Assignment #8

Make a list of 40 things that have happened to you in the last month. They can be funny, embarassing, happy or infuriating. Pick one and write about it.

Ok I did this a bit differently I didn't write about a single incident because as I was listing a pattern showed up...so I wrote what I hope will be an article for our homeschool newsletter about learning as a homeschool mom. Enjoy.

Never Stop Learning

One thing I find interesting about being a homeschooling mom, particularly one who leans toward “unschooling” as a philosophy is that I am ALWAYS learning new things. I sat down and made a list of forty things that happened to me this month.
In the last thirty days alone, I have learned over a dozen new things. That’s quite an accomplishment for a fairly well educated thirty-something.

Since I took on teaching my child, teaching myself something no longer intimidates me. I started teaching myself to knit recently. I have a book and I’m working on a scarf. I’ve taught myself how to “cast on” and how to knit a “stockenette” stitch. When the time comes I’ll teach myself how to “cast off” and finish my project. Is it perfect? No. But its good enough and once I know if I enjoy it or not I’ll find someone to show me what I don’t know so that I can become truly proficient at it.

That’s something I’ve learned from homeschooling. Half the game is finding the right resources. For example, I wanted to learn to dance. I have videos but I just wasn’t getting it from watching the videos. I needed to find someone to teach me. So Jessica and I are taking a line dancing class at the local YMCA. Our teacher is an 82-year-old dynamo named Juanita Joyner. So far we’ve mastered 6 different dances and are working on several more. We’ve got “the Roller Coaster”, “The Little Black Book”, “The Hank”, “The Honky Tonk Stomp”, “The Line Waltz” and “The Ten Step Polka” fairly well mastered. We’re working on “The Catfish”, “The Cowboy Cha Cha”, “The Boot Scootin’ Boogie” and a few others that I don’t yet recall the name of. A month ago I couldn’t say with confidence that I could dance ANYTHING except “The Macarena” and it went out of style 5 years ago. I love this class. Wanna dance?

Another thing I have learned as a homeschooling mom is the importance of having the right tools. We spent hundreds of dollars on reading programs for Jessica before finding the one that fit her. Once we did, she learned to read in a matter of days. How does this apply to me? I’m learning to play the bass. I have a great bassist living here with me and I’d be a fool not to take advantage of that knowledge. Yet I haven’t had a lesson in 6 months. Why? My bass didn’t fit me. I have a beautiful white Fender P-bass that I bought when I started trying to learn. It wasn’t until I started playing it that I realized that it was too big for me. The neck stock was too wide for my small hands. I struggled along trying to learn and fighting the instrument. Finally I quit. But I still wanted to learn the bass. So I’ve been trying basses everywhere we went. I bought a new bass this month, a bright red, heart-shaped, daisy-rock bass. A bass designed by a female guitarist for female guitarists. It’s 30 inches long and half an inch narrower at the neck than my Fender was. It is the right tool for me and it is a joy to play. I’m on my way to mastering “Green Eyed Lady”.

Opportunities to learn are all around us. We just have to have our eyes open to them. We need to be willing to take risks and try new things, to find the right teachers and resources to help when we get stuck, to make sure we have the right tools for the job. But most of all NEVER stop learning. Life is too interesting to stagnate.