Back-on-Track Homeschooling

Sometimes things happen that get us off-track, or we go through times of discouragement, despair, or even grief.

In my case, it was grief, as we recently suffered the loss of our family pet – our dog, Shannon. It’s been over a month now, and I’m still trying to come to terms with the loss.

But as I was taking a walk this morning, the beautiful fall leaves seemed to pull me out of my sadness. I remembered how our dog loved rolling in a big pile of autumn leaves, and the memory made me smile.

When I’m not working, writing, researching, or learning, I try to unwind by painting with watercolors, oils, or acrylics.

So I collected a few colorful leaves, took them back to my art studio, and commenced painting with watercolors. Soon, I was lost in the joy of painting and in the sweet memories of our dog playing in autumn leaves.

Now I feel like I’m coming through the other side of grief, and I can embrace the light and happiness again.

This might not be the best homeschool lesson, but it’s a lesson we all can learn from and can find useful in life:

Light does, indeed, always follow the dark.
And we can, indeed, find joy again, even in the midst of sadness or discouragement.

So, if you experience doubt, discouragement, or even despair when homeschooling, or during the course of a challenging day, take a break.

Take your children for a walk through nature. Be amazed by its beauty and mystery. Collect leaves, rocks, and most of all – precious memories!

Then take your collections – including those precious memories – back home and paint them, sketch them, craft with them, treasure them.

The beauty of nature, and time spent together, is often all that’s needed to create the best learning environment.

If interested in seeing a short video on overcoming grief through a simple painting like the one above, you can view it on my YouTube channel at MistyGlowStudio.com.

Happy homeschooling!