Principle Four
Real Life Intrudes
“Cancer, pregnancy, foreclosure, hurricanes and fires, elderly parents, death, special needs, divorce, job transfers, military deployments… There’s no escape. The years when crisis hits, homeschool takes a back seat. (Don’t worry—it’s flexible enough to accommodate)” (The Brave Learner, 203). Trust that the challenge will ease and more energy can be redirected to homeschooling again.
What I’ve noticed is that parents who are in crisis sometimes become even more fixated on what feels like a failing homeschool. If you’re experiencing a lot of struggle in home education, turn around and do a quick inventory of the rest of your life.
What is draining your energy? This year, it’s COVID-19 whether you test positive or negative. We’re all dealing with this crisis and that impacts our ability to be as present to home education.
The good news? You can still keep it going. Reading aloud, playing board games, getting outside, talking about current events and how they relate to history, the science of a disease, math by worksheet if you must, using technology in new ways…
Hard times don’t mean the end of learning. Often they mean learning something new:
- systemic injustice,
- the kindness of a stranger,
- how to be healthy,
- how to grieve,
- rebuilding a better life,
- caring for family,
- protecting self from harm,
- disrupting dysfunction,
- being a loving long distance family member.
We don’t bring school home. Home education is bringing learning to all of life—trusting the process, trusting our families, trusting ourselves.
If you’re in an additional crisis to the global pandemic, sending extra support today.
All 5 Principles
This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!
