tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589290063273869746.post9207220116919871907..comments2023-09-09T11:33:47.753-04:00Comments on Catherine et les fées: Wait, I thought you were unschooling??Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513911177615259519noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589290063273869746.post-61349390291895170722015-12-09T21:04:14.452-05:002015-12-09T21:04:14.452-05:00Yes, that responsibility does feel heavy and it...Yes, that responsibility does feel heavy and it's wonderful that you've found peace around it all. Thanks again for writing about this and sharing your story.Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14663581160433755920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589290063273869746.post-53689254831699803592015-12-09T13:56:31.760-05:002015-12-09T13:56:31.760-05:00Yes, Cathy, letting go of what I thought perfectio...Yes, Cathy, letting go of what I thought perfection was is the route I chose. Instead, I looked at my girls and took my cues from them. Steiner, as much as I admire him, doesn't know them and has lived at a very different time. Yes, there will probably always be the voice of doubt and fear once in a while, but realizing that no matter which choice we make, we have no idea of the impact it will have on our children. As they grow older, I realize how little an impact I truly have on who they are, on who they become. I am just by their side, trying to guide them gently and give them what I see they need along the way. There are no guarantees, but it sure feels more right to start from them instead of any other ideal or philosophy, as beautiful and rich it is. We are imperfect and it is OK to be. Once I made peace with that, a big burden lifted off my shoulders. Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17513911177615259519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589290063273869746.post-36259802704192252072015-12-09T02:22:12.077-05:002015-12-09T02:22:12.077-05:00Catherine, thank you so much for reflecting on my ...Catherine, thank you so much for reflecting on my questions and taking the time to write an entire post about it. I took part in your "relaxed Waldorf" discussion all those years ago and I am still here trying to figure that out! What I realise is that it's just about me giving myself permission to do things differently. It seems I am able to do that about certain things - areas where I have my own rock-solid opinion - but where I am uncertain myself I experience such great conflict. Like you, logically I think it's mad to apply "grade levels" or feel I need to keep to a curriculum or what someone else (who has never even met my family!) determines is right for us. I have recently been considering taking 18 months or maybe even 2 years to cover each year's Waldorf curriculum, so that we can breathe more freely and so that we can mix in all the other things we'd like to do (well some of them, anyway!), yet I find it so hard to feel ok about that because I have really taken in all those "shoulds" and directions about how everything has to come at a certain "perfect" time. <br />It seems to me that you had the courage to step away - to completely stop all that - and learn that the world didn't end and instead your children were still happy and healthy and thriving. So now you can take what works for you and throw away the rest without feeling guilty or questioning yourself at every turn. <br />Perhaps we will always have those voices of doubt and fear etc., because we love our children so deeply, and long to make all the perfect moves so that everything will turn out perfectly for them. Yet the parenting journey is realising that there is no perfect and, as you say, we can never control that no matter how much we want to or how hard we might try. And every day I have to remember that once again and let it be.<br />Cathy<br />Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14663581160433755920noreply@blogger.com