We cannot underestimate the power of fatigue to crush the life out of even the strongest of us! Take a nap, swing in a hammock, snooze.
The most difficult resource to keep in stock is rest.
Yet rest changes everything!
It affects our:
mood
energy level
outlook
ability to respond to crisis
tolerance for chaos and noise
generosity toward childishness
wellbeing
ability to concentrate
When you find yourself short, disorganized, bored, sounding the alarm that the world is ending, ask yourself when last you got 6-8 hours of sleep without constant interruption.
It’s difficult to catch up when you breastfeed or have a chronic bedwetter. I know. That’s why taking naps, having a partner who can swap sleeps with you (so you’re not on call every night), and even resorting to booking a room at a hotel for a night just for you can change your life.
When in doubt, assume you need more sleep. Then find a way to get it.
(Also: throw in a dose of sunshine. Get outside where the sun can kiss your skin… it helps.)
This post is originally from my @juliebravewriter Instagram account. Follow along for more conversations like this one!
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ALL that matters is that you not persist in a program that deadens the life and learning capacity of your child. If either of you aren’t happy and energized…it’s over.
Remember: you are cultivating a LIFE. Your child’s experience of learning is the key to a healthy, valuable education.
Try all the tricks:
candles,
tea,
cookies,
back rubs,
blanket forts,
twinkle lights,
moving the lesson outside,
music,
petting the dog.
If the program continues to oppress, however, and deaden the atmosphere of the home, there is NO price you paid for it worth ruining your daily lives. See the cost as R&D (research and development).
Change course.
Notice what energizes and move toward THAT.
You have plenty of time to learn. That said, don’t waste your precious days harming your children’s feelings about learning.
Ain’t nobody got time for that!
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
The key to fostering a love of learning in children is giving up our need to control the outcome.
Today: let’s be present to what shows up.
When you give your kids something to do, what would it take to stop the automatic image that pops into your mind—the mental yardstick of how the task should turn out?
How can you be with the real child today?
Notice—does my child need:
support
celebration
a break?
If you stay open to what the child offers and then respond with curiosity, you’ll get in sync with your child and learning will be the natural result. Sometimes that means noticing that now is not the time for that lesson. Sometimes it means being astonished by the child’s alternate vision!
Make space today to be surprised by your child and drop resentment. Begin by taking a deep breath, noticing where your feet are, and living in today (not tomorrow or next year).
You got this!
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
Posted in Homeschool Advice | Comments Off on Get in Sync with Your Child
September’s Dart, Arrow, and Boomerangselections show what’s possible with courage and the support of a trusted sidekick or family member—all while exploring the writing, mechanics, and literary devices featured throughout these stories.
And this month’s Quill is designed to spark interest and ingenuity! Get inventive as your family reads picture books, sizes up schematics, and explores biographies!
Quill (ages 5-7)
Inventions & Inventors
Are you ready to get inventive with a brand new Quill? Check out our Inventions and Inventors book list to start curating your September read-aloud stack!
In this Quill, we’ll:
scour the pages for schematics and sketches;
take an up-close-and-personal look at biographies;
spell out some step-by-step instructions;
invent a writing implement;
tally kitchen-related math-inspired inventions; and
get our wheels turning with a close look at circles!
Ra the Mighty: Cat Detective by Amy Butler Greenfield
Can a lazy cat and his sidekick, a beetle, really crack a mystery? Find out when you read this comical mystery brimming with historical details and wacky fun!
This month’s literary device is red herrings.
Inside this Dart we’ll also:
make some hoopla about a terrific opening hook;
explore a setting full of palm trees and papyrus;
click some onomatopoeia into place;
contemplate context clues;
unpack articles;
enjoy a good action beat as we discover dialogue punctuation;
deploy some dots in an array of end marks; and so much more!
Join Maggie and a snow leopard named Rumpus in Wildoak Forest. This beautifully written story—a triumphant celebration of the interconnectedness of the human, animal, and natural worlds—is a perfect read aloud.
September’s literary device is Alternating Points of View.
In this Arrow we’ll also:
pause to ponder the prologue;
savor the suspense that hooks us as readers;
keep things short and sweet with sentence fragments;
listen to the rhythms of alliteration, assonance,and consonance;
sniff out the power of sensory details;
immerse ourselves in the imagery and lyricism of the writing; and so much more!
This work of historical fiction provides a rare look at North Korea on the brink of war in 1950. We’re confident this important story will inspire thoughtful conversations in your homeschool.
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