A Good Beginning

When my 11th grader was a babe in arms, I went to hear the midwife Rahima Baldwin speak. She said that the spiritual life of the child should be directed toward reverence and gratitude. I think she meant knowing that you are a small part of bigger rhythms. Keeping your eyes open to the wonder of the everyday and being thankful for your place. This sounded like something I could give my children, something I wanted myself.

A few years later, when homeschooling had begun in earnest, Leila Lawler said that her homeschool was built on order and wonder. Again, just two words, but words that helds such promise and direction. Order would keep us moving forward with a semblance of calm and organization. But wonder would be there to wind around the sturdy scaffolding that order provided.

Our school would have an everyday rhythm, but space for celebration and rest as well. We would focus on building skills, but also make space for art + music + time outside.

And what about you? What do you want from your homeschool? What words might describe it?

What if you adopted reverence and gratitude, order and wonder till the end of the year?

What might change? What might become possible?