The Perfectly Imperfect Homeschool

EP198: Ever caught yourself endlessly tweaking your homeschooling plans without actually starting? It's time to break free from "procrastiplanning" and embrace the journey with confidence! Join Jean on the Art of Homeschooling podcast as we tackle the chaotic transition into a new homeschooling year. Discover practical advice and real-life examples to help you move past the urge to perfect every detail and instead, take imperfect action. It's the doing that truly counts, and Jean will show you how to start with what you have. Plus, you'll hear about her conversations with fellow homeschooling parents who feel the pressure to perfect their plans before jumping in. We debunk the myth that a perfect plan guarantees a smooth year and explore how to find your homeschooling flow by simply beginning. Hint: empowering thoughts can help you embrace the new school year with flexibility and confidence.

Find the Show Notes Here (www.artofhomeschooling.com/episode198)

Inspired at Home Membership (www.artofhomeschooling.com/inspiredathome)

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. If you are one of the thousands of homeschooling families who are starting a new homeschooling year right about now, this episode is for you. I know how chaotic transitions can be the start of a new year and I want to send you some love and encouragement and share a little bit about the conversations I've been having with lots of other homeschooling parents of late. First, let me just reassure you that things will settle down, but let's be honest, new beginnings can be a bit unsettling, because the truth is we have to be willing to take imperfect action for things to be imperfect, and that's hard to do. In order to gain any morsel of confidence or find your flow in homeschooling, you have to actually begin. You just have to do the dang thing. So you've probably spent some time thinking about the rhythm of your days. You've done some planning for your lessons and gathered resources like stories and colored pencils and drawing paper, and now it's time to start. Yikes. That was often how I would feel at this point in the year, and this is what I've been hearing from so many parents in the past few weeks. It's sometimes easier to fritter away our time in the morning looking for that one more thing. After all, we could start tomorrow or next week right. Could start tomorrow or next week, right. There's a great word that's commonly used in the planner community to describe this behavior, and it is procrasti-planning Just endlessly refining your plans and postponing actually getting started, delaying taking action, procrastinating by planning more. Don't get me wrong Planning is good and very important. I teach a whole six lesson course called Plan it Out, on planning your awesome homeschooling year. But, as with all planning, at some point we have to make our decisions and then begin the lessons.

Speaker 1: 3:07

One of the crazy things that can get in the way are the misperceptions that we often carry about planning without even realizing it. We may even believe that a perfect plan is going to give us everything we want. A perfect plan is going to give us everything we want. I used to think unconsciously, of course, until I realized it that a perfect plan would mean well-behaved children. A perfect plan equaled smooth and easy days. A perfect plan would save me from feeling scattered or exhausted would save me from feeling scattered or exhausted. And while planning can certainly help with all of these things, the plan itself is no guarantee. We're the ones who need to execute on the plan, to follow through and be present for whatever happens.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Last week, during one of our community coaching calls for the Inspired at Home community, quite a few parents said they were ready to start homeschooling this week but kept feeling tempted to continue tweaking their plans. I was that parent myself years ago. I'd wonder if there was a better opening verse I could find, or maybe we should just wait until October to do the block that I had originally planned for September, or wonder if I had enough reading material to really fill our lesson days. But no amount of planning will give us perfect homeschooling days, and we won't even know if we're on the right track with the plan until we try it out. We have to jump in, give the lessons a chance and see how they go, and then we need to observe our children in order to make adjustments as we move forward. So here's what I asked all the parents who were feeling like this to do on that coaching call, and perhaps this will help you, too, when you're experiencing your own version of procrastinate planning.

Speaker 1: 5:18

Come up with two or three new thoughts that are also true. Right, that can help you feel more settled and ready to give your plan a try just as it is, so that when you feel like fiddling with the plan or even starting all over, you can remind yourself not to do that. Here are just a few thoughts that we came up with. I have planned enough. Nothing is missing. My plan is a great starting point and I am ready to give it a try and be flexible. The planning is complete and now it's time for doing, because it's the doing that counts. Jumping in is better than freezing up. Just show up and be curious. I encourage you to borrow one of these ideas or come up with at least one new thought of your own that you can write down and come back to again and again when you feel that itch to tweak your plan just one more time. Feel that itch to tweak your plan just one more time.

Speaker 1: 6:31

To wrap up, I have a beautiful poem to share with you, called Blessing in the Chaos by Jan Richardson. The author has a beautiful blog called the Painted Prayer Book, which I'll link to in the show notes that can be found at artofhomeschoolingcom slash episode 198. This blessing is for all of you who are in transition to a new season, to a fall rhythm or back into lesson. May you find what shimmers in the storm. Blessing in the Chaos by Jan Richardson To all that is chaotic in you.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Let there come silence. Let there be a calming of the clamoring, a stillness of the voices that have laid their claim on you, that have made their home in you, that go with you even to the holy places but will not let you rest, will not let you hear your life with wholeness or feel the grace that fashioned you. Let what distracts you cease. Let what divides you cease. Let there come an end to what diminishes and demeans and let depart all that keeps you in its cage. Let there be an opening into the quiet that lies beneath the chaos, where you find the peace you did not think possible and see what shimmers within the storm.

Speaker 1: 8:07

Thank you for tuning in today. I hope this episode brings you the courage to just begin and a sense of resolve that this is how it is for all of us. If you need some more encouragement right about now, check out these other episodes here on the Art of Homeschooling podcast Episode number 142, gaining confidence as a homeschooler, for the reminder that the best way of gaining confidence is to just begin, because confidence builds as you go along. Episode number 170, take messy action for some encouragement and great quotes on new beginnings. And episode 190, affirmations for Homeschooling Parents. Thanks again for being here, wishing you all the best and many blessings in the ups and downs of new beginnings. 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. Thank you.