Hi Friends!  Thanks for faithfully stopping by to check and see what I have been "up to" lately.  Today, I want to toss out a little exercise for you, a sort of "Reality Check."

As I watch the ebb and flow (or flood) of homeschooling trends and information swirling around me I sometimes have to stop and say "stop the world, I want to get off!" 

Too much input from the wrong sources can put a wrinkle in your journey and hence; we all need to smooth out the bumpiness and get back to smooth sailing.

You might laugh at that, thinking; "smooth sailing for unschoolers?"  Yep.  It can be, if you keep your focus.

Let us begin with the reality check:

1.  Are you fearful about what or when your children are "learning?"  First of all, FEAR is the antithesis of trust, and without trust you won't have any peace.  I'm talking about trusting the Lord to guide you, and trusting yourself to do what you know is right. You have to find the balance for each child and trust in that timetable of learning.  Each individual is just that; and individual.

2.  Is your educational philosophy being muddied up with too many options?  Options can be good, but too many can be confusing.  Write down your educational philosophy and put it where you and your whole family can see it every day. 

3.  Are you comparing yourself, your children, and their life experience to others?  This in itself is not necessarily bad, but if the comparing makes you feel unfulfilled or incapable then you need to nix this comparison game right here right now.  Make sure you know what "yardstick" you measure by, and stick to it.

4.  Are you feeling like you are in a rut?  We all can get in that place and have a tough time getting out of it.  But I have found that if I feel like I am in a rut I am probably dealing with the previous three questions and those are the ruts that need to be "filled in."

5.  Do your children's learning styles overwhelm you instead of inspire you?  We Mothers are learning all the time and we need to make our children our research projects!  If you are in a rut of being overwhelmed, pray that the Lord would show you the amazing uniqueness of your child and ask Him the best way to appreciate those traits!  Vive la difference!

6.  Are you worrying about future possibilities like college, marriage, kids leaving home, death etc?  The Bible says we aren't to worry about those things.  Sure, we can pray, talk, plan and dream (or prepare) but worrying will not help anything.  Stop worrying today!

7.  Are you still in the mode of thinking "public school, twelve years, biology 101" when it comes to education?  Break that record.  Throw it out.  Erase those tapes.  Life is rich and meaningful!  To quote somebody famous; "There IS life after high school." (Not sure who said it, but boy is it true!)

[You CAN get out of the habit of thinking of your education in schoolish terms and ideas.  It's hard at first, just try talking about learning without using the words "classroom" "teacher" "curriculum" etc.  Lets see if we can change our vocabulary.  Hmmm.  How about "creation" "relationship" "discovery" "interest.?"  I bet you can come up with some more.]

8.  Do other people's opinions get you all in a tizzy over home education?  If so, maybe it is time to relax a bit.  Go back and read question #3 again.

9.  Are you excited about what your kids are excited about?  Do you light up with glee when your son comes in with a jar of assorted roly-polies and centipedes?  Or do you yell "take that outta here right now!"  Are you a "yes" mom or a "NO" mom?  Do the messes that you see happening in the future keep you from letting the kids do things on their own "right now" keep you in a state of paralysis?  You can't be excited about learning and be paralyzed with dread AND expect your kids to keep there state of "wonder" continually charged up. 

10.  Are your eyes on "perceived failure" constantly?  Or are they on God?  Are they on you, or are they on others?  We need to remember what is important to focus on, and what not to focus on.  Refer back to numbers 1-9 as needed!

Thanks for taking the Reality Check with me!  Let me know if you have anything to add to it.  

Blessings!

Nancy*

*Nancy is an unschooling Mom with a heart for her kids and a love of freedom :)

Stop by my regular blog and say hi!  (And if you find any apostrophe's that need fixing, have some mercy ok?  I hate those things!)

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