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Reasons to Homeschool
Focus on the reasons why it is possible (not the reasons it isn't)
Listening to your heart can be challenging. You can want to homeschool but have no idea how to start and what it would involve, and come up with all kinds of reasons why it isn't possible. And sure, it isn't possible for some people - depending on their circumstances in life (what they have moulded and shaped thus far), as well as their passions and dreams.
(If it's not for you and you know this, then let it go and move towards what feels great for you.)
But if you do feel it in your heart that you want to homeschool and you want some extra clarity on how this can work for you, then please take extra heart that there is a way to create a guiding compass and believe in it and enjoy your every day as a homeschooling parent.
So if you have heard yourself saying, "I want to homeschool my kids, but I'm not really sure what I would homeschool about..." read on:
As with anything in life, you need to start with the end in mind. To think about the results you want to achieve. For example, saying you want to write a book, but you have no idea what to write about, is a lot like saying you want to meditate but don’t know why.
Here is what I mean: You meditate to get results. Why do YOU meditate? Is it to remember to breathe into your abdomen? To switch off your flight/ fight response and switch on your rest/digest response? To learn something from your intuition? To have a rare moment of peace or physical nothingness? To maintain a healthy state of mind? To experience a change in brain waves and experience a shift in consciousness? Similarly, you write a book to get results.
Similarly, you can choose to homeschool your children to get results.
Here you will find a list of results you may want to see by homeschooling. They are brief, just a few words. Your results don't have to be listed as affirmations or long "how to" phrases or SMART goals. Just state the results you wish to see.
Formulating your Homeschooling Plan
FORMULATE YOUR HOMESCHOOL PLAN - a guiding compass
Now that you have your list, you know what you want to homeschool about! Looking again at the above list, we can see that there are key elements that need to be included in the homeschooling day to achieve these results. Such as:
- free outside play
- natural environment exploration, learning rules, learning respect
- free inside play using resources, with company and independently
- learning the syllabus (maths, english, science, etc) as they are interested in components and relevant to their stage in life and interests
- participation in community events - getting to know the community
- learning how to act kindly and compassionately towards others through books, movies, t.v., social groups
- Following their interests for reading and participating in activities
- if they come up with an idea, support them in freely developing and testing, reflecting and improving
- art - translating what they see in the world, and feel, into diagrams and pictures
- technology - developing new ideas without fear of being corrected
- participating in musical activities and freely expressing him/herself
- enjoying dance, solo and in groups, and having fun or expressing emotions
- ... and so on ...
That's a great start for a homeschool plan - and you should be able to start filling up your week quite easily with a guiding compass like this, personalised to your own goals and purposes. Enjoy!
