Written by Jamie Martin, editor of Simple Homeschool and founder of Steady Mom
Last week at Simple Mom Tsh opened up to let us know what she doesn’t do. A few days later, Nicole at Simple Organic joined in. This got me thinking: Imperfection? Homeschoolers? These words go together like peas and carrots in my mind.
We begin on the homeschooling path with certain ideas, notions, and thoughts. Perhaps they are based on stereotypes we’ve had, maybe on grand concepts from books we read, or maybe they’re ideas from specific curricula we’ve chosen.
Our family once used a literature-based homeschooling program. (We still use many of their book selections, just not in such a formal capacity.) Each year they print a catalog showcasing their current resources and book selections. Each page features photos of children happily reading with their families.
My good friend Jill and I joke about the pictures they don’t show–like when her son yelled “I’m not coming to breakfast if you’re reading books!” Or when my daughter once said “Reading is boring.” (She doesn’t really feel that way; it was a bad day.)
If you’ve been homeschooling longer than an hour, you probably have had at least one imperfect moment. We know our limitations. Though we sometimes try to overextend ourselves, we realize deep down that we cannot do it all. We have to choose.
I’m happily in pursuit of the simple life, and as a result, it has led me to things I do…and plenty I don’t.
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