We're now 12 days into the new year and I have to admit I was pretty sad to say goodbye to 2012, it had been a challenging year but hugely transformative for me individually and for our family. I'll always look back on it as the year we decided Joseph wouldn't go to school I guess; at the time it felt like a decision that was predominantly about learning, but as the year progressed we realised that it would be about a great deal more than that. I remember speaking to a fellow home-ed mum who warned me to expect that now I had questioned the school system, I may find myself questioning all sorts of other things that had previously been 'accepted wisdom' to me. This has definitely been the case and while it has been difficult process in some respects, it has felt like a healthy one and certainly made 2012 anything but a dull year!
It's hard to believe that this time last year home-educating was something we hoped we'd be brave enough to embark on, and yet here we are a year on so happy with the decision that its difficult to imagine ever choosing anything else! It has really taught me how easily life can flow and how peaceful it can be when I listen to my feelings on a situation, and cast aside the 'should's' and 'need to's' of life. Now I've responded to my feelings about this one, its been a great deal easier to listen to them regarding a whole host of other things too, and life is better for it.
I'll always have 2012 earmarked as a very important year but I'm excited about the year ahead and the opportunity to watch the boys grow and learn in the way that makes most sense to them. The freedom to enjoy them and allow their interests to unfold rather than feel anxious about how well they are doing, how 'on target' they are or how well they compare to others their age is so important to me. Those things don't matter to our family, we simply care that they are learning and that they are happy, and they give us plenty of evidence throughout each day that they are both of these things in abundance!
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