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One of the biggest concerns that local authorities
have expressed to home educator forums and
advocates, interestingly, has nothing to do with
fears about any child’s education. It has been
that (usually) mothers have dedicated themselves
so much to their children, that there isn’t time
left for the mother as a person.
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Personally, I share their concern. I have battled the threat of being consumed, myself.
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Articles in this section:
Enthusiasm … Harmony … Confidence
Please use these links, or the tabs along the top of the page
and the drop-down menus to navigate your way around.
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Focus
As parents, it’s right that our primary focus is the children in our care. But if we lose sight of ourselves and our partners, and we fall apart or our key family relationship begins to crumble, there are bigger concerns for our children than what future career they might be progressing towards. Looking after you is highly significant to the success of your home education journey.
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Peace
In this section, I want to discuss some aspects of household attitudes and management, and ways to claim and maintain peace in your own parental heart.
If I had a magic wand, one of the things I’d do would be to wave it over every home educator to give them confidence and enthusiasm for what they’re doing; easy management strategies for coping with everyday life; and a perfect balance of time allocation for all the many things that clamour for time. (Has anyone died laughing yet, or burst into tears because you want that so much for yourself?)
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Defining It
You may have already gathered, if you’ve probed around this site very much, that I love defining words. ‘Peace’ as a word, has some fabulous definitions, including:
- a state of mutual harmony between people
- a normal, non-warring condition; a state or relationship of non-belligerence or concord
- freedom from civil commotion and violence of a community
- freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquility; serenity
- untroubled, tranquil, content, silence, stillness
- when distress is deceased
I have to chuckle over some of those definitions. You and I both know from experience that sometimes the wars between siblings, the civil commotions within even the most loving of households, and the brotherly/sisterly play violence of our immediate family communities leave us very distressed indeed. What would we all give to experience peace from those oh-so-familiar stresses?
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Claiming & Keeping It
The thing is, kids will be kids. Boys will be boys and girls will be girls. In order to maintain our enthusiasm for the whole home education journey, somehow we’ve got to learn to lay hold of peace that isn’t rattled when all around us is apparently chaos.
Because I don’t actually have a magic wand, the articles associated with this section are my attempt to help you find and keep your own peace.
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When we are present in each moment,
the past gently rolls up behind us
and the future slowly unravels before us.
~ Richard Levy
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