{photo by Michelle Dorman}
We do a lot. A LOT. The SLOCA life can be full and abundant and exhausting and fabulous! But sometimes we can be hard on ourselves and focus on the little things we aren’t doing. The extra subjects that fell off the plate. The posters we meant to put up at the beginning of the year but never ordered. The master chore system we spent hours creating. The schedule we just knew we’d stick to this year. Spelling. The list goes on and on…
Most of us have little things that we end up throwing out the window. Maybe intentionally, maybe not. Many thanks to Michelle Dorman, Track A mom of FOUR kids here at SLOCA, for sending in the above photo showing us her good intentions to put up a home timeline last year. This photo was taken at the end of the year… it never happened.
But you know what did happen? Her kids were able to discuss history and literature in class and as a family with gusto (even without a home timeline) and think deeply about what they were learning. Some of them fell in love with writing. They memorized poetry. They tackled Latin for the first time. They were fascinated with science. Some participated in athletics and loved it. They received character awards from their teachers. They created multiple works of amazing art. They all made new friends, and gained new skills, academic and otherwise. They thrived.
The year was FAR from a fail.
Let’s stop right now and give ourselves permission to not be perfect. To not be the most awesome homeschooler ever.
Isn’t that better?
We don’t want to focus on the negative here, but let’s face it – we all have homeschool fail moments! If it’s important, start again. If it’s really not, let it go. If we can at least laugh at the failures and move on, it’s okay. It models resilience, perseverance, and adaptability to our kids.
You are already giving your children an extraordinary education and a huge gift by being part of this school and this community. Maybe instead of all those extra things we wish we were doing, we should just try to be more peaceful, more present, and love on our kids in ordinary ways. Rest in that, keep at it, don’t focus on the failures, and continue to look for those wonders. They are there!
What do you think? Leave a comment if you have something to say about homeschool fails. Or if you’d like to share a funny photo or encourage others through a homeschool fail story of your own, please send it to Down Home!
