the outer voice of society, the voice of culture that echoes around in our heads and tells what we should be doing and when.

I remind myself frequently to change ‘should’ into ‘could’, as it is a far more positive and less damaging word.

We listen with the voice of our hearts and find within it an echo of our children’s hearts; of the hearts of the children we once were. That is our guide. Giving our children the childhood they deserve.

We aim every day to spend more time loving our children in the now and less time worrying about their future. We spend each day getting on with the business of living a full, happy life of our own, fulfilling our own needs as living, growing people.

Often, I find myself advising families not to get stuck in unrealistic expectations, to simply allow themselves and their children to be, and let time roll on and do the rest of the work for them.

And at the very least examine the motivations and causes of those expectations driving their urge to compare their situation with that of others such as myself.

It isn’t what we have, or where we live, or the intrinsic skills we bring to our children, that make our natural learning lifestyle so successful and happy. More than these things our success depends upon our attitude.

Trust, Faith, and Patience!

It may sound all too simple, too easy. “It can't be true,” I hear people say… Ah, the voice of doubt — the voice in the head. Listen instead to the voice of the heart that wants it to be true.

TRUST, HAVE FAITH, BE PATIENT.

What’s the hurry? Why rush our children into adulthood?