Belief Makers

I've been thinking about breaking my internal watch. So many things are driven by time! I think time is a great construct, but can I just have it there as a structure, like the walls in my house, and not think about it all the time? The more I think about time, the less present I am. When I have lots to do, it's hard for me to settle down to allow the time required for 'slow' tasks, like being in the playroom or reading to my kids.

Don't get me wrong! I'm much better than I was. I just want to continue being aware that time is just a concept, a way of framing what we do, not something that controls me, and that I'm in control.

It comes back to being fully in every moment. The funny thing is that when I plan my time well, I can actually forget about time. For me, something as simple as blocking time for an activity frees me incredibly to enjoy the moments and be fully there.

A great example of this was one day last week. I cleared some time to read a Zachary story, a Simonne story, and then do some Math. I knew I had until 3pm to do those three things.

Once the time was cleared, I broke the watch! I decided not to watch time, to really relax and enjoy the interactions. This was not about checking something off my list.

We started by reading Saturn For My Birthday, and didn't go any further! We got sucked into an entire unit study on Saturn, why the planet would float, the relative size to earth, the moons, the solar system in general. We then looked at every other planet, the length of its days, its years, and so on.

I unearthed several books on the topic and we had a field day. Actually, a field ten-days. I was able to expose my inner artist (I did the sun and the background of the picture you're seeing below) and the children thoroughly enjoyed drawing and painting the planets and moons. Zachary wants to make a solar system mobile, so our Saturn inspired activities may continue for some time.

This is what happens when I create space for something,then allow the thing to completely saturate the space: delectable!

Yet, there is something about stopping to plan my time, the steady call of all the activities demanding my attention, that keeps me from planning. I have told myself that 'planning' is less important than 'doing'. (Hmmm... assessment or judgment?)

So, I've decided, if doing is important, then maybe planning is important too. Here's how I plan to help myself (I've decided to make this one of my challenges as I work with me in my own playroom). I will be challenging myself to see planning my time as a wonderful and enjoyable activity that gives me more time for what I want to do.

To do this:

1. I will enthusiastically and thoroughly celebrate all my attempts to plan
   
2. I will invite others to share planning time with me, because I enjoy people around me working on a similar project
   
3. I will actively recognize that there is no one to reprimand me for not planning, but me!
   

So don't be surprised if you hear me saying:

"Guess what I did today? I sat for ten full minutes and thought about what we would do in our home school tomorrow! It was wonderful!!"

If you really love doing and don't love planning, then maybe it's time to view planning as a wonderful way to help your doing! By planning our time, we can completely forget about time. By paying attention to time, we can ignore it. What a luxury!

Have great fun planning your time and then forgetting about it!

Labels: faith clarke, homeschool, planning, present, solar system