What is a paradigm shift?

It is a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions:

Before one decides on homeschooling ones’ children, one needs to experience an enormous paradigm shift, away from main stream schooling.    Most of us were brought up in main stream schooling, so that is all we know, which usually makes the paradigm shift very challenging.  However, by changing ones thought processes, one can easily embrace homeschooling.

How to change the mind set:

For me it was an easy decision, due to us being located on a farm, in a very remote area. There are no good schools in our area, so we either kept the family together by homeschooling, or split the family apart. -Therefore, due to my determination to keep the family together, it was easier for me to make the mindset change.

There are always doubts about such a critical decision but one should positively embrace the decision, then pray earnestly through every aspect of the change. The decision certainly becomes much easier with time. As time moves on, the shift in mind set becomes part of a new goal and then one doesn’t want to look back.

How to embrace the change and get started:

For me it took fervent prayer, determination and a giant leap of faith!  Once I had made up my mind to home school my two children, I took the step of faith and ran with it. I did not vacillate, as I knew my indecision would negatively impact my children.

Look at homeschooling as a business:

I love to start new businesses and I quickly found myself in the business of homeschooling my children, which was a great way to look at homeschooling, as a challenging business opportunity and not as a chore.

In our country it is easier to look at homeschooling as a business, as it so much cheaper to home school, than to attend a main stream school.

By homeschooling, my financial saving is the same as earning a salary, by getting a job. I embraced homeschooling and started to grow the business from the ground up.

The school room soon became my home office and my timetable became that of a work place. This helped with the paradigm shift, as I could now see the worth and value of my decision, as I saw myself in employment. It gave value to my time, as well as giving me a sense of self-worth.

Don’t get overwhelmed:

It is easy to get overwhelmed with one’s decision to home school, especially as one may find little support from the surrounding community.  Beginning something new is always scary! Added to this is the criticism one may well receive from other parents, as one will be moving away from society’s norms. One can feel like a fish out of water for a while…

My advice is not to stress about what people say and to take each step with a positive frame of mind. Start by asking around for good homeschooling programs, pray, read and focus on being positive about the journey.

Reaching to God, through prayer, will give you the continued strength you need to make this paradigm shift. -Remember God knows everything and He is always with you…

Reinforce the paradigm shift with action:

Once you have embraced the paradigm shift is it time to get into action!  There are an enormous number of homeschooling systems and beliefs. Choose a system that suits yourself, your family, your children and your lifestyle. Google is a great resource for research, along with reaching out to others who have embarked on the homeschooling Journey.

Move away from tradition age groups and schedules:

Another paradigm shift for me was moving away for traditional schooling, age groups and daily schedules. I needed to move away from the traditional, daily schooling schedule, to a flexible, weekly goal oriented schedule. I achieved this mind set by taking one step at a time and by learning as I went along.

Enabling children to go at their own speed, both in the classroom and on the sports field, strengthens their confidence and determination. Teaching children to manage their time is a life skill, which needs to be instilled at some point of the child’s life.  Why not do it earlier rather than later?

Remember children do not have to make a paradigm shift!

Remember little children don’t have anything else with which to compare, so they will embrace homeschooling a lot quicker than their parents will. They don’t require the paradigm shift that we do.

What amazes me is the fact that my children don’t treat school as something to be done only in the school room, or school term! They learn and do school work any day, or week, of the year. They work in the car, next to the tennis courts on a Saturday, or 5 am in the morning. School is a part of life to them and not a chore. This has created a huge hunger for learning. Thankfully, with the help of Google, I can answer almost all the general knowledge questions they have.

Think out the box:

Think out of the box and go into a time of prayer, whenever you are faced with a problem, decision or difficulty. The Lord is omnipresent and He knows it all!  Nothing is new to Him, so ask and He will guide you, step by step. There is no need for fear…

Never forget their is always help out there:

The other important fact is not to forget that there is always someone out there, who can help you with any problems. You don’t have to know everything at first. Pray and then get guidance towards solving your problems. Many homeschooling programs have excellent backup. Make sure that you choose one that has!

New beginnings are always very stressful! Take it one day at a time and remain focused on your goal, which is to produce well-schooled, happy children, -working at a pace that suits their ability. You don’t have to be the best homeschooling parent, nor the most perfect, but you should always aim for consistent, stress free progress…

Take that leap of faith, embrace the paradigm shift  and run with it…..

The rewards are endless and you will experience a closeness with your pupils not found in this era of mass production.

Prayer:  Father, thank you for helping me change my way for thinking.   Please give me the strength and wisdom to continue with this change.   Please bless my family as we walk in your light.   Amen.

• Our Victoria Falls Celebration Trip.
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for May-June 2024.
• What is a Healthy Homeschooling Culture?
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for March-April 2024.
• Developing Life Skills through a Houseboat Adventure.

Please leave your comments below….