Read Along With Me: “How The Future Can Save Us” Introduction

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Teacher and author Stephen Sagarin based the idea of this book around a quote from Rudolf Steiner’s last lecture compiled in “Education As A Force For Social Change” that states: “Nor should we allow them to teach before they have gained an idea of how the past and the future affect our culture….and how that undefined rebel of the future can save us.” (Lecture given on August 17, 1919). This was three days before Rudolf Steiner traveled to Stuttgart, Germany to train the first teachers for what would be a “Waldorf School.” However, at the time, he most likely was addressing teachers everywhere. Prior to the above quote, Steiner talked about how teachers needed to know about “forces that determine human fate…..the nature of archangels.”

Our personal angels give us strength and help us on our journey and must never be mistaken for the greater spiritual influence (versus the angels that are here to help us personally). In other words, we have to learn to discern what is meant for us, from our angels, and what is meant for the world (or the children in front of us that we are teaching!). Angels, for Steiner, being mediators between us and the spiritual world. You might be wondering what that has to be with education, if you are new to Waldorf homeschooling. This is important because every time we work with a child, we are engaging and working with the archangels and the child as a spiritual being, helping the child unfold into their path.

Waldorf Education should never be seen as this static, Eurocentric educational method. I think this is often what homeschoolers view Waldorf Education as because of the few curricula available and quite frankly most of the curricula on the market does not have a basis in the teachings of Rudolf Steiner but instead has gone with the outer trappings of nature and math gnomes for first grade and the like. If you do not take the time to consider the child in front of you, to look at this time and place, and at the development of the child, you may be stuck further into practices that Steiner probably never wished on children and practices that he never would have dreamed to become so entrenched in this idea of “this is how we Waldorf educate.” In this respect, I feel you should read this book and take notes if you are a Waldorf parent or Waldorf homeschooling teacher. You should be working with living ideas and what students today need and I this book will help you sort that out based on the picture of the developing human being.

Sagarin points out that, “I don’t believe that Steiner was particularly interested in founding lots of schools. His interest was transforming education to make it practical and healthful for students in the industrialized world, particularly, in the aftermath of World War I, so that they could grow to make the world more peaceful and just.”

This idea of making parenthood and education more healthful has always been a particular interest of mine and this blog. I came to Waldorf Education by reading Rudolf Steiner’s educational lectures, and because I had a deep interest in child development and child health. This interest has never waned since I began working with children in 1998. I still work with families, new mothers, babies, children, teens and people in their 20s and 30s in the healthcare sector. This has given me an eye into the issues that people in their 20s and 30s are facing today, the types of stresses that they are under, how friendships and relationships are flourishing (or not) and perhaps a sense of what we can do about it by having a foundation for people younger than these ages. This is important, because I am seeing a lot of differences in even “micro-generations” – is, the difference between those in their early twenties versus those you are still teenagers.

Sagarin states that his hope for homeschooling parents with this book is to “find an open-minded, thoughtful approach to Steiner’s work that demonstrates the intensely creative but nonprescriptive mode in which he thought, wrote, and spoke.” This book does challenge such things as circle time, math gnomes, main lesson books, blackboard drawing, Norse myths. I think it is a very interesting read! The author writes “….that does not mean that there’s only one way to look at what we do in Waldorf schools, or that we cannot continuously , conscientiously examine and alter and improve our practice.”

So, I really hope you get a copy of this book and follow along with me!

Blessings

Carrie

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One thing that the changing of the months and years brings us is this steadiness.  In an ever changing life and an ever changing world, the months, seasons, and festivals will always be turning round and round.  It can bring us and our families peace and stability if we choose to embrace it.

There are so many glorious things to celebrate about May:  flowers and greenery, bees buzzing, spring time alive, and the activity of children everywhere perking up.  The world is ready to be outside in May in the Northern Hemisphere, and we feel the liveliness and promise of Spring.

What we are celebrating this month:

May Day – May 1

50 Days of Eastertide

Ascension Day – May 9

Mother’s Day – May 12

Memorial Day – May 27 ( a great time to look at summer plans)

Other things on my mind:

  • De-cluttering and deep cleaning with natural cleansers
  • Skin care (yes, skin care).  Time for radiant, dewy skin in May!
  • Spring tales for children and puppetry for small children
  • Gardening
  • The lake and the pool. Our pool is opening for summer this week, and the lake is beckoning
  • Spring menu planning!
  • Exercising. I exercise 5 days a week and it helps keep me sane.

These are a few of my favorite things for small children:

  • Hiking on The Feast of Ascension, watching clouds
  • Making Pentecost crafts
  • Gathering for May Day and dancing around a May Pole!
  • Making crafts for Memorial Day, Memorial Day parades
  • Pedal toys – trikes and bikes! Have your own Memorial Day parade

These are a few of my favorite things for grades-aged children:

  • All of the above, plus
  • Swimming and miniature golf
  • Playing in the water and sand
  • Observing all the dragonflies, bees, and butterflies
  • Calming rituals for rest times and the end of the day.  

These are a few of my favorite things for teens:

  • All of the above, including screen free week
  • Spring cleaning and spring decorating of the home, gardening tasks
  • Spring cooking, making special treats for The Feast of Ascension and Memorial Day
  • Planning surprise May Day baskets for neighbors, and doing things to serve others.
  • Picnics at the lake
  • Later night walks in the warm air – great time to talk after the smaller children have gone to bed

These are a few of my favorite things for myself:

  • Celebrating our family with family meetings and family game night.
  • Celebrating our marriage (32!) with a night out.
  • Drinking lots of water and herbal teas.
  • Acupuncture

I would love to know what is on your mind for this month of May.

homeschooling/education:

Our older two children (22 and 19) have graduated from homeschooling have jobs and live on their own. Our rising high school freshman will have classes two days a week, and will be volunteering one day a week at his former middle school homeschool program to assist the teachers and mentor younger students.

We will have some blocks of learning at home as well, so will be happy to post those plans as we go.

where is the blog these days?

Well, unfortunately no one really reads blogs anymore.  Compared to its heyday, readership here and in blogs in general,  is super low.  I write mainly for myself at this point, I think, and still hope to compile all these posts into ebooks at some point in the future.

For the most part, you can find me on IG (I am on Facebook as well, but I don’t always like the negativity and divisiveness of FB and therefore think about getting off Facebook daily, so IG may be your best bet to follow me).  I will continue to write here as well, but I do wonder if it will drop off to be just IG in the next few years.

The other place you can find me is on the  wonderful forum that The Child Is The Curriculum.  It is an amazing place, and has all your curriculum shopping needs, discussion groups, book studies, and everything all in one place!  I love it, and hope you do as well.

Lastly, you can always email me admin@theparentingpassageway.com to set up a consult by phone – I have half hour and full hour paid slots. 

Can’t wait to hear what you are up to in May!

Blessings,

Carrie

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What Curriculum Should I Use?

This question comes up this time of year as folks are looking towards getting things settled for the next school, which here in the States begins in either August or September, depending upon what state you live in.

When I began homeschooling forever ago, it was the time of Yahoo Groups and there really weren’t many options as far as Waldorf homeschooling curriculum. This was also an era where we were warned by Waldorf teachers that we could not bring a true Waldorf education into the home as the class is a social organism.

So is the family. So is the community in which we live. It is not the same as a classroom in a school, but it can be a successful way to educate human beings. With care, children can thrive in and outside of a classroom.

We only had a two paper curricula to choose from, and if we ordered books from Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore, it was usually sight unseen.

Typically, the way I planned was to figure out what Rudolf Steiner said about that age/grade (remember his general indications were much broader than a single grade), look at the blocks for that grade, learn about that subject myself from books from the library (actually read the fairy tales, the fables, read about that period in history, learn about math skills or chemistry or whatever!), think about the three day rhythm for grades aged children – present/practice other academic skills, sleep, review and deepen academic skills, sleep, create something new and a synthesis out of what had been presented. Practice! Put this into a school calendar surrounding the seasons and festival of the year and viola! Another homeschool year is born!

In this day and age, where people are busier than ever and families are often having to work two and three jobs just to stay afloat financially, there is this push for curricula that is open and go, that someone else other than the parent could possibly implement, for a curricula that distills things down. I really do understand that times are different than what they were, that is it hard starting out, and you feel like you don’t know enough about Waldorf education to really authentically bring it. I have been there, and it’s what prompted me to gather people into a homeschooling group and to earn a certificate in The Arts and Anthroposophy.

I think it is STILL always better to create something for your own child that reflects your family, where you live, what speaks to your child than any prepackaged curricula. Most true Waldorf curricula are not open and go, but they do give you a space and a place to jump off the pages and create something. I think the best curricula would probably just be a presentation of options. If it’s a really tough year, maybe a really solid choice would be something like Oak Meadow or another gentle but closer to mainstream curriculum. It is different than Waldorf Education and that is okay as some years in our families are just plain difficult and require different choices. These curriculums are not second choice, they are just different.

Waldorf Education is spiritual; it is the gift of allowing the spiritual journey of the human being open onto earth. It requires us to be touch with the slower, more intuitive and artistic parts of ourselves, which takes and requires time. It might require us tapping into our artistic selves – you don’t have to be an award winning artist or musician or handworking talent, but you have to be willing to try. It might require us hunting and searching and creating what to bring. At its heart, it is also about your development as a person, as a caretaker and parent, and as a teacher.

Putting together a Waldorf curriculum for your child takes time. Most good things in parenting, and in life, do.

If you are looking for more on this topic, try these back posts. Many blessings – Carrie

Which Waldorf Curriculum Do I Buy?
Making A Waldorf Curriculum Work For You!
‘Tis the Season for Choosing Waldorf Homeschooling Curriculum

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The Five P School Rules

When my children were in the early grades and were struggling with the idea of “school”, these were the five things I tried to keep in mind to make our days go smoother.

THE “FIVE P” School Rules

Prompt – Be prompt when it is your turn for school.  For children in seventh and eight grade, be prompt about doing any homework.

Prepared – BEFORE it is your turn, please make sure you have your pencils sharpened, have your main lesson books, have gone to the bathroom or gotten a drink or snack.

Productive – Let’s maximize our time together and have fun.   Stay on task and follow directions!

Polite – Please be polite to me, to each other and to our time in school.  We are here to encourage one another, love each other, learn a lot and have fun.

Patient – Please be patient with yourself. It takes patience and practice to learn new skills – whether that is drawing, spelling, math, learning how to write effective essays.  Be patient!  If you follow the other “Five P” rules, your time will pay off!

The Not So Fun

If the day is not going well, I will give you a warning.

You can use your words and tell me you need a minute to regroup in your room or you need a break.  I am happy to work with you so long as you use your words.

THE FUN!!

I promise to tell you every day the good things you have done in school!

I promise to hug and love you every day!

I promise there will be time for you to do school and the things you love!

Maybe these will spark some ideas for your school day.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi Friend!

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I am so very glad you are here and welcome to The Parenting Passageway. I wanted to share a little about me for those of you who are new to this page.

I was born and raised in NY but have spent most of my decades in the deep south, where I feel most at home on our equine farm. The farm was a pandemic move, and it is still under lots of renovation as little by little we work towards bringing it to life. We have horses, boarding for horses, dogs, cats, bees (and no chickens! My husband isn’t a fan). I actually didn’t grow up with horses at all, but I started to learn about horse care as all of the children rode. I love the nutrition and health aspects of taking care of horses and am hoping to ride more this year. It’s never too late to do something new!

I have spent decades as a pediatric and pelvic health physical therapist, a board certified lactation consultant, and as a volunteer breastfeeding counselor. Currently I work mainly as a pelvic health physical therapist and as a lactation consultant and I divide my time off the farm pretty evenly between those endeavors.

Waldorf Education is such a developmentally appropriate education and I have loved it for decades. Two of our children are now graduated and off on their own with only our son left at home. I earned a certificate in Anthroposophy and the Arts from Antioch University, which was the precursor at the time to Waldorf teacher training. I have documented nearly every block I taught for every grade throughout educating all three of our children, and I hope you can benefit from the mistakes and successes I have had! I love supporting development!

I am a writer, musician, artist, a cook experimenting with preserving and plant-based recipes, a wanna be gardener , a Christian, hopefully a good friend, and a health thriver after a potentially fatal disease last year, and a big fan of acupuncture. Many weeks,I struggle with finding time to work out ,and sometimes feel like I could do a better job taking care of myself in the busy seasons of life, (and of course there is always a lot to be done on a farm). I love hearing from my readers all around the world, and I thank you! I am not a big traveler, but in my head I have gone many places in just talking to my readers.

I am so glad you are here, and I love learning from you all. In this Eastertide, I hope we can grow together. I would love to hear what is going on in your corner of the world. ❤

Much love,

Carrie

The Beauty of April

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I am looking forward to Easter and a lovely Eastertide. It seems to me as if the land is awakening from slumber and the signs of life are so encouraging – the nest with five little blue eggs on my porch, the green leaves coming on the trees, the greening of the pastures, the spring frolicking of the horses. It’s a beautiful place to be.

This month has things worth celebrating!

Our main festival dates in our family this month include:

1- Easter Monday

8- Will you be watching the solar eclipse?

23- St. George

25- St. Mark

29- St. Catherine of Siena

and I am looking ahead to Ascension Day (Thursday, May 9th) and the Rogation Days that precede Ascension Day ( the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday prior to Ascension Day).  There is also a Novena of 9 days that begins on Ascension Day and ends on the Eve of Pentecost. 

These are a few of my favorite things this month for my family:

  • Since we will be in Eastertide here,  dyeing of eggs,  thinking of the Paschal candle and light in our home, indoor dish Easter gardens, Easter carols (yes, they are real!) and attending church are in my heart, This is growing my own garden in my heart.
  • Gardens outside as well – especially leading up to Rogation Days which is a wonderful time to have seeds, gardening tools and homesteads blessed. My seedlings are getting tall and I will be planting them outside this weekend.
  • Spring cleaning, decluttering, and moving ahead with some simple decorating I have wanted to do in our home. We are re-doing our laundry room, which is something small that we can afford, but it will be nice to have that done. Other projects coming up include building a dry lot behind the barn for the horses in inclement weather, and painting thousands of feet of fencing!

These are a few of my favorite things for small children:

  • Ramping up all kinds of physical activity since the weather is generally nice…hiking, kayaking, roller blading, walking, never disappeared these past months, but I feel so drawn to these activities now.
  • Incorporating more and more loose parts play and re-arranging indoor and outdoor play areas.

These are a few of my favorite things for grades-age children:

  • Spring handwork – wet felting, making beautiful spring crafts
  • Movement outside and exploring nature
  • Adjusting our rhythm to the seasons, but sticking to strong awake, rest and bedtimes, along with regular nourishing whole foods mealtimes.

These are a few of my favorite things for teens:

**Exploring new interests and possibilities for summer. There are many wonderful camps for the summer. Sometimes by age thirteen or fourteen, the appeal of going to camp dissipates and sometimes it doesn’t, so you can carefully observe your child. It can be hard to know how hard to push. ** Sleep! A lot of teens really need sleep over the summer.

These are a few of my favorite things for my own inner work:

  • In the past I had created a Sacred Hour – half to be spent in personal study, and half to be spent with our children in sharing the Saints, the Bible and Anglican traditions. This Eastertide, I am devoting some time to Anglican Studies and also using the Venite App for daily readings.  I am feeling very happy about this.
  •  I am starting my own version of the 75 day hard. The similarity ends at 75 days! LOL. Mine essentially includes a focus on meal planning and prep, exercise and activity in nature, things to promote lymph movement and restorative practices.

In our family:

  • I love to get the vast bulk of my planning done over the summer. Our youngest will be headed to a classical hybrid high school as that is what is available in our area. The singular focus is to get him ready for university and military service, which is his goal right now. So legally we are homeschooling, but I feel as if my planning is done as the off days are following the plans laid out by the hybrid school. Bittersweet!
  • Our oldest two children are living on their own, one about 45 minutes away and the other six hours away. Blink and off they go!

Happiest of Eastertides to you and your family,

Carrie

Hopeful January

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Hello Friends and subscribers!

I am so happy to be here with you in this space. I posted very little over the course of this year as I dealt with months of treatment for a life- threatening health issue, and I just am happy to feel cozy and snug and looking forward to replenishment for 2024. I love January – the possibility of cold and snow, the bright days perfect for walks, the many possibilities of decluttering the physical environment and the body and the soul in January!  It’s going to be a terrific month and year, and I hope you feel the same way about a New Year on the horizon.

Here are some of the days we will be celebrating in January:

January 1 – New Year’s Day

January 6– The Feast of Epiphany and Epiphanytide that stretches until Lent begins on Wednesday, February 14 this year (and Easter is on Sunday, March 31st for those of you planning ahead!)

January 15 – Martin Luther King, Jr Day – also celebrated January 15 and April 4 in The Episcopal Church

Janaury 18– The Feast Day of St. Peter

January 25 – The Feast Day of St. Paul

Replenishment - Rhythm is strength, so I am working to create new weekly and monthly rhythms for 2024. A lot in life changed this past year, so this feels like starting anew. The things I want to coordinate mostly include time around things I need to do for my health; time with family and friends who are like family; homeschooling our youngest who is finishing up eighth grade and will be entering high school in the fall; daily, weekly, monthly farm and animal care; daily, weekly, monthly homemaking; and of course work. I still work for two different companies providing physical therapy and lactation services plus have my own business. It sounds like a lot, and maybe it is, but I find if I work in smaller stretches with lots of margin I can do many things so long as I keep things simple.

Creating is high on my list this year, including writing more, seasonal crafting, and watercolor painting. It feels really nice to have enough energy to be back in that space! I even got some new paintbrushes for Christmas. ❤

I usually pick a word of the year instead of making resolutions, and I almost picked “Create” for this year but instead I am going with “replenishment”. I still have some residual fatigue and strength to build back up, so I like the idea of nourishing myself in whatever form that might take for the day. Do you have a word of the year to bring you focus and clarity? My past words have included words such as radiant, abundant, vibrant, and bold. 

These are a few of the things we are enjoying this month:

  • Daily outside time – when our children were small and we lived in neighborhoods, this was mainly in the form of a daily walk, and park time. Now it is mainly in the form of barn chores!
  • Puzzles and board games
  • Green smoothies and juicing
  • Making some freezer meals
  • Exercising as I can
  • Creating
  • I have been having fun using Duo Lingo for French
  • Going out as a couple – my husband and I are getting away for a few days to celebrate the beginning of 2024 (and maybe to catch up a little from not being able to do anything for our 31st wedding anniversary this past year).
  • Playing with our horses, dogs, and cats
  • Learning more about beekeeping. They really were not tended from May onward, so this will be a rebuilding year.
  • Indoor and outdoor gardening
  • Baking
  • Indoor microgardening!  So fun – and having bulbs blooming in the house
  • Decluttering the entire house and creating space. As often happens with illness, things get behind. So I started small yesterday with decluttering the master bathroom/master linen closet and unsubscribing from email and youtube channels and have a plan to move forward with every room of the house. I am very excited about this! For me, order is life giving and helps me so much!

If you are looking for fun things to do with children, these are things we have enjoyed:  Cut out paper snowflakes, including really cool 3-D snowflakes; dip candles; roll candles; play board games or card games with your children;  draw, paint, model; whittle wood; make popcorn together; bake together; play in the snow – build snow forts; have snowball fights; snowshoe; downhill or cross country ski;  ice skate on a pond; read and tell stories; build forts inside; take a walk outside in the cold – look for animal tracks or berries or birds or all of the above; knit, crochet, cross stitch, finger knit, spin, sew; sing and make music together – learn some new songs; clean, scrub, dust, work around the house – rearrange furniture; go bowling or find an indoor swimming pool to swim in; write letters to family and friends; write stories together; snuggle on the coach with hot chocolate and marshmallows; cook for a neighbor; find a place of worship to attend and get involved; throw a party; clicker train your dog, cat, or other animal; take care of plants; start seeds indoors when it it is time

On the parenting and  homeschooling front, our oldest graduated from Clemson University this month and will be living and working about an hour from us. She got her dream job in medicine so that’s exciting! Our middle child left her university (equine studies) because she got her dream job working toward becoming a professional rider. She lives about six hours away from us, but will be spending a decent portion of the year traveling to show other people’s horses at large venues, so it will be fun to go see her work in different places. 

Our little (very tall) fourteen year old is finishing up eighth grade this year. We used a hybrid school (which is still legally homeschooling in our state and we do a portion of the teaching at home), We normally use something like this for outside classes for all or part of high school, but I needed help this year. For high school in the fall, we will be using a combination of homeschooling with classes from a hybrid school and dual enrollment at our local technical college starting in tenth grade. It’s exciting to see him start working towards goals for his future. So, I still have homeschool planning/facilitation and transcript keeping for future college to provide, but nothing as intensive as previous years.

I would love to hear your plans for 2024 and for January plans! Wishing you all the best and brightest things for this New Year!

Blessings and love,
Carrie

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Hats, Hats, Hats

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Earlier this year, my stepmother was rapidly declining in her health and rather abruptly was admitted to a memory care facility. As part of this transition, I flew up to the area of my childhood home, drove north, and worked on cleaning out her house so it could be put on the market.

One thing that I noticed and loved was the variety of hats in her closet. Sun hats of all types, plus fancy hats to go see the horse races. All different colors, shapes, varieties, with and without decoration.

How many hats do we wear as mothers? We so often are not only mother, but wife and partner, daughter, sister, volunteer, friend, homeschooling teacher, perhaps a professional role outside the home as well, a homemaker with all the different jobs that entails, and perhaps also a homesteader or farmer or a creator and artist. So many roles!

When I remember looking at the hats scattered across the floor, it made me think how we pull out a hat for a specific event the way we pull out a specific role in our day. I have a practice treating new mothers in both pelvic floor health and in lactation and many new mothers tell me the sheer number of roles feels overwhelming. They are trying to mother, be a wife, be a homemaker, work outside the home and be productive at work in the same way they were before they had children….and perhaps in the process forgetting or not having time for the most important role: that of themself.

Taking care of ourselves in whatever way that looks like to us is so important. Some mothers are easily overstimulated with noise or the number of children talking to them at once. Some mothers are overwhelmed with the idea of working and being productive in an outside job all day and coming home to be “on” to a job within the home.

What ways have you found to cope with overwhelm in different roles or what ways have you found to take care of yourself? You can only be so much to so many. Be easy with yourself.

Blessings,

Carrie

Candelit December

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The days are shorter, the nights are colder, and the leaves on the deciduous trees have fallen. We are headed toward winter, a time of deep rest, a time of projects, a time of wonder at snow and lights and the beautiful winter sky with the skeletons of trees etched against the horizon.

I love the anticipation of a cozy, candlelit December. We are coming into the month of December, a month of anticipation and preparation in the Christian Calendar but also a month of cozy anticipation for many as winter arrives. We can set up a seasonal table with snow white and pink silks, crystals of quartz and amethyst, glass vases, paper snowflakes or an beautiful Advent tableau with a dark blue silk with candles and gold paper stars. The traditional Advent wreath can come out.

We are moving from a time of mourning and remembering our ancestors, the saints, those who have gone before us to passing through the winter to a new year and a new path. We are preparing for what is to come. What are the deepest longings of your heart for the coming year?

Advent can be a time of fasting and preparing and contemplating for this new beginning. I have already chosen my word of the year for 2024 (for more on that tradition, see back posts)..I think this is going to be a restorative year, so I chose the word CREATE. I will have one child finishing college this year in December, another child who is now living on her own many states away, another child beginning high school in the fall of 2024, and we will have been on our farm for three years in the spring. I have also dealt with a major life threatening health challenge this year and treatments are wrapping up, so I think 2024 is going to be an amazing year for renewal and restoration for myself and my family and also for creating all kinds of things to help others. I am looking forward to this so much.

This post talks  Advent from a Waldorf perspective.  If you are from another faith tradition and are blogging about this month, please leave a link to your blog below so my readers can find you!   I am Christian and therefore can only write from the perspective of our life, but so appreciate other perspectives. One thing I am thinking strongly about is how we as a family make a very conscious effort to slow down, not speed up, this holiday season.  You can see my contemplation about that in this post about the  simple holiday season.  and this post which holds  answers to parents’ holiday questions.

Here are some things we are celebrating this month:

December 3- First Sunday in Advent

December 6 – St. Nicholas Day –please do see Christine Natale’s tremendous post here St. Nicholas Day and starting new holiday traditions  and  favorite stories for St. Nicholas

December 10 – Second Sunday in Advent

December 13 – Santa Lucia Day

December 17 – Third Sunday in Advent

December 24- Fourth Sunday in Advent

December 24- Eve of the Nativity

December 25 – Feast of the Nativity, and the first day of the Twelve Days of Christmas  – there are many back posts on the Twelve Days of Christmas if you search under “Family Life” and “festivals” or use the blog’s search engine.

The Twelve Days of Christmas, December 25- January 6th

Our traditions include walking an Advent Spiral, crafting and baking.  If you need gift ideas for this season, please see  last minute gifts to make  and more last minute gifts to make.  There are many wonderful ideas our readers submitted as well in the comment sections.

I would love to hear from you – what holiday traditions are you creating, what are your goals for the next year, what are doing with your homeschooling. I can’t wait to learn from you all and create with you!

Blessings and love,
Carrie

Homeschooling Success

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I have seen the many different paths that former homeschooled young adults take, and I think there are multiple ways to define success in homeschooling. This might be something as nebulous as “being socialized” (whatever on earth does that mean?) or perhaps it could be measured in terms of holding a job and being able to support themselves and/or attending higher education.

However, some of the things I enjoy looking at as indicators of long- term homeschooling success might be more along the lines of:

They can adult! They have what it takes to be independent within where they are. Some who have graduated from high school still live at home due to finances, but that is true for many young adults who have had more traditional schooling as well right now due to cost of living. However, they can cook,clean, run a household, and are responsible with their work in and outside of their homes.

They know who they are, and this is not readily swayed by a peer group.

They have a passion and they are out chasing their dreams in whatever form that looks like.

They have successful relationships inside of and outside of the family.

They choose to participate in their community.

How do you measure homeschooling success? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Blessings,
Carrie