Give Yourself Some Blank Space, Home Ed Parent

(I need to hear this today and maybe you do too.)

Do some of the things but don’t do every thing that is available.

Every event. Every activity.

Go for variety or the comfort of a familiar routine, but don’t fill every week up to the brim, (and then some), and rush back and forth. Mix it up on occasion but don’t take every opportunity if it’s going to stress you out.

Learn from the community if that feels right to you right now, but don’t sign up for every webinar. Don’t buy every ebook. Don’t start every course. Don’t go to every conference. Don’t volunteer to run every event.

See what’s out there if you have the mental space to do so, but don’t buy into every philosophy. Don’t try to tackle every subject every week. Don’t back up every idea with an activity. Don’t turn every single thing into a learning opportunity that you instigate.

Treat yourself on occasion, but don’t buy every shiny thing. Don’t compete with the instagrammer next door. Don’t justify your decisions to people you don’t live with.

Have fun as a family, but don’t be afraid of a boring, rainy sunday when actually what everyone (including you) needs to do is rest. The next busy weekend will be here before you know it, hurling you into Monday before you’ve found your feet.

Let your kids play.

Let them play with their stuff, and their friends, and give them space to make things and build things. Give them time and space to lie on the sofa or in bed and read.

Give yourself time and space to lie on the sofa (or in bed) and read.

(Not after everything else is done because there is always stuff to do, and you will be too tired if you ever get it all done.)

Let them see you comfortable and reading a book. (If you need external motivation, see it as part of your job as an educator to model reading and learning for pleasure.) Let them see you doing a hobby you enjoy.

Exchange ‘read’ with watching a movie, or a tv show, or comedy, or listening to music or playing music. Sometime even the book-iest person feels the need to do something else.

Make space in your day, (your week, month, season, year) for the things you don’t know you want to do yet. For the things any of your family want to explore so that exploring is not a chore, not a burden added to already-too-much.

Enjoy the things you already have. Share the things you no longer need. Potter about and enjoy the season for what it is, without a bucket list hanging over you.

Slow down. Do what you need to do to keep on keeping on, but stop doing so much.

Your children are growing.

The season is passing.

Slow down so that you can enjoy it for a little while.