Episode 196
If you feel stuck right now ~ either getting started with homeschooling or continuing on the path ~ I’m so glad you’re here. Because in this episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast, I have 4 specific questions you can ask yourself to move forward with confidence and go from stuck to unstuck in your homeschool.
It’s so easy to get stuck in overwhelm as a homeschooling parent. There really are a lot of details to consider.
The truth is that the more possibilities we consider, the more opinions we gather, and the more curriculum we collect, the more confused and overwhelmed we often become.
What we really need to do is to make some decisions so we can move forward.
Confidence comes from taking action.
And in order to take action, we have to make some decisions.
Decisions about what topics to study, skills to teach, and resources to use. Decisions that will help us go from stuck to unstuck.
So let’s talk about making decisions in your homeschool. Listen in and follow along with the show notes below for 4 questions to go from stuck to unstuck. You can catch links, quotes, and resources below. Thanks for listening!
Decision Making Can be Hard, But You CAN Do It!
It’s especially hard because as homeschoolers, we’ve taken on a big responsibility to educate our children.
We care so deeply and want to give them the very best of everything.
But we cannot take the action we need to take without making some hard decisions about what we want to do and when. And also what to let go of.
Did you know that the literal meaning of the word decide is “to cut away“?
Part of the process is accepting that we cannot do it all. At least not all at once.
4 Questions to Go from Stuck to Unstuck
What topic of study will you focus on for the month?
When choosing your topic of study, think about your children and what they need right now. This is the content knowledge you’re helping your child build.
A good place to start is the typical block topics suggested for each age within the Waldorf curriculum. Have a look at the Waldorf Block Rotation for Grades 1-8 here.
What skills will you bring?
As you think about skills, just choose one set of skills for each child per month or block.
In the area of language arts, are there specific writing skills you want to develop? Are there certain reading skills you want to teach? Math skills to practice?
What resources will you use?
When thinking about what resources to use, I encourage you to find one main source for your stories for each block or month. That’s right, just one.
This book or curriculum will serve as your go-to for the content that you’re bringing to your children. You will likely have other resources and books to supplement, but finding one main resource is the simplest place to start.
How do you plan to record the learning?
And finally, how do you want to record the learning? Do you want to make a main lesson book for this block? Or not?
Do you want to follow the traditional approach of drawing in the main lesson book one day and writing a summary the next? Or do you want to mix things up and make more of a scrapbook this time?
Think about what best suits the topic you’ve chosen and your child.
We All Feel Stuck Sometimes
In closing, I just want to invite you to give yourself lots of love for all the important work you’re doing in the world.
Parenting and homeschooling take a lot of fortitude. And we all feel overwhelmed and stuck sometimes.
“The Process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are completely changing our way of perceiving reality.”
~pema chodron
Be gentle with yourself, my friend. And consider these 4 questions one at a time as you plan for the month ahead.
Here’s to going from stuck to unstuck in your homeschool and life!
For Your Homeschooling Journey
- Check out Episode #31 for more support with decision-making, How to Be More Decisive in Your Homeschool. In this episode, I share 3 tips for how to be more decisive and 5 action steps for moving forward with a sense of resolve. Add it to your podcast queue!
- For more help filling out your homeschool block plans, be sure to check out my wonderful resource Homeschool Simplicity 101. Inside, you’ll find the Homeschool Simplicity Handbook, Holistic Planning Templates, and a video training on How to Bring It All Together. Plus, there’s a training on creating your Minimum Viable Homeschooling Day so that you can continue to feel successful in your homeschooling no matter what life brings your way. This is such a valuable resource to have in your homeschool library!
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