Friday
Jul232010
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Friday, July 23, 2010 at 07:57AM 
One of life’s quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful. — Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It
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Because, really this path we are choosing to do affects us as well.
so where do you find your strength and calmness?
The learning curve for me with their learning is tremendous. This is where I have to not put my learning on par with their's. There ARE certain things I want them to know...and that their father does...hence the trek through geography. But I am trying to find the balance at introducing a topic to them and then letting them be the owner of their own information. Have not done well with this in the past but rereading your project work posts, Lori, has re-inspired me to make a go at this style again. (Usually give up too early mainly because I have 5 kids all under 8yo with one more on the way and our life is so hectic it is hard to keep track of projects and really delve into everyone's stuff...but I am learning and I will keep plugging away at this lifestyle.)
it's hard to find quiet time, work time, when your children are small. it definitely goes a long way toward making the time together better, though.
my children are older, so i can tell you that it gets much better and much easier! :^)
stacey, balance has been a theme in my journal for years .. striving to achieving it, always noticing when it's missing.
as i said to kelly, it has become much, much easier as the children have gotten older. they are so self-sufficient .. in their work, in daily tasks like cooking and cleaning. it frees up that time i was looking for and never finding.
one nice thing is that project learning creates time when your children are deeply engaged, and that gives you time to think and write and make. if you work toward a goal of helping children work independently, they can get materials on their own, work, clean up, all without breaking the spell of their engagement.
there are parents who are managing their children's learning all day long, and when they aren't doing that, they are in the car driving them from lesson to class to meet. that level of activity would be exhausting for me!
i'm glad you're returning to these ideas .. with that many children that young, it must be very challenging for you. :^) keep plugging away! for years i kept a sign on my desk that said "forge ahead" .. reminding me not to give up when the going got tough.
i really feel that implementing even one good strategy can cause everything to turn in a good direction .. and possibly make it easier to make an attempt at the next thing.
keep me up to date!
Have I forgotten to mention that it's nice to have you back in this spot, reminding me the hows and the whys.
OK, so let's be honest, the house comes way down the list of priorities (my Mother tells me that the day your house is pristine, is the day that you dearly wish for your babies to be back home again!) Today it was more important to find out about Bumble Bees and how they use their knees, because DD had a burning question that needed an answer right then and there, which evolved into another question about butterflies and moths, and so on and so on.
Home schooling has made me realise how little I know, how unaware I am of the world around me I am, and how fantastic my children are. On a bad day, it seems like the craziest decision we ever made! Even then, I know I wouldn't choose the other path.