Our Inner Work meditation for this week is on the Yin and Yang of homeschooling. Take some time to reflect on this short meditation before you start your lessons today. Let your thoughts inspire you for the coming week!
When a homeschooling parent plans out lessons, crafts and activities, leads children in circle time, guides them in art lessons, reads to them, and focuses on the child they are focusing on the Yin – the nurturing, loving and attached side of teaching. We connect with the need each child has to be loved and cared for and nurtured.
When a parent delegates by having the child plan some of the day, or assigns a tutor or friend to help their child with a subject (math, music, art, etc…), leaves the child to do their own inner work, or has one child teach another child a subject, they are focusing on the Yang – the independant, and managerial side of teaching. We connect with the sense of independance and adventure in the child.
To achieve a balance in our children and lessen the stress in our lives we need to be both nurturers and managers. We need to remember that as parents and teachers we are not only nurturers or only manangers – we are both. Harmony in homeschooling comes with a balance of these two elements.
Thank you for this post. Balance in all relationships is of utmost importance. This was a nice reminder!
Thank you for reading our BLOG, Shelly 🙂 – Kristie
I had never heard this! As the parent of a six year old, I have been experiencing some unsettling emotions that come with the inevitable evolution of my role into greater “managing” from afar, with other adults and environments away from home having a bigger part in his life. I find it both exciting and scary. My son is the oldest in our homeschool group, and I fall quite easily into nurturing with all the youngsters (some still potty-training). Yet, his independent spirit since birth has trained me to respect each child’s autonomy. Thank you for this wise reminder to explicitly pass on leadership tasks, delegate, and find rest and rejuvenation in the moment.