Perfection

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16565481.post-1130604059966577332005-10-29T09:32:00.000-07:002005-10-29T09:40:59.983-07:00PerfectionHere a portion of a post I put on Marsha Johnson's Waldorf list. It was written to a woman who wondered if she was the only one feeling that she wasn't providing a "perfect" Waldorf education to her children. I think the whole issue of guilt is very important and one that needs to be dealt with head on. I think that trying to provide the "perfect" Waldorf homeschool is a problem many of us struggle with. WE CANNOT BE PERFECT! So here is my response: Are there others who worry about creating the "perfect" Waldorf education.......you can add me to that list and many moms I know who are using Waldorf at home. I feel that Waldorf is very "guilt inducing" if you allow it to be. We cannot achieve a Waldorf school at home because we only have 1, 2 or a few children and we don't have the training (well some of us don't) and some of our children need something different once in a while to help them over a bump, etc, etc, etc. And I imagine that there isn't a "perfect" Waldorf school out there either. There is so MUCH to pull from in Waldorf, I can't imagine any teacher or parent can use it all! I can't/don't memorize stories for my children, sometimes I think the Grimm's stories are written so beautifully I want them to hear that beautiful language! I don't know much about Ancient India either! I have a home to clean and run and laundry to do and activities to get my children to. Some days I am lucky to work in some school work! Other days are beautiful, we have circle, we laugh, we play, we do our work, we bake bread......other days we struggle through 2 hours and then go our own way. That's homeschooling, isn't it? And we are choosing to do this because we don't want "the old school" for our children, we want beauty, freedom, creativity and time to be children for them! So we almost have to become "super moms" to achieve it. My dd has bipolar disorder and there are many days that we just can't get a lot done due to her moods. And my low energy level. Managing her bipolar disorder has to be a priority for all us in my house, it's sad because the rest of us miss out on some things, but it is the lot that we were given and she is a beautiful, generous, wonderfully smart child (it's often her intelligence that makes dealing with her the hardest) who deserves the best education I can give her. It ebbs and flows and I have to learn that it can't be "perfect". I was taught to be perfect, and I pay for that daily! You are not alone! KarenKaren Petznoreply@blogger.com