No offense intended to school cafeteria workers.

Last night I dreamt had a nightmare we were living on a tiny boat on a big river! A fire was barreling down the canyon toward us. We were ordered to evacuate.  I kept looking everywhere for our school books.  I know they are replaceable, but that takes time. My kids would need some routine, an ordinary pace.

I always try to figure out what my dreams mean.  Sometimes they represent something great.  Most of the time it just means I had pizza
a too late.  HA! I think this one means I’m owning more of my homeschool mom status!  

My oldest has just started her last year of elementary! Wait? WHA??? I.JUST.CAN’T!!! Before this year started, I had to revisit what in the world I was doing and why.  I thought I’d share a bit of my process for those of you who believe you might want to homeschool, annnnd, you don’t know where to start.  I get his question from time to time.

WHERE DO I START?

Your heart, that, THAT is the best place to start.  It will drive you on long hard days; it will be your fresh cup of hot coffee when you are dragging.  It will be your breath of fresh air in a paper bag when you are overwhelmed by “mom guilt.” (Not that I know anything about that!)   It will also help make all of the of the decisions easier. It eliminates many of your options, and there are sooooo many options!

What does it mean to start with your heart?  Concisely said, “what is your vision for your children’s childhood and their education?”  Now, this cannot be to get away from something.  Vision is not what you are trying to avoid or escape.  Wanting to avoid something (like a crazy cafeteria lady) can be and often is the impetus, which is fine.  It won’t carry you through in the long haul. Running away from something is not sustainable long term. You have to determine why you would homeschool. What you hope to gain from it.  What you want out of it. These should be positive things. Not negative. (Example: I want to have close interactions with my children. Not: I want to keep my kids away from crazy cafeteria ladies.) Write down your vision, add to it, revisit it, change it from year to year, allow it to grow over time, just as your family grows.  Always keep the vision something that pulls you forward.  Avoiding, running, and escaping, will not sustain you in joy and perseverance.  It will load you with fear and feed negativity.  It will keep you from being able to decide on curriculums and programs, and it will be a thief to focus. There will be tough uphill days, but what drives you will be your vision.  Now, go start visioning and chase HARD after it with all your heart!  ~T