give give give

I was just looking at Sandra Dodd's website and there she has written the "formula" on how to unschool. It is tongue in cheek, but ultimately very moving. What she says applies not just to unschoolers but to all parents, I think. What she says to do, is give.

If you want to measure, measure generously. If you want to give, give generously. If you want to unschool, or be a mindful parent, give, give, give. You'll find after a few years that you still have everything you thought you had given away, and more.

So many people say, "How do you do it? I couldn't. I'd need time for myself." When I began homeschooling, I received a lot of responses from people who said, "But what about your writing?", and "What about time for you?" I thought this might be an issue too, but wanted to homeschool more than anything. So I put time for me on the backburner. In the beginning, I put all my energy into "teaching" my kids, and yes, I found little time for myself. But what I found as the year passed was that the things I loved, were the things my kids loved too.

"Time for me" used to involve riding my bike alone, going for a swim or bushwalk, writing and reading books. Well, guess what I do (and have actually done for years) with my kids! It is wonderful, sharing my passions with them. And as the year has passed, I found that the more we embraced homeschooling and the giving that involved, the more responsive and supportive my children became. So that when I say now, "I'm going to do some writing," or I simply sit at the computer to work, the kids are interested and excited about what I am doing. I am leading by example, showing my kids that I have interests too.

I believe, and believe passionately, that if you give, as Sandra says, and give with all your heart, with no expectation of receiving something in return, good things will happen to you—they won't be able to help themselves. You will receive such a sense of love, from your children, for yourself, and you will appreciate and be sensitive to the world around you because you are putting love first, and giving first. When you give with all your heart, you feed your spirit.