19 Comments

I loved that picture book when we were homeschooling too! He captures the cozy and magic of home school so tenderly πŸ’ž glad you’re finding balance!

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I love the vibes! It’s a beautiful that learning is all around us and it doesn’t have to be so formal. Leaning into that and finding more ease and wonder in our days is definitely helping. πŸ’«

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Wow, you are so busy I’m sure I couldn’t keep up! No wonder you struggled when you were doing more.

I am employing many procrastination skills atm. I have curtains to make. I’ve had curtains to make for about 4 months . And yet … I’m writing a little and making knitted toys quite a lot. I’m planning in my head and now writing it down which is fatal and leads to ideas death, but buying tools and supplies for those ideas I will most assuredly forget. Though I have managed a to buy a couple of books so that jog my memory.

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I do the same buying supplies and not using them right away. When something is out of sight it stops existing! πŸ˜‚

I have always had a problem of doing too much. To a certain extent I thrive on multiple projects, but it’s hard to know where the tipping point is. Especially now I have a kid the family’s health is such a wild card factor! I’m slowly learning to better monitor my capacity and make adjustments, but it’s been a long road to get here.

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I love reading about your homeschooling journey. Right now, my plan is to find a part time remote job, then homeschool my two youngest next school year. It’s tough because they struggle with the long day in public school but I haven’t been in a place where I could homeschool them and not have a breakdown. I think I’m getting there, though.

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I am rooting for you. It’s so hard to take care of ourselves in the way we need to parent in the way we want to. I’m glad to hear that sharing our home ed adventures is helpful or inspiring. It’s just the kind of thing that would have felt β€œoff brand” last year, but I have to be all of me to keep showing up here. πŸŒ€

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Thank you. I’m glad you feel safe showing up as you.❀️

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❀️❀️❀️

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I just love seeing all of your projects, and it's so comforting to see another person who has so many in progress/in variying levels of completeness, because that's how my creative projects always are. It reminds me that there's nothing wrong with my brain and creative process. 🧑

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Yes! I find that projects in multiple stages and mediums are really essential for me. It’s just the timeline / deadline parts I need to be careful about. Entwined is at a really draining stage so working with my hands is a great balance to that. Allowing things to take the time they take is an ongoing process. I’m always glad to hear when this approach resonates because I feel less alone. 🀍

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Yes! I sometimes overwhelm myself a bit, but I also tend to feel really bored if I don't have multiple things going, so I'm working on finding that balance. I think I do something similar with books now, as well. I tend to be reading multiple books from different genres at the same time.

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Me too! I just pivoted from these academic books to The History of Middle Earth (the volume with drafts of LOTR) and a Terry Pratchett novel. πŸ“š

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So much to explore in this post! I can definitely see the magpie mind of a fellow homeschooler at work and wanting to dive into the joy of all the things. I think my processing works too slowly to ever feel expansive enough to do so many things at once but I am getting to a place where I’m finding a balance between homeschooling and my own creative practice and it’s such a nice place to be. It’s also very heartening to hear you’ve gotten to a place where you know how to step back from a few things to clear some mental space. I’m still working on that! So pleased to have discovered your writing!

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So lovely to meet you Gray. I popped over to your Insta and so drawn to your work. Thank you for saying hello. 🩢

A few years ago I had quite a serious breakdown / burn out / mental health scare and learned that I actually have limits. It’s still hard to honor my capacity, but I am learning. This frame of home educating has been a beautiful invitation to take a step back and reimagine our days. ⛅️

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I love seeing what you're up to, and all the ways you nurture yourself and pivot to support what you need. It's really inspiring in the best, most quiet of ways. Also super love the shadow art! That's always been a thing for me that I haven't yet figured out how to celebrate and explore as a project, but I love what you've created!

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Thank you Gracie. Shadows are magic. πŸŒ˜πŸ’«

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That picture book is pure Quentin Black, but also totally its own creation. Glorious. I’m actually rather in awe of you for all the different things you are managing to achieve. Deep reading often turns out to be the compost in which everything creative grows.

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Sep 7Liked by Sarah Shotts

Love these book recommendations. You may have already read this if you’re looking at spirals and meandering but I bought a copy of Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative a little while back (haven’t had the chance to read much yet but it seems really interesting!)

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Yes, this is one I’ve read! πŸŒ€πŸŒ€πŸŒ€

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