I read a blog post this morning, a simple, short post. It may be what I needed to change my life entirely.
First of all, here is a link to said blog post, it is short and sweet, an easy read- From Enjoyparenting.com
Well? Life changing, right? For me, it just may be. I worry. I worry ALL.THE.TIME. I obsess, I dramatize, I CREATE anxiety within my self. Now, it is true that my nature tends to be more emotional and "feely" and of course I'm not referring to anxiety disorder or panic attacks, which I feel are very organic in nature, and come on even without conscious provoking thoughts. I'm speaking today more of my thought processes, the ideas I have control over. My broken records. These thoughts, mainly centered around my parenting, can overwhelm and welcome physical anxiety symptoms. These thoughts are repetitive, recurring, and consistant.
The above blog post gave great advice about being "confidently uncertain," basically admitting to yourself that you're unsure about what you're doing, but affirming that you think it is likely the right thing to do, and that you can and will figure it out, make it work, live on.
By changing my nightly mantra from "I'm afraid I'm ruining my kids" to "I'm unsure what I'm doing, but it seems to be working, and I'm confident we'll figure this out" I think I may be able to master some of my habitual anxiety.
Do you have broken records? What are you telling yourself? Can you tweak those messages into healthier affirmations? -A
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Our education philosophy- always evolving
When my children were young, I taught at a private religious preschool. They attended alongside me, N starting at 3, and M at 18 months. Then we moved to another state when I became a single mom, and again I worked at a school, which they attended. This was for N's grades 1-5 and M's K-4. When I married, and later moved to Colorado, it was mid school year. My idea was to homeschool the boys through the remainder of their 4th and 5th grade years, not wanting to plop them into a new school in January in a new town, new state. I didn't realize how this break from public school would change me, change us all.
The first thing I did was hook up with a large local homeschooling community. I never realized all the different reasons people were not using the public system. Having spent ten years in a fundamental Christian environment when my sons were little, I only knew about those homeschooling for religious reasons. I was shocked, firstly, at how many families are not traditional schoolers in the Denver area. Secondly, it was eye-opening to find a myriad of people groups represented in this community. Yes, there are religious people, but there are also free thinkers, atheists, and many people just have kids that don't fit in the box. There are kids with special needs, kids with cancer, kids with athletic careers, and families who travel and won't be tied down. The reasons for not participating in M-F brick and mortar schools are quite numerous.
In the last year and a half we have left public school, spent months de-schooling, attended public school virtually, used another public option which was less structured and had one day a week attendance, and explored unschooling, both as an educational model and as a lifestyle. I can't say that any one experience has won us over completely, but unschooling as an educational model has come close. This year we are using a private umbrella school that keeps us in line with the state laws, offers a few guidelines, but allows individual families to meet their educational needs with freedom and autonomy. At the end of the year, I'll submit a report with details about our year, how we addressed core subjects, and my kids can then build transcripts through their teenage years. At this point, I feel pretty confident labeling ourselves as eclectic life learners.
I feel optimistic about this upcoming school year. The kids have made meaningful connections in our diverse local homeschool/unschool group. They also have neighbor friends. Most importantly, they have become such good friends with each other. I am so grateful to have discovered our choices in education. We continue to evolve as a family, and as individuals. We're all learning so much and becoming more aware members of society. -A
The first thing I did was hook up with a large local homeschooling community. I never realized all the different reasons people were not using the public system. Having spent ten years in a fundamental Christian environment when my sons were little, I only knew about those homeschooling for religious reasons. I was shocked, firstly, at how many families are not traditional schoolers in the Denver area. Secondly, it was eye-opening to find a myriad of people groups represented in this community. Yes, there are religious people, but there are also free thinkers, atheists, and many people just have kids that don't fit in the box. There are kids with special needs, kids with cancer, kids with athletic careers, and families who travel and won't be tied down. The reasons for not participating in M-F brick and mortar schools are quite numerous.
In the last year and a half we have left public school, spent months de-schooling, attended public school virtually, used another public option which was less structured and had one day a week attendance, and explored unschooling, both as an educational model and as a lifestyle. I can't say that any one experience has won us over completely, but unschooling as an educational model has come close. This year we are using a private umbrella school that keeps us in line with the state laws, offers a few guidelines, but allows individual families to meet their educational needs with freedom and autonomy. At the end of the year, I'll submit a report with details about our year, how we addressed core subjects, and my kids can then build transcripts through their teenage years. At this point, I feel pretty confident labeling ourselves as eclectic life learners.
I feel optimistic about this upcoming school year. The kids have made meaningful connections in our diverse local homeschool/unschool group. They also have neighbor friends. Most importantly, they have become such good friends with each other. I am so grateful to have discovered our choices in education. We continue to evolve as a family, and as individuals. We're all learning so much and becoming more aware members of society. -A
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