Yesterday, as I was easing back into work after a week of sickness, I noticed that we were almost out of bread. Hmmm. It's not what I was planning to do, not what I was scheduled to do, but if I didn't go ahead and throw the ingredients into the bread machine, we'd have nothing for lunch today.
I admit it. I'm a bread snob. Years ago, friends fed us whole wheat bread made from grain they had just ground, and it was absolutely amazing -- both in taste and in satisfaction. So, having bartered for an electric grain grinder, I made the decision to grind my own grain and then make our bread from it.
Ok. But, yesterday I was physically wimpy. And, I was more than a week behind schedule on the current project - revising Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries. And I didn't want to take the time or effort to make bread. Gripe, moan, gripe, moan.
The alternative was not attractive, however. If there's no bread, lunch can be a real challenge. . . And I didn't want to face that either.
So, I quit wavering and began measuring ingredients into the bread pan.
It was at that moment that I began to ponder the significance of scheduling. What if I had a schedule that said every Wednesday and Saturday was bread day? That would have meant that yesterday, Thursday, would NOT have been bread day, and we would have been out of luck today.
Hmmm. The right response was to pay attention to our actual needs, rather than being ruled by a schedule.
Schedules are good. Let me rephrase that. Schedules are good TO THE EXTENT that they serve the needs of the people involved. Schedules must be subservient to relationships.
What that looked like in our homeschooling days was sometimes we had to drop a subject for awhile -- even though a scope and sequence said that that subject was to be taught in this grade -- if my child wasn't ready for it. Or, conversely, if my child was ready for a subject BEFORE it was normally scheduled to be taught, then we jumped in with both feet.
Relationship is the key. Paying attention to our kids' needs, knowing what is overwhelming them, what is drawing them, what unlocks the doors to learning for them. . . All of that is found as we spend vast quantities of time with them, listening to them, hanging out with them, reading aloud to them and hearing their thoughts about what we've read. It's relational.
So, as long as your schedule is helping you and blessing your kids, then go for it. But if you find, as I did yesterday, that you're just about out of academic nourishment, go ahead and throw in those ingredients of delight and laughter. The aroma will entice your whole family!!!!
Hi Diana.
Thanks once again for the encouragement. I greatly appreciate your words of wisdom and ponderings. I haven't commented in a while but wanted to let you know I check your blog often and am encouraged as I read what's been on your mind. :) Happy New Year!
Totally agree!
Looking forward to seeing you again in May- this time in yakima.
I told my 12 year old son you would be coming to the family style homschool thing going on then and he was beyond thrilled! He listens to your tapes over and over. You have helped him develope a real passion for history that has lasted for 2 or 3 years now.
It is not unusual at all to find my boys sitting around the tape player surrounded by legos and listening to your voice all day long in the cold winters here!
So true the goods and bads of scheduling. I absolutely love that about homeschooling, being able to pass over something for now to focus on something more at hand. Knowing exactly what my kids need and not having to take up all of that public school time with busy work is a true blessing.
Hello Diana, I came across several of your books in a little library near Warren, Ohio where my husband was starting a church. That was many moons ago, when I was just getting my feet wet in the world of homeschooling. What a blessing and help your books were to me in those formative years.
Now, my children are 19,18,16, 14 and 13 years old.
We have since moved to North Ridgeville,Oh where my husband has started another church. We have many homeschooling families and what a blessing they are! I have recently set up a forum with various topics, one of which is homeschooling. Of course, I went looking for some article and hleps to post on the forum, and that is when I found your blog! You are something else!! I was so excited, for me and for our families,too. I hope you don't mind if I post your link in our forum so the others can enjoy your company, too.
Excellent post! I was remember ing one you wrote about not running to the store every time you are out of a specific ingredient, but making due with what you have. I've been using that so much lately! I had to make a dinner for a family in church, and had everything I needed for a delicious beef soup -- no noodles though. I cooked up half a box of lasagna noodles until they were partially cooked, then quickly sliced them the short way, into narrow strips. I found out that lasagna noodles make a really tasty soup!
Loved this article and it came on a really needed day. We were going through school and my son got sick... a sign that God is wanting us to slow down and just love on eachother. We are off to snuggle and watch a movie if we can keep his tummy from acting up any more. Poor thing. I'm so glad I found your blog! :)
Extremely happily married since 1979, Bill and Diana Waring home schooled their three children for more than twenty years. The Waring kids were the proving grounds for all the precepts, concepts, and encouragements Bill and Diana teach--the real-life examples of the wonders of home schooling! Now, new grandparents and somewhat empty nesters, Bill & Diana travel all over the world to share the joys of loving learning, honoring one another in the family, and enjoying the journey.
• Jan. 16, 2007 - thanks
Thanks once again for the encouragement. I greatly appreciate your words of wisdom and ponderings. I haven't commented in a while but wanted to let you know I check your blog often and am encouraged as I read what's been on your mind. :) Happy New Year!