What's Important

Some of my clearest thinking I do lying in bed with my son, waiting for him to fall asleep, as long as I don't fall asleep as well. Tonight I realized that what matters to me, in the long run, is that I teach Raccoon about the important things. For me, this means:

Jesus
Reading
Math
Science
Music
Creativity
Physical Excellence

I like lists, and hopefully this one will help keep me focused as I rethink what I'm doing with Raccoon. In my blog reading of late, I've come across the "unschooling" concept. From what I can tell, it seems to be child-led homeschooling where they choose what to do, or not to do, depending on their current interests. I guess this is what I've been doing lately with Raccoon, although to me it just feels like I'm being lazy. He likes to have a movie in much of the time, even if he's not really watching it. His three current favorites are Mulan (he's really into swords and sticks right now), Winnie-the-Pooh, and a live concert collection of different orchestras.

I feel guilty letting him watch so much TV, since I feel like we should be doing something fun and "educational" instead of wasting his brain or - worse - damaging it. But surprisingly, his imaginary and independent play has really blossomed this last week or so that I've relaxed our TV rules. He likes to play out his favorite scenes using his toys (or whatever he can reach in the kitchen cupboards) as props. And although he likes to have me close, I get some me time (hmmm, what's that!?)

I'm not saying that this whole TV thing is going to be our new way of life, but perhaps there is some merit in the "unschooling" way after all. Maybe I'll build some into our new schedule. Three weeks on, one week off. This mother I read about said that they do homeschooling partly so that each family member (including parents!) has time to pursue personal interests. I like how this same mom describes her ideal as a "feast on learning without getting too schooly." What I'm really searching for is something that's good for Raccoon and has some "me" time built in... what a thought.