Brene Brown gets me thinking about how I can show up in my homeschool.
No, she doesn’t speak directly about homeschooling that I’ve seen, but her guiding principles certainly could.
So how does Brene Brown inspiring my homeschool?
These are the things she shares that impact my homeschool:
“To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.”
These words remind us to see ourselves as a separate entity that needs support too. We need it just like we offer support and nurture to our children, friends, and partners. We need to nurture the nurture.
Apply this concept to parenting, and it takes parenting to a whole new responsibility. But I think most of us, as homeschool parents, intuitively know that that is what we’re signing up for.
We want to support our kids to become real, to fully become themselves: this might be the second greatest act of daring greatly.
This responsibility toward our little followers: to help facilitate who they might become and watch what they might need at the moment.
“Nothing has transformed my life more than realizing that it’s a waste of time to evaluate my worthiness by weighing the reaction of the people in the stands.”
If you think about it, you are the people in your own stand too. You are your own audience. And oftentimes the most difficult observer to satisfy.
Approve of thyself. (Or change what you’re doing).
Give yourself credit. You’ve done a lot, you’ve learned a lot, and you’ve committed to a gigantic role in your children’s lives. Nurture yourself.
Be gracious with yourself and forgiving too.
But also, we need to learn to not care what the neighbours think of our homeschool choice, what our family thinks about our homeschool choice, or what the post office guy thinks about our homeschool choice.
They all have opinions, of course, because they’re human. But that doesn’t mean they get to decide how to educate your children.
It also doesn’t matter what they think about your qualifications, your ability to handle arithmetic or discuss plate tectonics, how well-read you are, or whether you’re giving your children the best education.
Still, your choice.
You get to decide how well you’re doing.
Might I suggest checking out this post to reassure yourself that you’re doing a fabulous job!
“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.”
Wow, deep stuff. All our darknesses impact how we’re relating to our children and how motivated we are to show up with joy in our homeschools.
Seems scary to walk into the nether regions of my psyche to discover I can be pretty insecure and fraught with internal struggle if I probe below the surface long enough.
Dig deep into your scary stuff too.
Lean into it.
Sometimes with the help of someone wise to help us wade through it, we’ll discover that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
When we probe into our internal world, when we sit with our uncomfortable feelings and learn from what we see, we are most able to show up on purpose in our homeschool days.
Big Emotions Journal for the Homeschool Mom
Introducing the Homeschool Mama’s Toolbox, a set of resources designed to help homeschooling mothers deal with big emotions and specifically address their thoughts. Your brain and thoughts are important tools that need to be regularly sharpened, and the Toolbox is here to help you do just that.
Incorporating mindfulness practices into your homeschool is one of the most effective ways to separate yourself from your thoughts and be present. The Toolbox includes three questions from Dr. Amen, author of Change your Brain, Change your Life: What am I feeling? What is the thought behind my feeling? What is the story behind my thought? These are questions that you can practice regularly to get the most out of them.
The Toolbox also encourages a daily meditation practice to help you distance yourself from your thoughts and just be present. Guided meditations such as Guided Meditation on Controlling Negative Thoughts and Guided Meditation for Inner Peace & Calm can help you get started.
Additionally, the Toolbox offers a Thought Care Checklist to help you deal with challenging situations that may arise in your homeschool. By considering alternative perspectives, you can reframe your thoughts and deal with the situation in a more positive and constructive way.
With the Homeschool Mama’s Toolbox, you can learn to influence your thoughts and create a better reality for yourself and your family. Download the Toolbox today and start sharpening your tools!
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Teresa Wiedrick
I help homeschool mamas shed what’s not working in their homeschool & life, so they can show up authentically, purposefully, and confidently in their homeschool & life.
“Be gracious with yourself, and forgiving too.” – This is a terrific piece of advice. One that I have heard before but don’t seem to remember often enough.
Oh girlfriend! I’m with you. I write stuff I need to hear.