25 February 2013

Why it’s Essential I Love My Own Ideas

I wrote this post this afternoon and then had some additional thoughts. I don’t know if I expressed what I wanted to say at all well, so I reverted the original post to draft. More thinking needed! Does that ever happen to you?

I guess the thought I was trying to express was that if parents feel enthusiastic and excited about learning, the chances are their children will too. Enthusiasm is contagious. (The converse is also true. When I have been unhappy about homeschooling, things didn’t go well at all.) When I share ideas I love, my children really pick up on my enthusiasm. They nearly always want to try them out for themselves.

But I don’t have to provide all the ideas. My children have great ideas of their own. It’s these ideas which excite me the most.

I did share an idea in my original post. I’ll post it again just in case you are interested…

The other day I had an idea.

“Hey, Sophie! Gemma-Rose! Do you want to hear my latest idea?”

They all came running, eager to hear what I’d come up with.

“What if I print small versions of those Vermeer paintings I’ve hung on the wall, one for each of you? You could start an art collection of your own.”

“Wow! That sounds like a great idea,” said Sophie.

The girls love collecting things. I guess all kids do. Card collections are especially fun. Did you ever collect cards as a child, swapping them until you had a whole set? I’ve enjoyed flipping through cards, sorting them out, arranging them in order… More recently, I’ve collected holy cards. There’s something appealing about having lots of different cards that belong to a set.

So I printed off small copies of the Vermeer paintings onto sheets of matte photographic paper.  I was careful to choose a printing option that allowed the whole image to be displayed, and not be trimmed to fit the template. I wanted to keep all the details of the paintings. The cards turned out quite large. I probably could have got away with making them smaller.

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I wrote the painting’s and artist’s names on the back of each card. I added the date Vermeer painted each picture. And then I gave them to the girls.

Sophie and Gemma-Rose were eager to show their cards to the older girls.

“Look what Mum made for us! We’re going to collect art cards!”

“Can I have some too?” asked Charlotte.

I looked at Imogen. “You too?” She nodded enthusiastically. No one is too old for art cards it seems, even if your official homeschooling days are over. Actually, I’d also like a set of my own.

And now I’m wondering why it is me who is making the cards. The girls are quite capable of making them themselves. I shall show them how and then the whole card system will be entirely in their hands. I can step back and leave them to it. I can go off and think about my next great idea.Why is it essential I love my own ideas? Maybe that’s the wrong title, conveying the wrong impression. What I really meant to say was…

It is essential I love and enjoy homeschooling with my children. I think it would be very difficult to inspire them to love learning if I wasn’t excited about it myself.

What a messy post! Perhaps I should have just deleted everything. It’s one of those days when my brain feels dead, and probably this post holds nothing of value anyway. I do apologise!

“Gemma-Rose, come here quickly! Hold these cards for me. I want to take a photo.”

“But Mum… My hands are dirty. Look at my hair!”

“No one will notice.” 

And if anyone does, I’m sure they will understand I interrupted a great outside game. 

Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

6 Comments

  1. Passion runs in our family, doesn't it? And, yes, I can quite understand getting passionate about art. I've been thinking about a post on Vermeer's style and technique (why did he paint realistic scenes with doll-like subjects?)

    If you had a box, you could make an index card system and, if you printed on the other side, you could copy some interesting facts to go with them. You could build up a whole art appreciation set. Or you could print out greeting cards and have a collection ready for letters or birthdays.

    Love your ideas.
    God bless, Sue:-)

    • Vicky,

      You MUST write about Vermeer. "why did he paint realistic scenes with doll-like subjects?" I have no idea but I can't wait to find out.

      I hadn't thought about an index card system, though greetings cards had occurred to me. I could make some for my own use. You might receive some art cards in the post!

      I enjoy having ideas, but I think it's even more satisfying seeing the girls come up with their own ideas. I've got a few of these to share too. Much more exciting than my ideas!

      If a mother is enjoying homeschooling, the chances are her children are enjoying it too. I guess that's the thought I wanted to convey.

      Always good to mull over ideas and thoughts.

      God bless!

  2. Both your posts conveyed your idea, Sue:-)

    I just got distracted by the beautiful pictures! But, yes, I agree that our enthusiasm can make or break our homeschool. I've also found that the children are good about thinking up their own ideas and they can be just as passionate. Enthusiasm is definitely contagious.

    Now, your enthusiasm generated an enthusiasm in me – and I promptly forgot to listen to the message you were communicating!

    God bless, Sue:-)

    • Vicky,

      After discussing good communication skills on my other blog, it was rather funny I couldn't express myself as well as I'd have liked here. I was going to delete the post and start again, but the post link had gone into everyone's feeds. I hate it when I go looking for a post and it comes to a dead end. I just did a quick fix up instead. Probably only your comment was worth saving!

      I like how everyone has ideas. The kids see me thinking and putting my ideas into action, and they go and do the same.

      Thank you so much for writing a second comment!

  3. Another great idea! I still have swap cards from when I was a girl and most of them were given to me by my mum who'd collected them … antiques now I suppose. I love them and can't part with them … no idea why; I rarely look at them.

    By the way GR has the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes in that photo; who noticed anything else.

    • Lisa,

      It looks like card collecting has been popular for many years. What pictures are on your cards? I wonder if your girls like them.

      So glad you noticed the big blue eyes and not the grimy fingers! Oh well, I always like reality better than trying to look good.

      God bless!

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