25 Mar Shift and Pivot – In Parenting and Homeschool

When our children struggle and what we have been doing is no longer working, we shift and pivot. It is a skill we learn very early on as parents. We apply it to everything from how and what we feed our children, to discipline, activities, and the choices we offer them. Every single aspect of parenting incorporates this skill – even how much freedom we do or do not allow our children. 

When we see that our child is struggling to wake up in the morning, we shift our routine and pivot to make bedtime thirty minutes earlier. When that doesn’t work, we shift and pivot again to make bedtime an hour earlier. Some of our parenting shifts and pivots are just that simple. Other parenting shifts and pivots happen with more intentional research, advice, support, and prayer. 

This principle applies in parenting and homeschool

When the math curriculum we have been using is no longer a good fit, we begin researching alternative options. We talk to other homeschooling families, scour the internet, and read blog posts. We shift and pivot to another curriculum that better meets the needs of our children. 

When we recognize that our child is an aspiring artist, actor, or musician, but know that the arts are subjects we cannot teach ourselves, we find a homeschool tutorial with an incredible art program. We research to find a theater program within the community. We shift and pivot to track down a free or reasonably priced piano that just needs tuning and start in-home piano lessons. 

When we are at our wit’s end and feel like we don’t know what we are doing anymore, we phone a friend. Plan a play date and share a cup of coffee and our struggles with another homeschooling parent who can relate and offer the words of encouragement we so desperately need. We attend a homeschooling conference to listen to a lecture on learning styles, find a Bible study for homeschooling families at our church to join and surround ourselves with like-minded people. We shift our mindset and we pivot how we approach the next day. 

Parenting has never been about having all of the answers

It is a constant shift and pivot. From the day we bring our children home, each day thereafter is about learning who they are and what they need. Our parenting styles, schedules, support circles, and so on shift with the seasons of parenthood to meet our children’s ever-changing needs. We pivot because that is what it means to be a parent. When we choose to homeschool, we step into yet another season of parenting. We gain an opportunity to learn about our children and how to best care for their needs in another way. How we homeschool, why we homeschool, the curriculum we use, and the resources we incorporate will likely shift as the seasons of a homeschooling family shift. But as parents, as homeschooling parents, we know what to do. We pivot.