Finding Your Flow as a Homeschooler

EP180: Have you ever considered that the secret to a seamless homeschooling rhythm might actually be about tuning into your own needs as a parent? Take a cue from Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Big Magic, and join Jean Miller to explore how dedication to your own path can significantly influence your homeschooling success. This episode promises to shift perspectives, offering you a fresh take on finding your educational flow, not just for your children, but for yourself as well. By sharing personal anecdotes and stories, Jean guides you through the transformative process of integrating your passions into your daily rhythm which may just be the key to unlocking joy and ease in your homeschooling journey.

Find the Show Notes Here (www.artofhomeschooling.com/episode180)

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

You're listening to the Art of Homeschooling podcast, where we help parents cultivate creativity and connection at home. I'm your host, jean Miller, and here on this podcast you'll find stories and inspiration to bring you the confidence you need to make homeschooling work for your family. Let's begin. In her book Big Magic, elizabeth Gilbert says measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures. I love that. Welcome to the podcast, homeschooling friend. I'd love to share some ideas with you today about the homeschooling path and how to find your flow, your groove, your homeschooling rhythm. I talk a lot about rhythm here on the podcast, but today I want to introduce you to two ideas about rhythm that you may not have considered before, or maybe you felt some pull in this direction, but you haven't had the words to describe your intuition yet. After all, homeschooling is a journey. There will always be ups and downs, and I want to talk about how we can stay the course and feel at ease with our homeschooling groove. So my first suggestion is that perhaps finding your homeschooling flow is more about you than your kids. That's an interesting thought, isn't it? And my second suggestion is that finding your homeschooling flow might be about ditching your daily lesson plans, occasionally, or even completely. Finding your flow could really be about building up confidence and being flexible in an intentional way, so I'm going to give you some ideas on how to do this today. Oh my goodness, I just love getting down to the nitty-gritty of homeschooling and thinking outside the box sometimes, so this is going to be fun. Maybe you're grabbing your earbuds and heading out for a walk today, or maybe you're listening while washing up or folding laundry at the end of the day. Wherever you are, I know you're taking time out of your busy day to get some homeschooling inspiration, so let's jump in. I just want to remind you that you can check out the show notes for this episode at artofhomeschoolingcom, slash episode 180, for quotes or links to resources that I might mention along the way in this conversation.

Speaker 1: 3:06

All right, as a quick review, I describe rhythm as the regular, repeated patterns in your homeschooling lessons, your days, your weeks, even your seasons. So when your rhythm begins to carry you through your days, they really begin to flow more effortlessly. You can find focus and mindfulness in the present moment and really tap into your intuition and creativity. It's like finding your flow state. You're in the zone. Sometimes these moments of flow are so fleeting, but also they're so joyful when everything comes together. Or maybe that flow state seems unattainable to you.

Speaker 1: 3:54

So here are my two suggestions for you ideas for finding your flow, your own flow, in homeschooling. Let's explore the first idea. What if finding your flow might be more about you than your kids? Sometimes we think about our rhythm and wonder why our kids can't just get dressed and brush their teeth and be ready to jump into the day's lessons without so much fuss or needing to be reminded a hundred times. Or why does the lesson always fall apart when you transition from story time to table time? Or why does everyone get grumpy just before lunch?

Speaker 1: 4:37

My suggestion is that maybe finding your flow is not so much about getting the kids to do what you've envisioned. Perhaps if you, as the homeschooling parent, have tapped into something meaningful to you in your daily rhythm, something just for you, then your rhythm might flow with more ease, and this something can be anything that you're passionate about. We parents, as humans, need to find and follow our own passions too, because they're what fill us up. As homeschoolers, we spend so much time and energy helping our kiddos find their passions and follow their interests, and this should be true for us as well. Spending even a few minutes each day following your interests or engaging in work that's meaningful to you outside of homeschooling and parenting, can help your day flow in a way that's more engaging for you.

Speaker 1: 5:43

All right, let's explore this idea some more, and to do that I'm going to use the fable the Country Mouse and the City Mouse. It's a classic fable, do you know it? I'm going to tell you a story about a country mama and a city mama. Remember that fables and folktales teach us about archetypal characters, and archetypes are different than stereotypes. Archetypes are more of a motif or a pattern that is present among all human beings rather than a label. Archetypes provide identifiable character traits that can guide us on our journey. So our story begins with the Country Mama.

Speaker 1: 6:28

Before breakfast, country Mama hops on her computer to work on a graphic design project for an hour or so before the kids get up. She works as a freelancer and the project is due by the end of the week, so she snatches a few minutes here and there in the margins of her day. Homeschooling lessons with her kiddos include stories and songs in the living room, along with mean lesson book work at the dining room table. Then after lunch she walks out to her garden to harvest asparagus and check on the seeds she's planted this spring, taking a moment to rest in awe of the tiny little seedlings pushing up through the soil. In the late afternoon, country Mama goes for a walk with her dog and kiddos to enjoy the fresh spring air and open spaces, and then, before bed, she sits down for a bit more to finish up her graphic design project, ending her day feeling tired, full of fresh air and movement and content with the work she's done.

Speaker 1: 7:32

And now I'll tell you a little bit about City Mama. On this same day, an hour away from the green fields of the country, a City Mama is starting her day with her kiddos. Before breakfast, city Mama puts some beans into her instant pot for meals throughout the week, and then she spends a few minutes preparing a dinner she'll deliver to elderly neighbors that afternoon. And after breakfast the kiddos play and she hangs a load of laundry on the porch to dry in the fresh air. She takes this time to soak in some gratitude for the sunny day and recommits to finding small, ordinary ways to live with a smaller environmental footprint. Homeschooling lessons with her kiddos include stories and songs in the living room, along with main lesson book work at the kitchen table. During nap time, city Mama sits with her feet up and works on an easy knitting project, and then closes her eyes for a bit of a rest. Finally, at the end of the day, when all is quiet, she brings a cup of tea to her desk, which is covered with collage supplies, and she finishes a collage journal page that she started the night before, ending her day with reflection and creative visualization.

Speaker 1: 8:53

Both mamas have very full days, but they take small moments throughout the day to follow their passions and interests, and this meaningful work helps carry them through their days, flowing between their children and their work. And you know what? Neither the country mama nor the city mama wants to switch places. They both have their ups and downs, but they've found their flow as homeschoolers. So that's the end of the story. But I do want to tell you this is about finding your flow.

Speaker 1: 9:30

I'm not saying that you should overtax yourself by adding more and more and more to your plate. Rather, I'm suggesting that you factor you into the equation, weaving fulfilling activities into your day and your rhythm. Here are two ways that will help you find your groove. First of all, we all know that our kiddos learn through modeling, through seeing us do the activities, and it's so valuable for them to see you engaged and focused on work that is satisfying to you, whether that be indoors or outdoors, on the computer or with your hands. Modeling meaningful work for them helps to build their focus, patience and passion for the work of childhood that they are doing. It will help them sustain their own play and imagination if they see you focused and creative and, secondly, if you have your own rhythm to follow, it can lessen the tension of trying to get the kids to follow the rhythm that you've set for them. They'll see you flowing and the sense of security and predictability will spill over to them.

Speaker 1: 10:52

I also want to mention that it's so easy to lose ourselves in parenting and homeschooling, like as if that's all there is, and we sometimes forget to connect with our own heart and hands. I know I felt this way. It was one of the big discoveries I made, actually at the Taproot teacher training with Barbara, my mentor. Taproot was a time for me to reflect and make discoveries about myself, to reconnect with my own heart. If you've never heard me talk about the summer Taproot teacher training. Before be sure to have a look at artofhomeschoolingcom slash taproot. It's a summer training that we do every year this will be our 18th year as I'm recording this and at Taproot you'll find self-discovery and hands-on activities, activities that open your eyes and heart to your own life's purpose and guide you to seek purposeful, passionate work to find your flow as a homeschooler. So you've heard my sketch of the country mama and the city, mama.

Speaker 1: 12:02

What do you think of this idea that finding your flow, your rhythm, might be more about you than the kids? If you'd like to explore the concept of rhythm further, I suggest checking out episode 168, finding your Homeschooling Rhythm for a Peaceful Day. You'll find a link in the show notes. Now on to my second thought, that finding your flow might also be about letting go of writing out a daily lesson plan each and every day. This is an interesting idea to think about.

Speaker 1: 12:38

Whether you use a prepared curriculum or you've written your own With intention, you might find that you can let go of some of the daily planning. It's true, and I'm talking about the detailed activity by activity lesson plans here. What would it be like if you had the confidence to let go of those daily lesson plans just a little bit. That confidence comes with doing just enough preparation not too much, not too little and making observations about where your children are and about the next steps in your lessons. It might be knowing what stories are coming up next in your book basket, how many pages are left in the read aloud that you're using as your spine for your main lesson block, or how many animals you have left in your zoology block.

Speaker 1: 13:41

We can really be prepared to teach without all that much detailed planning. You might have a simple list of spelling patterns or math facts that you're moving through, just like you're moving through your story material. Batch planning is really wonderful for this. Sitting down and writing out a page of mental math problems to work through over the next week or two can be so helpful, or writing a series of sentences for grammar practice. With some intentional preparation you can be ready to flow through the material at your child's pace without so much planning, just picking up each day where you left off the day before. With just enough preparation, the flow of your lessons will carry you through the day without even writing down a detailed lesson plan, or you might find that the lesson plan becomes a jumping off point that allows you the flexibility to deviate from the plans as needed.

Speaker 1: 14:52

I'd love to mention Taproot here again, because it's experiences like Taproot that give you the confidence to find your homeschooling flow. Taproot is designed for you to experience the teaching and the learning firsthand, as if you're the child or the student. The Tepper Teacher Training for Homeschoolers. It's a long weekend gathering every August and I invite you, as you head into summer, to consider how four days immersed in hands-on homeschooling workshops with other heart-centered homeschoolers could prepare you for the year ahead.

Speaker 1: 15:32

To wrap up, here are the benefits of authentically finding your flow as a homeschooler. First, you'll realize that rhythm is not about designing the perfect daily rhythm or lesson plans and then making your kids follow it right. It's more about finding a flow that works for everyone in the family, including you. You will also gain more confidence as you begin to become more willing to try out some things and find what works. With more confidence, with less rigidity, and finally, you'll get better and better at planning lightly, staying flexible and learning, as Elizabeth Gilbert says in Big Magic, to measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures. Thanks so much for listening to the Art of Homeschooling podcast. You'll find new episodes every Monday to help you find your homeschooling flow. See you next time. That's all for today, my friend, but here's what I want you to remember Rather than perfection, let's focus on connection. Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast.