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Connections
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| Posted: Nov 05 2008 at 11:07am | IP Logged
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I asked in another post about wanting more in our HS and received some excellent responses.
After reading the responses and thinking more about it, I have another question:
How do we reconcile the strive for excellence in our HS with a desire to be content with the blessings that we have?
Let's say our children are learning and we are living a learning lifestyle that we are all content with. Then we start to think, 'OK, this is working well, I think I'll add in X, Y and or Z to our program.' (Let's assume, that this will not entail additional cost or materials, but simply time and work.)
How do we ensure that this is an appropriate step? A step toward greater challenge and excellence and not merely a striving for MORE?
When do we feel content with the blessings of our HS without wanting to add more to the program?
Or, is it our duty to want MORE? To want to cover more? To want to challenge more? To want (our children) to learn more?
Are we supposed to strive for greater excellence or be content with the way things are? Is there a way to do both?
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Blessings,
Tracey
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Nov 05 2008 at 11:41am | IP Logged
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Excellent question, Tracey. I'm very interested in hearing from some of the more experienced ladies on this!
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Willa
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| Posted: Nov 05 2008 at 1:40pm | IP Logged
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Personally, I judge by seeing if I'm forcing it too much. If things are going well and I add something, does it enrich what we are already doing well? Or does it mean that suddenly we're hurrying through checklists, having battles or dropping off something that I feel is really more important?
Sometimes of course, there is a brief balancing out time. The kids don't always love something new or even LIKE it; I might have to drop something else temporarily while I'm getting used to the new thing; some days are busy no matter what. But if it's really not adding to what we already have, I try to rethink of a way that CAN work, or decide if it is really just educational clutter in our lives right now.
Another idea that Leonie gave me a long time ago is to write down ideas for things I think would be good. Let's take an example -- more nature study. Instead of going out tomorrow to buy a whole bunch of nature study gear and books and reorient our whole school around nature study, I can put it on my calendar for a future date and start thinking about how it will look with my particular homeschool, why I REALLY want nature study (do I simply want to be as cool as MacBeth  , do I think my kids can use more fresh air and understanding of taxonomy, do I want them drawing pretty pictures that I can put on my blog, etc. Once I have a better idea of what I really want out of the new thing, I usually have a better idea of how to make it happen.
I'm not saying it's always easy. These are some things that work for me; it might be different for others, so I hope more people will add on from different perspectives.
The bottom line for me is to keep my first priorities in place. They are here. I don't usually approach all of them well in a given day or week, but they help me discern.
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Nov 05 2008 at 3:08pm | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
| (do I simply want to be as cool as MacBeth , |
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Nov 05 2008 at 4:40pm | IP Logged
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I think a similar question can be asked about everything we do.
When are we content with how clean our house is, the nutritional value of the meals we prepare, our prayer life, etc?
Do we rest on our laurels or do we strive for more and better?
And when does more not necessarily mean better any longer?
When is our house "clean enough," or do we need it to be spic and span for company and decorated to the hilt, magazine-shoot ready at all times?
Are our meals healthy enough by just eliminating some fats and sugars or do we need to go 100% organic chemical-free, hormone-free, anti-cruelty,shade grown,fair-trade, recycled packaging,locally grown-sustainably harvested,heirloom variety,free-pollinated,GM-free,antibiotic-free, no teflon, no aluminum, no plastic, un-irradiated at all times?
Is it enough to attend Mass on sundays or must we go to daily mass, pray the rosary nightly, say every novena, celebrate every feast day, own every devotional...
you get the picture.
Balance is the key, I think. God calls us to perfect ourselves, but He understands that we are works in progress, and He (thankfully) gives most of us a long lifetime to complete it.
So, with our homeschools, as in other areas of our lives, we can be content with what we have, until we hear that small still voice calling us to something more. And then we follow, realizing that we do not need to have or do it all. Just what we can with what we have, within reason.
__________________
Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Excellence and contentment
