Month: September 2021

Not Schoolwork

“Please don’t make it into schoolwork!” is the plea from my child. She wrote a delightful essay for a contest. I was so happy she did it of her own initiative. I appreciated her reminder to “tread lightly.” She is right. I am too often guilty of “making it into schoolwork” which means “making it …

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Keep Flaws in Context

Expecting only excellence denies the scope of authentic situations. “To demand perfection is to turn our backs on real life, the full range of human experience,” explains Kristin Neff. @neffselfcompassion We benefit from being conscious of the reality of our blemishes. I’ve noticed that I tend to use either/or language about my own attempts to homeschool. …

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There Is No Map

Homeschooling cannot be shown step-by-step. There is no way to give precise instructions. To rephrase a message from Seth Godin in his book Linchpin about other creative endeavors, “The reason that [homeschooling] is valuable is precisely why I can’t tell you how to do it. If there were a map, there’d be no need to …

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Unfounded Fears

Are our fears about homeschooling possibly misplaced?  The stories we hear about homeschooling have been handpicked—largely because they are unusual.   What do you fear about your homeschooling? I noticed this unusual sign inside the Aquarium du Québec.  I was captivated by their clever presentation of unjustified fears.  While I stroked the stingray in the child-friendly …

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Prevent Decay

In my local Asian market, I saw this sign hanging above the freezer section. It reads “Frozen foods can prevent the decay and deterioration in the oven.” The concept is mostly there, but the key details were lost in translation.We preserve the things we want to keep. Preservation makes the transient last a little longer. …

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