Moving out of Deschooling?

My question at 4real
What should a 4 year old know? (applies to older kids, too) -- thanks Leonie

From "Deschooling for Parents"

"Some people like to see learning parceled out evenly over the year, over the week, or over a day. But life is lumpy. As with chaos theory, or statistics and probability, there are “busy” times and big quiet loops which seem to be going nowhere and actually have a destination. Think “leaps and bounds,” with rests in between.

Look directly at your child. Practice watching your child without expectations. Try to see what he is really doing, rather than seeing what he’s NOT doing. If you hold the template of “learning” up and squint through that, it will be harder for you to see clearly. Just look."

From What is Deschooling?

"Deschooling is a period of frustration, exhaustion and inquiry because it marks our transition from the prepackaged life of schooling to the uncharted world of homeschooling. As Catherine de Mauriac said to me, "In spite of the fact that we started in reaction to our perceptions of the inadequacies of our local district, now that we are in it, it would take wild horses to drag us out. It is a most amazing journey of discovery of ourselves, each other and the universe that we could not have even imagined the true character of the experience and can't completely conceive of where it will take us. It's not perfection, and mostly it's darn difficult. But what would we do in this life if we didn't take up a good challenge now and again?"

Rejecting the Pre-Packaged Life

"Part of the pre-packaged life Americans are issued is the idea that happiness comes after college, after home ownership, after the new car. The stick that holds that carrot will not bend. If happiness depends on performance and acquisition, how long will it last? How long is your car the newest on your street before unhappiness returns?

Here's a little paradigm shift for you to practice on. Perhaps happiness shouldn't be the primary goal. Try joy. Try the idea that it might be enJOYable to cook, to set the table, to see your family, rather than the idea that you'll be happy after dinner's done and cleaned up. My guess is that such happiness might last a couple of seconds before you look around and see something else between you and happiness. Joy, though, can be ongoing, and can be felt before, during and after the meeting of goals."