Homeschool Rant and planning Imbolc

Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook

(click picture to enlarge)

Happy Wednesday!  It has been some time since I blogged due to our busy schedule, but also I think because I spend a lot of time in the winter doing more inner work and it seems to take a little longer for me to then form my ideas into words. 

Today I have a bit of a rant. On a homeschool forum that I belong to, a woman is being harrassed by her inlaws to prove her decision to homeschool her child is a good idea. Their theory is, that if homeschooling is supposedly better, and these reports of homeschooled kids outperforming their public-schooled peers is true, then her child (age 4 and therefore the age below your average kindergartener) should then be performing at (or above!) the 1st grade level! To say I was appauled and sad is an understatement.

I definately put my 2 cents in about it to her. I told her that it was unfair to expect a child to outcompete his public-schooled peers just to "prove" to the in-laws that HER (emphasis on the fact it is HERS & her husband's) decision to homeschool their child is an OK one.  Imagine the pressure this poor child would face his whole life, to always be better than everyone else just to be accepted by the inlaws who supposedly only want "what's best for him". BUT, if that poor child can always show he's waaaaay ahead of public school kids, THEN he's worth being proud of in the eyes of the inlaws (or the daughter in law, who is probably the real target of this issue).

I don't want to repeat every word I said all over again, but suffice to say I explained that her child may be ahead of his same age peers in some things, and the same or even below some in others depending on the order certain skills and info is taught in the home vs. what is taught and in what order in their local school...but that it is OK! Geesh, it will all balance out in the wash, and as that child gets older, THAT is the time to evaluate if he's waaaaay about his public-school peers.

Why must people justify the idea of homeschooling to others?!  Why are people so afraid of anyone using their own minds, making their own decisions, walking their own paths?  Let's also not forget that not every child is going to be an ace scholar, no matter WHAT kind of schooling they receive!  OK, I could go on and on about this, but regardless, as I prepare to homeschool my youngest 2 (and hopefully for much longer than I managed it with my oldest!), in this area I finally actually have a reason to be glad that I do not have a judgemental family around me in this moment.  

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OK...taking a breath....I'll move onto another subject for now.  Imbolc!  Imbolc is coming up soon, and I am getting excited!  This is the coldest stretch of the winter, and when Imbolc comes, it means that there is likely only a couple more weeks of frigid weather.  Spring doesn't officially arrive quite yet, but by the end of February, often the temps have climbed above zero at least!  Imbolc is halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox, but oftentimes the coldest stretch of winter is from mid Jan. to mid Feb., and then we often at least get some relief from that deepest, coldest part of winter.

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Here is a little bit of "official"  wiki info on Imbolc:

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the North American Groundhog Day. A Scottish Gaelic proverb about the day is:

Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an làir.



"The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground."


Fire and purification are an important aspect of this festival. Brigid (also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

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Between now and Imbolc, I will be working on more decluttering projects here in my home. I'm also planning to do some painting in my livingroom to spice it up a bit. I would like most of our indoor projects to be completed before spring arrives, so that when nice weather gets here we can spend more time outside. It's easy for ME to get outside in this cold weather, but not so much for my littlest ones.

With the coming of Imbolc, I am also preparing our altar with appropriate symbols and items as well as deciding what sort of ritual I'd like to have.  I'm hoping to take a hot bath later and begin thinking about it and jot down some ideas as they come to me.

As for my "diet" - not going so well.  I've at least been making more meals with fresh veggies, but I'm still eating too much sugar.  I need to re-examine why that is....