How do YOU implement a CM ideal in YOUR homeschool, real world?

This thread is encouraging to me as well.  One of the things in life God has been teaching me the last year is that my longing for perfection is ultimately me longing for heaven.  I have an idea in my head of how I want our days to flow and they are comprised of many quite hours reading and exploring.  But I have 2 not so quite boys who would much rather spend their days wrestling and sword fighting.  They don’t get excited about certain parts of school because they would still rather be playing outside.  This frustrates me if I let it because I have a picture in my head of what I want it to look like and it doesn’t happen.  But when I take a step back and look at the bigger picture (which my husband is wonderful at helping me to do) my children are learning and loving life.  They aren’t bound to a rigourous schedule at a public school – they have freedom to just be kids.  My 7yo still plays with stuffed animals and I love that.  I chose to homeschool so that I could help to mold and develop each child.  And at 5 and 7 our academia time of the day is not the primary molding time for me just yet.  It is important and we hold it with high regard but it can’t be the sum of my whole day with them.  While they are out slaying dragons and being super heros they are also learning and developing in character and their understanding of people and life.  It is still very important but sometimes I loose sight of that because the academics may not have been met today with great enthusiasm.  

I hope I am making sense.  There are so many things I want to learn and do different with my boys as we all grow in CM style homeschooling.  But I know that if I am not careful I spend my days caught up in what is wrong and miss out on the good and the other things that make up a day of shaping and molding my boys.  

Amy, I love it when you said your seven year old plays with stuffed animals…so sweet! My 12 ds still plays and laughs with his little sisters a lot, and I know just being home has given him that opportunity for closeness. That is such a sweet fruit of homeschooling. 🙂