January 30, 2024 • 26 mins
Hey friend!
In this episode, we're talking about how a little unpredictability can spice up our homeschooling journey.
You might think stepping away from our carefully planned routines could lead to chaos, right? But I hope I can bust that myth for you and help you leave room for spontaneity in your homeschooling day.
I'm a big believer in the freedom to tweak our lesson, our day, and even our entire homeschool. Why not follow our kiddos' curiosity and see where it leads? Or allow our creative juices to start and see where that leads.
Plus, I'll let you in on why shaking things up a bit can be super beneficial for both us and our children and decrease our stress levels.
Catch you in the episode! As always, I'm cheering for your success!
xo
Your Homeschool Coach,
Inga
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
How spontaneous are you? Or better yet, how spontaneous do you want to be in your homeschooling?
When I think about spontaneity, I really think about being able to embrace whatever
the moment that you're in with authenticity and freedom.
You're able to be creative. You're able to do something at the spur of the moment,
whether it's in the lesson or whether it's just changing completely the day
(00:23):
and going and do something else.
But being able to do that means that you You have to truly feel free in your homeschool.
So today we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about what can
we do to just leave room for spontaneity. We're going to talk about why it's so good to do it.
And then I'm going to give you some simple and practical tips about how you
(00:45):
can make space for it in your homeschool.
So if you're ready, then go ahead and grab your favorite tea and let's do it.
Just like the safety instructions on an airplane, we must secure our own oxygen
mask before helping others.
Well, this is your reminder.
Music.
(02:04):
Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Catch Your Breath podcast.
I'm Inga, and I am excited that you are here with me again. And if this is your
first time, thank you for joining me.
Today, we're gonna be talking about leaving room for spontaneity because we
did an episode on the myth of the fun mom and really having some more fun and
(02:27):
got a lot of feedback, great feedback.
So I'm so glad that you're listening. But then also, as I've been talking to moms,
really think that we are in this place of we want to have some structure,
but also we want to have an opportunity to kind of do some things different
if we feel like it. So that's what we're going to talk about today.
(02:48):
But before we do, we have to check in. So how are you doing?
How are you taking care of yourself right now?
I'm pausing because I really want you to ask and answer that question.
I remember I had to meet in front of a lawyer and they, a long time ago,
I didn't do anything wrong, but they were just talking about that if,
(03:11):
as they were prepping us and saying, if they ask you something and you answer
it, you can say ask and answered.
And so, and I thought about that, I think about that in my life,
that sometimes we ask a question and we don't answer it.
So I'm asking that question because I want you to answer.
How are you doing? Are you making time for you?
(03:32):
Or do you think that there's just no way because you don't have any room and
you don't have any space to fit in your needs?
If you think that, I just want to remind you that you have to make the time and make the space.
You have got to carve out that time. And a lot of times it's challenging to
(03:54):
carve out that time because we just don't even know what we would do with the time.
So there's nothing exciting about carving it out because we're just like,
what will we do with that?
So I'm going to challenge you to think about what you could do or would do for
yourself if you had the time.
And once you decide what that is, determine how much time that would take and then carve out. to do it.
(04:18):
This week, yes, I'm challenging you. This week, if you can do that,
find what that is, carve out the time and do it. Okay?
I know, you're like, oh, but listen, I know, I know, I know that if you don't
do it, it's not going to happen.
It isn't just going to happen just because you got to make it happen. So let's do that.
(04:39):
Okay? Both of us, we are in this together. So it's not just you,
it's me too. I have to remind myself when I'm going that I need to do that.
And as you're making time for the things that you want to do,
we got to make some time for some spontaneity. But I know, I know.
That probably what you're thinking is, I don't have time for spontaneity in
(05:00):
my homeschool day. And how can I be spontaneous in my homeschool day?
Because a lot of times what we're thinking is, it's going to mess it up.
It's going to mess everything up. We're going to fall behind.
It's going to get chaotic. I'm going to lose control.
Everybody's going to not be able to come back and do what they need to do.
I hear you. And I know where that comes from. And I have felt it too.
(05:24):
So you are not alone in that. but a lot
of times when we feel like we
cannot do a thing that is actually
not empowering we do not feel like we
have any power and when you feel like you don't have
power to do something you don't enjoy
that thing most often which is why it's so
(05:45):
important that as we're choosing to homeschool we remember that we're choosing
to homeschool just that thought just that mindset to remember Remember that
this is a choice that I get to make and it is a choice that I did make gives
us a little bit of power back because we recognize, oh, okay.
So if I chose to do this, I can then choose to make it look however it needs
(06:09):
to look for my children, for my family, for me.
So that's what we want to be able to do. Say we have some choice in this.
We are able to determine what this looks like.
When we do that, then we can say, so I have the freedom and the flexibility
to do something different if I want to.
(06:34):
And it's okay. But I know that that sounds easier said than done.
Trust me, I know because I've been there. Sometimes I'm still there.
And so I get it. So today I really want to help you to be comfortable with being
spontaneous and leaving some room for that.
But I want to give you some tips for how to do that because I know that that can feel really scared.
(06:58):
Number one, we have to get rid of the fear that we're going to fall behind if
we do anything different than what we were intending to do.
And the only way that we can get rid of that fear or really rein it in,
because we're always gonna have some of that fear.
I even find myself sometimes like, oh, we're behind kids and I have to pull myself in.
(07:21):
So the way that we're gonna rein that in is really by understanding what we mean by that.
Behind what? So if we had, we wrote on our lesson plan that we were going to
do lessons one through five, and then we didn't do,
we only got through lesson one through three, then going into the next week, we do feel behind.
(07:45):
And I understand that. But if we can refrain that and say, all right,
I'm making a choice for us to do this thing instead of this thing.
And then next week, we're going to work on these lessons. Then it changes it.
What's challenging about that, I know is if you have 180 days in your school
(08:07):
year and you have 180 lessons and you do something on one of those 180 days,
you do something on day 34 and you had it set that way,
then you feel like, well, now we're off because we were supposed to do on the certain time.
I want to encourage you. And this is a hard one.
(08:27):
This is actually a really hard one. So even though I'm saying it,
I'm going to tell you that it's going to be hard.
To believe me. And I understand why.
But you don't have to do every single lesson in the curriculum in order to see
progress or to have the outcome of what you're looking for.
And so part of that freedom, and we talked about that in the planning,
(08:51):
we talked about that in the curriculum hunting, is understanding the curriculum
that you're choosing so that you can see where you can can make adjustments.
That's number one. Number two, remember you have the freedom of your schedule.
So you can, if it's, so for instance, I know with Saxon and some of the really,
I can't even think of the word, but they kind of build on each other.
(09:13):
If you do not get to, let's say you have the 134.
You know that, okay, two builds on three, I mean, three builds on two,
five builds on four, nine builds on eight. And so you're just continuously building.
And so you don't wanna skip, but you can look through and say,
(09:33):
all right, so on this one, we're only gonna do the odds or we're only gonna
do the evens or I'm gonna actually, I'm seeing in this workbook,
like if you have CLU or something,
you see in this workbook that we're gonna talk about this and it had eight problems,
but we're feeling like we want to be able to do too,
I might say, all right, so let me teach them this and let me do an I do,
(09:55):
we do, you do, which is I'm gonna do it first to tell them we're gonna do it
together and then they're gonna do it.
And I might cut that down to three things that we're gonna, three problems maybe for what I'm teaching.
If I feel like, okay, today I need to do two lessons on this or you can extend the time.
So if you were gonna do 180, you can say, well, we're going to do 184 days, four more days.
(10:19):
What I'm saying is there are many different ways to approach it,
but I do want you to know that you do have the freedom in how you decide to do this.
So you don't have to feel like you have to do it exactly the way that it's written
in the curriculum, exactly the schedule that says that you might need to use.
You have freedom to be able to change it up, which can give you a little more
(10:41):
comfort in knowing that you have space to to make it up so you don't have to
feel like you're behind because you know you have another opportunity that you're
going to spend catching it up.
The other thing I want to encourage you about spontaneity is why it's good.
It's good because a lot of times it can motivate you to keep going.
I have been talking to moms and right now we are in that place,
(11:04):
many are in that place where they need the motivation to keep on going.
They know that they don't, we know that we do not want to send our children
to school, but we need motivation to keep going.
Sometimes putting in some spontaneity is just the thing you need to be able to do that.
And so making room, making space for that allows you to do that and still feel
(11:30):
like, okay, this is good.
I'm still having fun. I'm still enjoying myself.
When you have spontaneity, it is going to reduce your stress.
It is going to energize you and it's going
to give you something to look forward to if you know and
while it's it's it's like you're spanning you're you're planning for spontaneity
so it's not spontaneous but you're leaving room for it so you actually know
(11:54):
that you're going to have an opportunity to do something that's enjoyable and
that's fun remember that your spontaneity cannot be planned,
but you can leave space for it.
One of the fun things that I like to do is think about what would be fun today.
(12:15):
And for me, my spontaneity comes from in a lesson.
When I am thinking about when I'm getting materials ready, I'm like,
oh, this would be really fun.
And a lot of times it's just in that moment where we're transitioning and I'm
sitting with it and that's when it sparks me right then. And I'm like,
oh yeah, we should do this.
Let's do this. And so it might take me an extra five minutes to be like,
(12:38):
hold on for a second. I'm gonna get some cards. We're gonna do this thing. Let's do that.
Because I'm not just talking about spontaneity spontaneity in terms of like,
well, let's go to the park today, which you can do.
But I just mean within any part of your lesson that you're not holding yourself back.
So maybe thinking of it as this opportunity to be really creative in a way that
(12:58):
you might not allow yourself to be.
So I like to have one of the things that I'll say to help you with spontaneity
is just to have have a bin or a bucket or a place for those things that are fun,
but that you can't really figure out how to use them.
So balls, Nerf guns, Nerf guns are spectacular things to have.
(13:21):
And there's so many academic instructional ways that you can use Nerf guns if
you are trying to figure out how to use it in your day.
So things like Nerf guns, Play-Doh, balls, I'm trying to think of all the things.
I cannot think of all the things, but just having a bin or a basket or something like like that.
And then when you're teaching, because you have them there, as you're looking
(13:45):
at your, whatever you're doing with them, thinking like, I wonder what could
I do to make this really interesting or engaging?
Or how can I, I am always asking the things that they love. So they love soccer.
They love Rubik's cube, slime, Nerf guns.
So having kind of that list of the things that that they love and then thinking,
(14:06):
how can I use this in the lesson?
And for me, my spontaneity, my creativity doesn't always happen as deeply as
I want it to be in the planning period.
So as I'm thinking about planning the night before, I don't get those like bursts.
Sometimes I will, but a lot of times I'll get it right in the moment when I'm
transitioning or when I see that energy is low or whatever. And so leaving space for that.
(14:29):
And so a lot of times that's why I don't feel like I'm behind because I'm doing
it as a part of whatever we want to learn.
So having, preparing for it, pretty much preparing for spontaneity,
but just leaving room and space and things in that place to do it.
Another thing that sounds like it might be contradictory to spontaneity.
(14:49):
Spontaneity is having a plug and play day.
This is what I mean by that. You have your day set up either on your paper planner
or if you have a digital planner or even just a spreadsheet.
With my clients, I just use a basic Excel spreadsheet so we can kind of go over
it and you're just putting your times and your days and blocking it out,
(15:12):
the things that have to be where they are and then looking at plugging in some
of those other parts of your day.
And so plug and play to me is like, I have this framework of what we have to do.
And then I know that I am doing, well, let's say Saxon is really math.
Bible and math are kind of my most concrete plug and plays. I'm actually thinking,
(15:38):
let me be clear, let me think in my head.
So for me, my plug and play would be Bible time.
And I'll talk about what what that is in a second. Bible time,
math time, spelling time.
And I think there's one more, but I know that those are for sure the ones.
And so what happens is I know that we start with Bible, then we do math,
(15:58):
then we do spelling, then we do our language arts.
And so I have that block that's Bible.
And I usually have a way that we do Bible, Bible time.
But because that is like a plug it in, we play, we know we do that.
That also allows me room for spontaneity because I already know I don't have
(16:21):
to really think about what we're doing during that time because I know that that's what happens.
And so as we are learning something, because that's the time we do it every
single day, we always start with it.
That just gives me an opportunity to be like, oh, we could do this because I
know that this is what's coming up.
They know that we do math at this right after we do Bible, not necessarily by
the clock, but more so by this is the next thing that we do.
(16:45):
So as they are doing that, I know that gives me an opportunity because the next
time, the next thing we're going to do is our spelling to say,
oh, you know what? We could do this with spelling.
Like we can get a Nerf gun and we can, you know, shoot the words or the letters
or the sounds or whatever.
And so what I'm saying is when you have a set kind of schedule and you know,
this is what's going to happen, I believe it leaves room for it because I don't
(17:10):
have to think about what I have to do every single time,
which then allows my brain to go to the creative place.
And as I'm saying this, I know there's this whole scientific thing about like
decision fatigue and all of that. And I think it's related to that.
But I just know when I have that and I don't have to think about what's coming
or what I have to do because I know...
(17:31):
For those subjects, I have spelling thing. We just go lesson to lesson.
For language arts, I know if we were on lesson 32, the next lesson is 33.
And so because of that, and I can just quickly look at it and see what we're
gonna do, that's where my spontaneity can come.
I click, oh yeah, we could do this. We could go do this in the park or we can do this outside.
When I have to really think about all the things that I'm trying to do,
(17:55):
my creativity goes there and that's where I spend the majority of my time.
And then I don't really have a lot more energy or capacity or really,
if we're honest, desire to figure some things out.
So that's why I think plug and play works.
So how do you do that? You map out your day.
You plug in the things that don't change.
So if you know that you have co-op on certain days, then you plug that in.
(18:19):
You know that doesn't change.
If you have subjects that you do first every single time, you plug that in.
And then you can look at those different places as opportunities to do something
different within that time or you also know that you could shift and adjust
but because you know this is what happens every single time,
(18:41):
I think it just gives you peace of mind that you are gonna get to the thing because you know,
okay, this is, we do have a time in our day for that.
So I wanna encourage you that you can,
Make space and time to be spontaneous, to have some fun, to do those things
(19:03):
that bring you joy, to do the things that bring your child joy.
And you're not losing anything because of that.
And if we can change our mindset around what that means, what failure means,
what falling behind means, and recognize that we aren't.
And and when I when I have clients who say
(19:24):
that I say falling behind what because a lot of
times it's not just falling behind our schedule it's
really this thought of this is where they should be and you know how I feel
about shoulds and so really reframing our mindset around I am facilitating this
education so I have room and time and space to do those things that will bring
(19:46):
some joy, will spark some interest,
will help us to want to do more in the day.
So what do we do with this? I'm going to encourage you to take a moment each
week to map out your proposed plan.
We can call it a proposed plan because we don't have to feel stressed if we
do not follow that way. And then to be a detective throughout the day.
(20:08):
As I said, I find it easier to do in the moment because that's where the spontaneity
comes. But if I just have that plan, I'm looking.
As I'm looking at the beginning of each day or in the lesson,
I can just decide, okay, let's do this thing.
And then I want to leave you with this. If you don't feel like you're the spontaneous
type, this is not the episode to make you feel guilty.
(20:32):
If that is something you desire and you want, then pray about it and ask for it.
But if it's not who you are, it's okay. okay, I truly believe that God created
you as he created you to be who he has created you to be, to do what he has called you to do.
And whoever you are, that's who you are.
(20:54):
And so if you do not desire to be spontaneous or if you feel like you're not
spontaneous and you want to be, then just pray about it.
But please do not compare, do not judge and do not leave this episode if you
stayed through listening, thinking, okay, now this is another thing that I have to do.
Do not want that. So we're gonna look for a moment this week to map out our proposed plan.
(21:16):
And I'm starting something really fun with my clients. I'm actually really excited
about it. I've wanted to do it for a long time.
And I've been talking to one of my friends who had an idea and she just implemented it.
And then talking to another friend who was like, you know, I'm just gonna do
this and implemented it.
And as I was talking to them, and it's like, I've been having these ideas forever,
(21:38):
I realized that one of the things I do is have ideas, sit on it,
stew on it, overthink it, and then I don't do it.
And so I haven't done this when I'm doing it. We're gonna be having planning
parties starting in February where we get to plan together, which makes me really exciting.
And if you're not a client, that's okay, because I'm going to invite you to
one of them that you can come and experience it and have some fun with us.
(22:01):
And I'm doing this because I really want us to take back planning and really enjoy it.
As I've been talking to people, I know that there's a lot of stress that can come around that.
And I want to see what happens if we change the way that we look at planning.
You know, I did a whole series on planning, so you have to go back to that.
But even from that, I've heard people say it was amazing, but I'm overwhelmed
(22:22):
with that whole process.
And so we're going to be doing, this is going to be our weekly planning for
our weeks and our lessons and we're going to do it together as a community.
So look for that. And if you're not a client, look for the invite to join us to do that.
And as you're now doing this by yourself, as you're planning your day,
(22:44):
as you're plugging and playing, as you're looking for spontaneity,
and you do it, because I really pray that you would do it.
And no stress, no expectation to do it every day or anything.
It's not a challenge, just an invitation to do it.
Once you do it, that you will, A, pray for inspiration to do this if this is
something that you want to do. I called it an inspired moment.
(23:05):
You sometimes, you know, we're caught in that, which is the one.
And so I believe you can be a detective, but you can fuel yourself with prayer.
So ask God for an inspired moment if you do want to do something spontaneous.
And then you have to then act on it when you have it, because that's the hardest
part is is to get it and then say, nah, it's gonna take too much work.
(23:27):
Or it's gonna, you know, if the idea that you have feels like it's gonna take
too much work, then ask yourself, what can I do that can be less work?
Is there a part of this that I can do? Is there a simplified version of this?
And then most important, reflect on it after you've done it.
Ask yourself, how did it feel?
(23:47):
How did it affect your day? How did it affect your stress?
How did it affect the mood of your children? How did it affect you going back
and doing whatever the thing was you were supposed to do after that?
And just be honest with yourself. If you're like, it was too stressful,
it was crazy trying to get everybody back in, say that.
And so you can now say, is it worth it? Did it work?
(24:08):
What didn't work about it? But also if it was great, then you will get a little
pump there to try to do it again.
I pray that you will find more moments, more inspired moments to be spontaneous.
If that's something you desire and I cannot wait to hear how it works for you.
So you know what I'm going to say.
(24:29):
Come on into our homeschool community, share what you've done or what you hope
to do, what was interesting or fun about being spontaneous or shoot me an email
because I just want to hear your stories.
I want to know if this is resonating with you. All right. I'll see you next time.
Thank you for tuning in. I hope that this episode empowered,
(24:49):
equipped, and most of all, encouraged you.
Don't forget to share your thoughts on today's topics because I'd love to hear
how you're implementing these strategies.
And you can do that in the free community where you can connect with me and.
Music.
Other like-minded moms who get some practical tips for homeschooling and teaching
your child, managing your stress and prioritizing your self-care.
You can also ask questions there, you can participate in the fun challenges
(25:13):
and of course you can celebrate your wins because we like to party over there.
Also if this was helpful and you
know that it can be helpful to someone else leave a review
or share this with another homeschooling mom who
needs to catch her mommy well that's
my cue but before i go i want to leave you with these words
from philippians 4 6 through 7 i pray that you won't be anxious about anything
(25:37):
but that in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving you would
present your request to God and that you will experience the kind of peace that
surpasses understanding as you navigate the stresses of life and homeschooling.
Until next time, remember to take a moment.
Music.
How spontaneous are you? Or better yet, how spontaneous do you want to be in your homeschooling?
When I think about spontaneity, I really think about being able to embrace whatever
the moment that you're in with authenticity and freedom.
You're able to be creative. You're able to do something at the spur of the moment,
whether it's in the lesson or whether it's just changing completely the day
(00:23):
and going and do something else.
But being able to do that means that you You have to truly feel free in your homeschool.
So today we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about what can
we do to just leave room for spontaneity. We're going to talk about why it's so good to do it.
And then I'm going to give you some simple and practical tips about how you
(00:45):
can make space for it in your homeschool.
So if you're ready, then go ahead and grab your favorite tea and let's do it.
Just like the safety instructions on an airplane, we must secure our own oxygen
mask before helping others.
Well, this is your reminder.
Music.
(02:04):
Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Catch Your Breath podcast.
I'm Inga, and I am excited that you are here with me again. And if this is your
first time, thank you for joining me.
Today, we're gonna be talking about leaving room for spontaneity because we
did an episode on the myth of the fun mom and really having some more fun and
(02:27):
got a lot of feedback, great feedback.
So I'm so glad that you're listening. But then also, as I've been talking to moms,
really think that we are in this place of we want to have some structure,
but also we want to have an opportunity to kind of do some things different
if we feel like it. So that's what we're going to talk about today.
(02:48):
But before we do, we have to check in. So how are you doing?
How are you taking care of yourself right now?
I'm pausing because I really want you to ask and answer that question.
I remember I had to meet in front of a lawyer and they, a long time ago,
I didn't do anything wrong, but they were just talking about that if,
(03:11):
as they were prepping us and saying, if they ask you something and you answer
it, you can say ask and answered.
And so, and I thought about that, I think about that in my life,
that sometimes we ask a question and we don't answer it.
So I'm asking that question because I want you to answer.
How are you doing? Are you making time for you?
(03:32):
Or do you think that there's just no way because you don't have any room and
you don't have any space to fit in your needs?
If you think that, I just want to remind you that you have to make the time and make the space.
You have got to carve out that time. And a lot of times it's challenging to
(03:54):
carve out that time because we just don't even know what we would do with the time.
So there's nothing exciting about carving it out because we're just like,
what will we do with that?
So I'm going to challenge you to think about what you could do or would do for
yourself if you had the time.
And once you decide what that is, determine how much time that would take and then carve out. to do it.
(04:18):
This week, yes, I'm challenging you. This week, if you can do that,
find what that is, carve out the time and do it. Okay?
I know, you're like, oh, but listen, I know, I know, I know that if you don't
do it, it's not going to happen.
It isn't just going to happen just because you got to make it happen. So let's do that.
(04:39):
Okay? Both of us, we are in this together. So it's not just you,
it's me too. I have to remind myself when I'm going that I need to do that.
And as you're making time for the things that you want to do,
we got to make some time for some spontaneity. But I know, I know.
That probably what you're thinking is, I don't have time for spontaneity in
(05:00):
my homeschool day. And how can I be spontaneous in my homeschool day?
Because a lot of times what we're thinking is, it's going to mess it up.
It's going to mess everything up. We're going to fall behind.
It's going to get chaotic. I'm going to lose control.
Everybody's going to not be able to come back and do what they need to do.
I hear you. And I know where that comes from. And I have felt it too.
(05:24):
So you are not alone in that. but a lot
of times when we feel like we
cannot do a thing that is actually
not empowering we do not feel like we
have any power and when you feel like you don't have
power to do something you don't enjoy
that thing most often which is why it's so
(05:45):
important that as we're choosing to homeschool we remember that we're choosing
to homeschool just that thought just that mindset to remember Remember that
this is a choice that I get to make and it is a choice that I did make gives
us a little bit of power back because we recognize, oh, okay.
So if I chose to do this, I can then choose to make it look however it needs
(06:09):
to look for my children, for my family, for me.
So that's what we want to be able to do. Say we have some choice in this.
We are able to determine what this looks like.
When we do that, then we can say, so I have the freedom and the flexibility
to do something different if I want to.
(06:34):
And it's okay. But I know that that sounds easier said than done.
Trust me, I know because I've been there. Sometimes I'm still there.
And so I get it. So today I really want to help you to be comfortable with being
spontaneous and leaving some room for that.
But I want to give you some tips for how to do that because I know that that can feel really scared.
(06:58):
Number one, we have to get rid of the fear that we're going to fall behind if
we do anything different than what we were intending to do.
And the only way that we can get rid of that fear or really rein it in,
because we're always gonna have some of that fear.
I even find myself sometimes like, oh, we're behind kids and I have to pull myself in.
(07:21):
So the way that we're gonna rein that in is really by understanding what we mean by that.
Behind what? So if we had, we wrote on our lesson plan that we were going to
do lessons one through five, and then we didn't do,
we only got through lesson one through three, then going into the next week, we do feel behind.
(07:45):
And I understand that. But if we can refrain that and say, all right,
I'm making a choice for us to do this thing instead of this thing.
And then next week, we're going to work on these lessons. Then it changes it.
What's challenging about that, I know is if you have 180 days in your school
(08:07):
year and you have 180 lessons and you do something on one of those 180 days,
you do something on day 34 and you had it set that way,
then you feel like, well, now we're off because we were supposed to do on the certain time.
I want to encourage you. And this is a hard one.
(08:27):
This is actually a really hard one. So even though I'm saying it,
I'm going to tell you that it's going to be hard.
To believe me. And I understand why.
But you don't have to do every single lesson in the curriculum in order to see
progress or to have the outcome of what you're looking for.
And so part of that freedom, and we talked about that in the planning,
(08:51):
we talked about that in the curriculum hunting, is understanding the curriculum
that you're choosing so that you can see where you can can make adjustments.
That's number one. Number two, remember you have the freedom of your schedule.
So you can, if it's, so for instance, I know with Saxon and some of the really,
I can't even think of the word, but they kind of build on each other.
(09:13):
If you do not get to, let's say you have the 134.
You know that, okay, two builds on three, I mean, three builds on two,
five builds on four, nine builds on eight. And so you're just continuously building.
And so you don't wanna skip, but you can look through and say,
(09:33):
all right, so on this one, we're only gonna do the odds or we're only gonna
do the evens or I'm gonna actually, I'm seeing in this workbook,
like if you have CLU or something,
you see in this workbook that we're gonna talk about this and it had eight problems,
but we're feeling like we want to be able to do too,
I might say, all right, so let me teach them this and let me do an I do,
(09:55):
we do, you do, which is I'm gonna do it first to tell them we're gonna do it
together and then they're gonna do it.
And I might cut that down to three things that we're gonna, three problems maybe for what I'm teaching.
If I feel like, okay, today I need to do two lessons on this or you can extend the time.
So if you were gonna do 180, you can say, well, we're going to do 184 days, four more days.
(10:19):
What I'm saying is there are many different ways to approach it,
but I do want you to know that you do have the freedom in how you decide to do this.
So you don't have to feel like you have to do it exactly the way that it's written
in the curriculum, exactly the schedule that says that you might need to use.
You have freedom to be able to change it up, which can give you a little more
(10:41):
comfort in knowing that you have space to to make it up so you don't have to
feel like you're behind because you know you have another opportunity that you're
going to spend catching it up.
The other thing I want to encourage you about spontaneity is why it's good.
It's good because a lot of times it can motivate you to keep going.
I have been talking to moms and right now we are in that place,
(11:04):
many are in that place where they need the motivation to keep on going.
They know that they don't, we know that we do not want to send our children
to school, but we need motivation to keep going.
Sometimes putting in some spontaneity is just the thing you need to be able to do that.
And so making room, making space for that allows you to do that and still feel
(11:30):
like, okay, this is good.
I'm still having fun. I'm still enjoying myself.
When you have spontaneity, it is going to reduce your stress.
It is going to energize you and it's going
to give you something to look forward to if you know and
while it's it's it's like you're spanning you're you're planning for spontaneity
so it's not spontaneous but you're leaving room for it so you actually know
(11:54):
that you're going to have an opportunity to do something that's enjoyable and
that's fun remember that your spontaneity cannot be planned,
but you can leave space for it.
One of the fun things that I like to do is think about what would be fun today.
(12:15):
And for me, my spontaneity comes from in a lesson.
When I am thinking about when I'm getting materials ready, I'm like,
oh, this would be really fun.
And a lot of times it's just in that moment where we're transitioning and I'm
sitting with it and that's when it sparks me right then. And I'm like,
oh yeah, we should do this.
Let's do this. And so it might take me an extra five minutes to be like,
(12:38):
hold on for a second. I'm gonna get some cards. We're gonna do this thing. Let's do that.
Because I'm not just talking about spontaneity spontaneity in terms of like,
well, let's go to the park today, which you can do.
But I just mean within any part of your lesson that you're not holding yourself back.
So maybe thinking of it as this opportunity to be really creative in a way that
(12:58):
you might not allow yourself to be.
So I like to have one of the things that I'll say to help you with spontaneity
is just to have have a bin or a bucket or a place for those things that are fun,
but that you can't really figure out how to use them.
So balls, Nerf guns, Nerf guns are spectacular things to have.
(13:21):
And there's so many academic instructional ways that you can use Nerf guns if
you are trying to figure out how to use it in your day.
So things like Nerf guns, Play-Doh, balls, I'm trying to think of all the things.
I cannot think of all the things, but just having a bin or a basket or something like like that.
And then when you're teaching, because you have them there, as you're looking
(13:45):
at your, whatever you're doing with them, thinking like, I wonder what could
I do to make this really interesting or engaging?
Or how can I, I am always asking the things that they love. So they love soccer.
They love Rubik's cube, slime, Nerf guns.
So having kind of that list of the things that that they love and then thinking,
(14:06):
how can I use this in the lesson?
And for me, my spontaneity, my creativity doesn't always happen as deeply as
I want it to be in the planning period.
So as I'm thinking about planning the night before, I don't get those like bursts.
Sometimes I will, but a lot of times I'll get it right in the moment when I'm
transitioning or when I see that energy is low or whatever. And so leaving space for that.
(14:29):
And so a lot of times that's why I don't feel like I'm behind because I'm doing
it as a part of whatever we want to learn.
So having, preparing for it, pretty much preparing for spontaneity,
but just leaving room and space and things in that place to do it.
Another thing that sounds like it might be contradictory to spontaneity.
(14:49):
Spontaneity is having a plug and play day.
This is what I mean by that. You have your day set up either on your paper planner
or if you have a digital planner or even just a spreadsheet.
With my clients, I just use a basic Excel spreadsheet so we can kind of go over
it and you're just putting your times and your days and blocking it out,
(15:12):
the things that have to be where they are and then looking at plugging in some
of those other parts of your day.
And so plug and play to me is like, I have this framework of what we have to do.
And then I know that I am doing, well, let's say Saxon is really math.
Bible and math are kind of my most concrete plug and plays. I'm actually thinking,
(15:38):
let me be clear, let me think in my head.
So for me, my plug and play would be Bible time.
And I'll talk about what what that is in a second. Bible time,
math time, spelling time.
And I think there's one more, but I know that those are for sure the ones.
And so what happens is I know that we start with Bible, then we do math,
(15:58):
then we do spelling, then we do our language arts.
And so I have that block that's Bible.
And I usually have a way that we do Bible, Bible time.
But because that is like a plug it in, we play, we know we do that.
That also allows me room for spontaneity because I already know I don't have
(16:21):
to really think about what we're doing during that time because I know that that's what happens.
And so as we are learning something, because that's the time we do it every
single day, we always start with it.
That just gives me an opportunity to be like, oh, we could do this because I
know that this is what's coming up.
They know that we do math at this right after we do Bible, not necessarily by
the clock, but more so by this is the next thing that we do.
(16:45):
So as they are doing that, I know that gives me an opportunity because the next
time, the next thing we're going to do is our spelling to say,
oh, you know what? We could do this with spelling.
Like we can get a Nerf gun and we can, you know, shoot the words or the letters
or the sounds or whatever.
And so what I'm saying is when you have a set kind of schedule and you know,
this is what's going to happen, I believe it leaves room for it because I don't
(17:10):
have to think about what I have to do every single time,
which then allows my brain to go to the creative place.
And as I'm saying this, I know there's this whole scientific thing about like
decision fatigue and all of that. And I think it's related to that.
But I just know when I have that and I don't have to think about what's coming
or what I have to do because I know...
(17:31):
For those subjects, I have spelling thing. We just go lesson to lesson.
For language arts, I know if we were on lesson 32, the next lesson is 33.
And so because of that, and I can just quickly look at it and see what we're
gonna do, that's where my spontaneity can come.
I click, oh yeah, we could do this. We could go do this in the park or we can do this outside.
When I have to really think about all the things that I'm trying to do,
(17:55):
my creativity goes there and that's where I spend the majority of my time.
And then I don't really have a lot more energy or capacity or really,
if we're honest, desire to figure some things out.
So that's why I think plug and play works.
So how do you do that? You map out your day.
You plug in the things that don't change.
So if you know that you have co-op on certain days, then you plug that in.
(18:19):
You know that doesn't change.
If you have subjects that you do first every single time, you plug that in.
And then you can look at those different places as opportunities to do something
different within that time or you also know that you could shift and adjust
but because you know this is what happens every single time,
(18:41):
I think it just gives you peace of mind that you are gonna get to the thing because you know,
okay, this is, we do have a time in our day for that.
So I wanna encourage you that you can,
Make space and time to be spontaneous, to have some fun, to do those things
(19:03):
that bring you joy, to do the things that bring your child joy.
And you're not losing anything because of that.
And if we can change our mindset around what that means, what failure means,
what falling behind means, and recognize that we aren't.
And and when I when I have clients who say
(19:24):
that I say falling behind what because a lot of
times it's not just falling behind our schedule it's
really this thought of this is where they should be and you know how I feel
about shoulds and so really reframing our mindset around I am facilitating this
education so I have room and time and space to do those things that will bring
(19:46):
some joy, will spark some interest,
will help us to want to do more in the day.
So what do we do with this? I'm going to encourage you to take a moment each
week to map out your proposed plan.
We can call it a proposed plan because we don't have to feel stressed if we
do not follow that way. And then to be a detective throughout the day.
(20:08):
As I said, I find it easier to do in the moment because that's where the spontaneity
comes. But if I just have that plan, I'm looking.
As I'm looking at the beginning of each day or in the lesson,
I can just decide, okay, let's do this thing.
And then I want to leave you with this. If you don't feel like you're the spontaneous
type, this is not the episode to make you feel guilty.
(20:32):
If that is something you desire and you want, then pray about it and ask for it.
But if it's not who you are, it's okay. okay, I truly believe that God created
you as he created you to be who he has created you to be, to do what he has called you to do.
And whoever you are, that's who you are.
(20:54):
And so if you do not desire to be spontaneous or if you feel like you're not
spontaneous and you want to be, then just pray about it.
But please do not compare, do not judge and do not leave this episode if you
stayed through listening, thinking, okay, now this is another thing that I have to do.
Do not want that. So we're gonna look for a moment this week to map out our proposed plan.
(21:16):
And I'm starting something really fun with my clients. I'm actually really excited
about it. I've wanted to do it for a long time.
And I've been talking to one of my friends who had an idea and she just implemented it.
And then talking to another friend who was like, you know, I'm just gonna do
this and implemented it.
And as I was talking to them, and it's like, I've been having these ideas forever,
(21:38):
I realized that one of the things I do is have ideas, sit on it,
stew on it, overthink it, and then I don't do it.
And so I haven't done this when I'm doing it. We're gonna be having planning
parties starting in February where we get to plan together, which makes me really exciting.
And if you're not a client, that's okay, because I'm going to invite you to
one of them that you can come and experience it and have some fun with us.
(22:01):
And I'm doing this because I really want us to take back planning and really enjoy it.
As I've been talking to people, I know that there's a lot of stress that can come around that.
And I want to see what happens if we change the way that we look at planning.
You know, I did a whole series on planning, so you have to go back to that.
But even from that, I've heard people say it was amazing, but I'm overwhelmed
(22:22):
with that whole process.
And so we're going to be doing, this is going to be our weekly planning for
our weeks and our lessons and we're going to do it together as a community.
So look for that. And if you're not a client, look for the invite to join us to do that.
And as you're now doing this by yourself, as you're planning your day,
(22:44):
as you're plugging and playing, as you're looking for spontaneity,
and you do it, because I really pray that you would do it.
And no stress, no expectation to do it every day or anything.
It's not a challenge, just an invitation to do it.
Once you do it, that you will, A, pray for inspiration to do this if this is
something that you want to do. I called it an inspired moment.
(23:05):
You sometimes, you know, we're caught in that, which is the one.
And so I believe you can be a detective, but you can fuel yourself with prayer.
So ask God for an inspired moment if you do want to do something spontaneous.
And then you have to then act on it when you have it, because that's the hardest
part is is to get it and then say, nah, it's gonna take too much work.
(23:27):
Or it's gonna, you know, if the idea that you have feels like it's gonna take
too much work, then ask yourself, what can I do that can be less work?
Is there a part of this that I can do? Is there a simplified version of this?
And then most important, reflect on it after you've done it.
Ask yourself, how did it feel?
(23:47):
How did it affect your day? How did it affect your stress?
How did it affect the mood of your children? How did it affect you going back
and doing whatever the thing was you were supposed to do after that?
And just be honest with yourself. If you're like, it was too stressful,
it was crazy trying to get everybody back in, say that.
And so you can now say, is it worth it? Did it work?
(24:08):
What didn't work about it? But also if it was great, then you will get a little
pump there to try to do it again.
I pray that you will find more moments, more inspired moments to be spontaneous.
If that's something you desire and I cannot wait to hear how it works for you.
So you know what I'm going to say.
(24:29):
Come on into our homeschool community, share what you've done or what you hope
to do, what was interesting or fun about being spontaneous or shoot me an email
because I just want to hear your stories.
I want to know if this is resonating with you. All right. I'll see you next time.
Thank you for tuning in. I hope that this episode empowered,
(24:49):
equipped, and most of all, encouraged you.
Don't forget to share your thoughts on today's topics because I'd love to hear
how you're implementing these strategies.
And you can do that in the free community where you can connect with me and.
Music.
Other like-minded moms who get some practical tips for homeschooling and teaching
your child, managing your stress and prioritizing your self-care.
You can also ask questions there, you can participate in the fun challenges
(25:13):
and of course you can celebrate your wins because we like to party over there.
Also if this was helpful and you
know that it can be helpful to someone else leave a review
or share this with another homeschooling mom who
needs to catch her mommy well that's
my cue but before i go i want to leave you with these words
from philippians 4 6 through 7 i pray that you won't be anxious about anything
(25:37):
but that in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving you would
present your request to God and that you will experience the kind of peace that
surpasses understanding as you navigate the stresses of life and homeschooling.
Until next time, remember to take a moment.
Music.
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