We are a home educating family. And I really like the philosophy of having a lifestyle of learning. So then why do I always try to complicate things? Why is it so easy to make things complicated? My goal is for the kids to always like to learn, to make it a continual habit in their life. I don’t want to follow a school curriculum or checklist. I don’t even want to follow the regular learning boxes called science, social studies, language arts and math. So why, oh why, do I continually plan our learning into these boxes and checklists? Will I ever learn? STOP THE INSANITY!
The reason for this rant is because it is the back to school season and with that comes the planning for the education year. My life has never been regular or one that follows a simple routine. My life has always included the possibility that at any moment the plan can change, something will come to surface as more important or more pressing than what I am doing right now. And I am okay with that. I have learned to be flexible with my time over the years (being married to a farmer/rancher has had a big part in that).
So last week we started “school” and I made it a priority to make up a school plan, a schedule. And I think I did a fine job. Well I did, except it has been eating away at me because I know that it will be impossible for us to follow it. We are day one of week two and already last week and now this week, things have popped up that will throw me off track if I use this schedule I have made up which of course will then cause me stress because we will be “behind”, whatever that is. What is behind in a world of being in control of your own education? Who says you are behind? Is it them... the infamous “they” who control our thoughts and lives? I say “off with their heads!”, they have no right telling me where I, nor my children, should be. I no longer give “them” power over my life. I do not follow them nor am I bound to what “they” demand. I am free to do my own choosing. What will I choose?
Today I have been working overtime mentally on this dilemma of mine. My written schedule does not fit, so what will I do? And my thoughts brought me here to this blog rant. But I think I have stumbled on something that may work for us, that fits more with what were striving for. Instead of preplanning, let life take us on its journey for us and keep record of our adventures. We will read and discuss and do projects and live life. And as we write about where we have been and what we have done we can see that our learning has taken us to places that fill those learning boxes to be checked called science, social studies, math and language arts.
Now I know the reason I made up this schedule for us is so that we would have an anchor to our day, a path to follow. I am a person who needs a plan or I will wander aimlessly. I did try to keep the schedule open for interruptions but still have markers along the day to keep us on track. But I think what I did wrong was give the markers designations, such as science, math and so on. I did not leave room for the pursuits my children said they wanted to follow because I was too busy trying to please the monkey on my back telling me we had to have subjects that followed typical school education. So how do I tweak this and make it work? How do I have freedom but not wander aimlessly? Because if we aim at nothing we will surely hit it.
I think we will start out by picking a few books and working through them a bit each day. I have projects that need to be done too and we will throw those in as needed. I will encourage the kids to pursue those things they told me they are interested in this year. My job is to encourage the kids to learn and not make demands of what to learn. I am a control freak, this will be an interesting year. ;oP
KISS philosophy - Keep It Simple Stupid!
Okay, okay... I will. :o)
No comments:
Post a Comment