I would love to encourage those of you who are feeling stressed as parents to get down to the root of the problem. What is keeping you from enjoying a peaceful home, heart and homeschooling experience? What are some simple changes you can make to reset and relax?
Please share steps you are taking or have taken in your life to reduce stress, media and clutter, to be more intentional in your life. Here are my discoveries:
1. I feel like a lot of families are stressed because too much media has crept into our lives. We need more time in face to face conversations, more time enjoying nature, reading and play.
2. When it comes to social media for example- I’ve learned to skip the newsfeed, and stop mindless scrolling and go directly to the groups I enjoy connecting with – to have meaningful conversations like this one.
3. When it comes to TV and movies, there’s a password, none of the kids can access the TV without permission and help. And there is only one TV in the house that is off almost all the time. For 18 years of our marriage we had no TV at all. Now we use it for family movie nights and educational group learning.
4. When it comes to activities that require driving kids around – it’s usually not happening. We are choosing a home centered life, and if I’m driving kids somewhere it’s with purpose and is usually an activity for the whole family or multiple siblings. We make our home the destination of fun for all the kids friends and leave it up to them to find transportation if they need it. Where there’s a will there’s a way.
5. When it comes to food, it’s not fast – it’s slow. We slow down and treat cooking and baking like a hobby, and we eat meals together, sitting down, at a table and we talk. Our bodies need nutrition and connection- meal time should include both.
6. We simply school by letting go of standardization and focus on learning about the things our kids are passionate about, we go deep into their career goals, hobbies, and interests- they learn to research!
7. Homeschooling looks a lot like living life to the fullest, it’s immersion into the real world to learn how to interact with the real world. Kids in a classroom learn to be kids in a classroom, they learn to be students, and perhaps they can successfully apply that learning to becoming an employee, but children are not designed to sit still and be quiet. Kids are designed to explore and ask questions! Typical classroom learning ignores the very basic design of how children are wired to learn through discovery and play.
8. Scrapbooking, Journaling and Researching with Fun-Schooling Books helps my kids to dig deep into their passions while learning about many other related and relevant subjects. Fun-Schooling is a method of learning that is more like the way adults would choose to learn in real life, where there are no multiple choice quizzes or answer keys. In real life we learn things because we need to know something, or we desire to know something. That’s all.
9. When things seem out of control and life feels stressful we have some go-to methods to help reset. When we need a brain reset I often get out Dyslexia Games or Brain Games. Taking a walk or sending the kids outside to play is also an excellent way to reset the atmosphere in the home. Turning off media is a big first step, and turning to a cup of tea and a fun-schooling basket full of books about our current passions is also a great way you can focus on peace and embrace joy in life and learning.
10. A child’s life should revolve around free play in an environment that offers a safe place for unlimited creativity and imagination. The outdoors can’t be beat! A Lego table or designated art space is a wonderful indoor option. As kids get older play begins to involve specific hobbies, and leads to mastery of skills. Kids who become addicted to screens and gaming might miss out on the beauty of childhood. They end up just wanting to be entertained and may loose their natural creativity and curiosity.
11. Get lost in a book or in a forest, I promise you will find your way out. Wander! Explore! Let yourself just enjoy the simple things of life.
12. Take time to reboot your relationship with your family members and your devices:
Put everyone’s devices on a countertop, and focus on your family instead. Try to remember who you are and what you really wanted in life. A couple days ago we did this. Everyone put their devices on a table in the hallway for the day. They were free to use them, but not go out of the hallway. Going to a central location to be on our phones makes us more intentional. Our devices separate us from everyone else in the house because each device is designed for one person only, is this what we really wanted?
What are some ideas that you have incorporated into your life to be more intentional and peaceful?