The Mindful Homeschool

This week we had to take our vacuum cleaner in for a repair.  I dreaded the idea of taking a whole morning or two of my time to load up the three kids in sub-zero temps and drive to and from the vacuum cleaner store, a good 20-25 minute drive each way.  But if there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I love my vacuuming and I cannot do without it!  

So on Monday, I decided to combine the trip to the vacuum cleaner place with a trip to the MOA where we were able to hang out at our favorite Lego store, make Lego cars and check out the latest merchandise.  That worked out okay because I had been promising them a trip to the Lego store for over a week. 

And today, I had to pick up the vacuum cleaner which involved another 50 minute round-trip drive to the same store/repair center.  But this time we brought Harry Potter along!  My dd suggested that we pick up the book and audio-tapes (which were waiting for us on the library reserves shelves) before we drove across town.  That way we would be able to listen to the beginning of The Goblet of Fire in the mini-van while we accomplished our errands.  This worked out great and I couldn’t help feeling proud that I was “home-schooling” while driving.  Such efficiency! 

It is moments like these when I think that HSing is so doable and people just don’t realize it.  It is possible to do all that you need to do to keep the household running fairly smoothly while learning.  The curriculum doesn’t have to come out of a box and the learning doesn’t need to take place sitting at a desk.  This type of learning leans itself toward what one might call child-centered learning and un-schooling but who is to say it is not as effective if not more effective than traditional schooling methods.

The children are regularly sharing with me what they have learned from these HP books and there is a genuine and whole-hearted desire to read and learn more.  Sounds like pure, unadulterated learning to me!  Now if I could just learn a few spells to make that vacuum cleaner zoom through the house and make my house look nice and tidy! 

These are the three words I keep trying to repeat to myself today:  Sovereignity, empathy, and acceptance.  You see, I am reading Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting once again.  It is a book that takes time to read.  It takes time to absorb all the wisdom within it.  I had read parts of it before but like a lot of other books that I borrow from the library, I had to return it before I could finish reading all of it.  And I really need to read this book now.

Here is a nugget from one of the chapters in the book entitled “Acceptance”:

“As we learn to observe and accept our own wide range of feelings, including very turbulent ones, as part of our effort to be mindful, we naturally become more aware of other people’s feelings, especially our children’s.  We come to know something of the landscape of feelings and their changing nature, and are more likely to be sympathetic and less likely, at the same time, to take them personally.  We are better able to accept their experience and their feelings, even if we may not like how they are behaving.  In doing so, we are able to step out of the limited realm in which we as parents can often find ourselves, where we are so carried away by our own feelings and our attachment to our view of things that we cut ourselves off from our children and in some deep way, without realizing or intending to, abandon them.”

Practicing acceptance is a crucial component of mindful parenting, according to the authors.  Seeing and accepting things as they are, no matter how we feel about it.  

I find parenting to be so demanding and time-consuming and it is so overwhelming at times.  I find that there are times when my patience is lacking, my temper is short and I just need to be by myself.  Is that such a bad thing?  I love my kids but I need the time away to get a fresh perspective.   

It is when I am overwhelmed, exhausted and feeling spent that I am my worst self.  When I am able to step back and look at things from outside my cluttered head, I am able to regain a sense of calm and peace that is otherwise missing.  Maybe, practicing acceptance of my own feelings and behavior will allow me to accept my children’s feelings and behavior more easily.

And there are things my kids do that are really hard for me to accept.  The things they do (or don’t do) can drive me batty.  It can bring out the worst in me.  Accepting these things does not mean they can keep doing these things over and over without any intervening on my part.  But accepting the reality of it all could be the first step toward achieving more harmony in the household.  Not ignoring it and hoping it will go away. 

Of course, there are some things that I can just accept and let go of.  Things like the pen marks on the wall and the all-day pajama marathons.  Some things just aren’t that important to me.  Sure, I wish my toddler hadn’t drawn on the newly painted walls and colored on the bottom of our beautiful cherry wood dining table.  But eventually the walls will get painted over and no one but my family will probably ever see the underside of my dining room table.  And when we do look at the crayon marks under the table it will probably be with a sense of wistful nostalgia and remembrance of my 3 yo’s energy and creativity (for lack of a better word, lol).  If I wanted a perfectly decorated house, I wouldn’t have gotten married and had kids anyway.  Some things are fairly easy for me to accept and to let go.  

Other things are not as easy.  Some behavior requires my attention and problem-solving skills and starts to consume me if I am not careful.  This also requires a certain acceptance and letting go.  It is not good to ignore it and just sweep it under the rug but it also not healthy for me to allow it to cloud over my thinking and overtake me.    

So this week, when I take a little bit of time for myself,  I may be chanting my new mantra, ”Sovereignity, empathy and acceptance.”  And in doing so, I hope to cultivate more awareness of what my children really need from me, what I can let go of, and what I can do to help them grow up healthy and strong.