[ Previous Page ]     [ Next Page ]        Page:

I am also a perfectionist, or so I have been told.  I do not see this quality in my life, however a very close, important person in my life pointed out to me that this quality is what keeps me from finishing the things I start.  I do not understand that philosophy.  I have also been told I have a fear of failure, which explains why I do not finish what I’ve started.  I believe it was simply a pattern started in my life by my own mother, who also started MANY projects before finishing the last one. An example, or a "mold" that I followed, being the obedient child that I am and that I remain.

I tend to believe it is more the challenge and excitement of starting something new that drives me to start new projects, and then the boredom that sets in from doing the same thing over and over again that makes me stop THAT project and start a new one.

I asked this question to a group of women who have been there, done that, are doing that.  One of these fine ladies stated that Caleb was fortunate to have  a mother who can still be excited, who rushes in where fools dare to tread.  That this quality in me is what will keep him excited about learning. 

WHY then is it so difficult for me to STAY ON TRACK?? Probably exactly what Charlotte Mason has to say about habits and thinking.  We can train our habits and our thinking into certain ruts, and mine just happens to be in the "start something, stick to it for a while, get bored, find something "new" to start, put down what I originally began, start the "new" project and on and on ad nauseum" cycle that I can now see has been in motion my entire life.

As I look back, there are some things I have successfully STOPPED this cycle with.  Like our marriage.  We no longer run away from each other when difficulty raises it’s ugly head.  We do not "call it quits" (although at times that DOES seem easier).  Each situation is different, yet it requires the same type of skill.  I call it "stick-to-it-ness". VERY difficult to obtain, yet with perseverance, we have obtained it in our personal lives.

We have recently moved for what we have told each other will be the last time.  Even if we eventually get a nice house in the woods close to Lake Superior, it will still be up here, somewhere in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  It was always our dream to live somewhere "up here". 

We have promised Caleb a farm.  We love to grow things.  We are pretty sure we would love to raise a few animals.  I would love to raise angora rabbits and goats for their wool and learn to spin my own yarn, part of my love for knitting.  So when I SAY I would love to be one of those home schooling moms that "does it all"......I MEAN it.

But there are some things I definitely need to pull together.

After my daily walk with God in the form of devotions and prayer time, I will start with this house and the duties and responsibilities included therein.  The housework, the bills, the cooking and the dog.

Then I will work on the home school schedule.  I will make those items mesh together before I move on to the next item, our dietary lifestyle.

Recently I had the unbelievable pleasure of corresponding with a woman who lives in England, Carole Bostelman. Carole is a former resident of the United States.  Her words of rebuke and encouragement were like water from a spring to a thirsty soul.  So many things she said helped me put my entire life in perspective.  Let me share some of what she said in outline form:

1. What does God want me to do?
   a.     Are the things I am doing the things God wants me to do?
   
   Seemingly the same things.......but totally different when you begin to examine them.  Oops, I said outline form........I just can’t help myself.
   
   
2. Look at MY child and MY home school and see what is happening.
   
   
3. What do I really need to teach my child?
   a.     What does he need to be taught? What does he already know? What is the BEST way he learns? (NOT according to the "experts, according to what YOU see.)
   b.    Are there areas that need more attention?
   
   One of the goals of MOST homeschoolers it to raise a child/children who are independent learners and who love learning.
   
   
4. If I work on the "front end" (planning) and let my child in on what I am doing, he will eventually take responsibility for his own learning.  If this is done, then when I DO have days when I can barely move, Caleb can look at this sketched out path and be SELF-MOTIVATED (something we can learn together).
   a.     Make your child part of the "plan".
   b.    Think of what the best way to make a chart for your child to follow. Stickers? Pictures?
   c.     DO NOT make specific TIMES....just require a time it needs to be done i.e.: by lunchtime, or by break time.
   
   
5. DO NOT SCHEDULE MINUTE BY MINUTE
   a.     Work on the 180 day requirement. Allow yourself to school according to DAY ONE and DAY TWO, NOT Sept. 5th, Sept. 6^th, Sept. 7^th.
   
   
6. Look at what time you have (consider hubby’s schedule, etc.).
   
   
7. Decide what you MUST schedule and put that in FIRST, then add what you’d "like" to do.

[ Previous Page ]     [ Next Page ]        Page:

This page has been displayed 1 times this month, 28 times since October 12, 2008 .