This sign is on the busy bike path near my home, and the cat is literally sitting right underneath it. Though I have mixed feelings about animals wandering the neighborhood, I do think the message “I’m not lost” can apply to our homeschooling. We might as well wear t-shirts that say, “I promise I’m happy, …
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. …
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 …
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 …
Describing the contrasting responses to the same naturally occurring phenomena, volatility specialist Nassim Nicholas Taleb begins his book Antifragile (Random House 2014) with this analogy, “wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire.” He argues that rather than suffering from the effects of unpredictable shocks, chaos, and disorder, we must use them. Taleb continues the analogy by describing what it would be like …
Influential Organizational Development leader Peter Block writes about the questions we ask as we begin a journey or pursue a dream. Forcefully, he teaches, “How is the wrong question.” He continues, “The rush to a How [question and] answer runs the risk of skipping the profound question: Is this worth doing? And it skirts the …
Who doesn’t need a little magic in their homeschool? I love Marie Kondo’s ideas in her darling little bestseller, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It’s easy to see why this Tokyo-based organizer has gained a big following in America; her ideas are encouraging, liberating, and accessible. More than just keeping your house organized, her …
