When I decided to homeschool, I initially thought it was because I was going to accelerate learning and push my kids to move faster through educational material. To have them be grade levels ahead of their peers and not be held back by the constraints of the bogged down and outdated educational system. Both of my kids needed to be challenged more and were extremely bored at school. They were in accelerated programs and given special projects, but the monotony of the system was still slowly but surely dimming their bright lights and curiosity.
Fast forward a few months into the start of our homeschooling journey, and what I realized was that we actually needed to slow down. I needed to change the lens I was looking through when it came to learning and education. I needed to appreciate the process, allow time for curiosity, allow time for deep dives or total topic shifts because an idea was sparked and now, we need to follow that path instead. I needed to stop thinking about an end goal or a learning requirement to be checked off a list. Learning was happening all the time just by living our daily lives and I didn’t need to construct elaborate scenarios for a specific learning goal.
Humans are wired for learning. We don’t need to force it or try to trick kids into learning. We are naturally curious and seek out information. What we need to do as parents and caregivers is to step out of the way and support the paths that our kids want to follow. Whatever path that may be. Giving them the space and time to develop their interests is key to successful homeschooling. We don’t all need to know the same information or be experts in all the “schooly” subjects. We need variety within our community.
While working on my master’s degree, I had a professor say something that resonated with me, and I still draw from it all these years later. He said something along the lines of this: “I have a friend that did not go to college but is an expert on all things related to surviving in the woods. I am a highly educated professor with lots of degrees and accolades. Who would you rather go camping with to know that you are going to have fun and be safe?”
Obviously, I want to go camping with the friend and not the professor especially since I have no experience surviving in the wilderness. We need people with different strengths and different knowledge bases. This happens when we slow down, identify interests and support them. It doesn’t necessarily matter how many classes you have taken or degrees you have. Experience is also just as important. And sometimes experience doesn’t give you a written credential to walk away with, but that doesn’t make the learning any less valuable.
You may have the brightest, most intelligent child that seems like they should be in college at age nine. But is that what they want? If it is, then by all means, support it. But, by slowing down and letting go of worrying about educational items to be checked off a list, you have an opportunity for watching incredible growth in ways you may never have imagined possible. Let go of the checklists, the rubrics, the static way of thinking and let in the openness and inevitable curiosity that will provide your child with what’s really important at the end of the day. Focus on the joy of learning and everything else will fall into place.
If this resonates with you and you want to talk more, email me at stephanie@wanderlearneducationalempowerment.com to schedule an appointment.