A Journey in Homeschooling

BARBARA HEDGEWITCH

Winter 2000

With another turn of the wheel, autumn spins 'round to winter. I desperately want to slow down and turn inward, but my children seem to conspire against all my cozy plans. They have busy lives, and I am their chauffeur. John has taken up snowboarding; it's something he absolutely loves. This requires regular trips up the pass to our local ski slopes. He revels in his new skills while I sit in the lodge and sip my latté, admiring the incredible mountain views. Skiing and snowboarding are no longer something this "body by Willendorf" can do.

Raven is still content to simply play in the snow banks, but next year she will want to do more. For now, her interests lie in gymnastics and academics. She has learned to read and has decided that she loves math. This is the Child-Who-Devours-Workbooks. She whips through them with glee and pride. She is an amazing storehouse of animal facts, regularly knocking my socks off with the trivia she knows about such various creatures as humpback whales and coatis.

John is part of a local homeschool band this year. He is a percussionist. It has been interesting to watch these kids progress from a tentative, fledgling group, to a beautifully functioning, cohesive unit. I am in awe of his band teacher! In my next life, I want to play the flute.

In addition to snowboarding, band, and gymnastics, we are also busy with 4H and CampFire Boys and Girls. Both of these programs mesh nicely with our Paganism and our homeschooling, with the emphasis on nature and learning; not to mention the wonderful opportunities for them to make long-term friends. We have our own family 4H club, with an emphasis on the International and Cross-Cultural Program. Through this program, we are studying several Asian cultures: those of Japan, Korea and the Philippines. We have hosted two Japanese exchange students through 4H, and John's goal is to go to Japan on an exchange.

If you're looking for fresh homeschooling ideas, I highly recommend that you call or visit your local 4H office. They're not just about farming and home economics anymore! They offer projects on just about anything you can dream of -- from computers to motorcycles to entomology. Our area has an impressive Natural Resources program.

CampFire also has an extensive line-up of projects for kids of all ages. Their program is divided into five subject areas, called "Trails". These are "Trail to the Great Outdoors", "Trail to Creative Living", "Trail to Me, My Family, My Community", "Trail to Helping Others", and "Trail to New Knowledge and Skills". Activities in these Trails start at the Kindergarten level and advance all the way to the High School level, with the children assuming greater responsibility for planning and implementing projects as they grow.

With all the whirl of activities, it's hard to find the balance between being too busy and being just busy enough. A tarot reading last autumn warned me of becoming overwhelmed by too many choices. Since then, I have consciously been paring down my commitments, and have been using that little word that so many overachievers have trouble saying: "no". This time, when one commitment ends, I chose not to pick up another to immediately replace it.

The skill of finding balance is one I've long worked on. It may indeed be one of my biggest life lessons this time around. I am a person of extremes -- either very busy, or finding myself with nothing to do. In the past, I've found myself eagerly adding activities to my life because they were *all* so exciting, only to burn out and retreat into a period of doing nothing. This time, I am taking care to be more aware of my limitations and abilities, so that we can all thrive.

May you find balance in your lives this winter!