ABCs of Life

I admit that I often get caught up in teaching in the mode that I was taught in. A very fact-oriented method consumed with right answers and momentary memorization techniques. However, as I grow older I realize the most important things I learned occurred outside of the classroom.

Our decision to home school has been a tough one for me to navigate. I am a champion of the public school system—I spent 23 years of my life in school and picked up an A.A., B.A, M.A. and PhD along the way. But no matter how many acronyms I put after my name I felt as if I never learned anything at all. My advisor in graduate school summed it up well after witnessing my dissatisfaction with the reaches of science, "It seems as if you are looking for something else."

I admit that I am a lover of science, but I have also become an enormous appreciator of the art of living through intuition. We have both external and internal worlds to navigate. We suffer dearly when we focus on one at the expense of the other. I choose homeschooling because I know learning the lessons of living a purposeful life is just as important as academics. I feel that the distinction between learning about the world and being of it should be seamless. A marriage of science and mysticism—being willing to accept the facets of life that are beyond our five senses, and taking a critical approach to what it is we claim to know.

That is why I have been working on what I like to call "The ABCs of Life". Lessons that both parents and children can benefit from together. They remind us what it means to be the most authentic versions of ourselves that we can be. Which, by the way, is the most important lesson of all. :)  Enjoy!

 

I included one or more words for each letter of the alphabet. I will update this page weekly to include child-friendly definitions, activities that may be used to support the ABCs of Life. If you have any suggestions, or if you simply like the idea, please leave a comment!

A— appreciate, always, aware

B— "be", believe

C— care, complete

D— dare, destiny

E— emotion, eternal

F— focus, forgive, free

G— give, grace, golden rule

H— heal

I— imagine, intent, intuition

J— joy

K— kind

L— love

M— mind, miracle

N— neutral, now

O— observer, open

P— peace, present

Q— quiet

R— receive, release, rest

S— soul, surrender

T— thankful, together, tolerance

U— unity, unique, unlimited

V— vow

W— welcome, whole, will

X— examine

Y— you

Z—zeal or zest

Happy trails!

DeShauna J.

(Photo Credit:photo credit: duncan via photopin cc)