Not Demanding Perfection (My Current Experience As an Unschooling Parent)

What is it like to Unschool 3 kids when you struggle with mild chronic depression and ever-increasing levels of anxiety? It’s difficult. I question everything. Okay, so I happen to find questioning a virtue but sometimes it can drive me even madder. Although I question and doubt and worry about my energy level affecting them negatively, I always soothe myself by repeating the mantra I adopted from Holt, “They’re still better off here than they are at school.” Honestly, there are many things that can be improved upon, but I can only do what I can do. I’m not mentally, emotionally or physically capable of shuttling 3 kids from here to there and everywhere like some moms I know. We don’t have the money to put the kids in homeschool a la carte classes. I mean I’d take them to a class or two a week. I have before when we had a little more money, but the reality is, they’re happy and they’re developing their creativity beautifully everyday that goes by. They are learning to be self-sufficient critical thinkers. They’re picking up solid morals. When we participate in social actions together, when we help a friend, when we help a family stranded on the side of the road, when Jeff and I won’t stand for treating our fellow family members unfairly or unkindly in even the smallest way……when we actively reaccess our own behaviors and decide to let peace and love rule, when we let them hear and see controlled conflicts and how they are resolved, we are teaching them the most important knowledge they need to become good people. Many months ago, when I told an old friend that I didn’t care for standardized tests, she asked me, “Aren’t you curious to know whether they’re learning on the same level as schooled children are?” No, not really. It’s clear to me that they are much more knowledgeable about a lot of topics than traditionally schooled children are and there’s not a doubt in my mind that they would have trouble passing some arbitrary test on certain other topics. But I’m not the least bit worried…anymore. I used to be. But I’ve since evolved from that particular worrying. My children are bright and they love to learn. They are quite thirsty for knowledge and that’s right where they need to be. They don’t have a taste for certain things but that’s okay. We’ll keep introducing them to the least desirable stuff in subtle and creative ways, just like we do with food, in case their taste buds change. They’ll learn them when/if they want to and when /if they need to. I strongly believe that teaching them values, how to think critically, teaching them that they are loved and that they are wonderful people and that they can do amazing things with passion and practice…..is enough. It’s more than enough; it’s the key to happiness - theirs and the world’s.