“I Bet You Can’t Do That, Mom!”
Several years ago one of our younger sons was learning how to ride a bicycle. On the street in front of our house, our older children were helping him learn the basic maneuvers and techniques for balancing on two wheels. Making sure to watch for any traffic which might venture into the area, they would run down the street alongside him in case he lost control. When he fell, they would try it again and share some more pointers with him. He finally progressed sufficiently over the next few days to the point that my wife thought that, if she rode with him, he might be able to safely ride his bicycle to the community baseball game in which one of our other sons was playing.
One summer afternoon the family members who could ride bicycles began the half-mile ride to the ball diamond. The older ones took the lead while my wife rode behind the new bicycler so she could keep a close eye on him. Things went very well on the first leg of the journey, but the trip back home loomed with excitement.
While my wife watched with helpless horror what appeared to be the course for a big accident, the new rider found himself on the sloping curb of the street and began to lose control of the front wheel. He swerved to the left and then to the right, went up into a yard and came back into the street, ducked a mailbox and almost hit a parked car, wobbled some more as he went up into another yard, and made his way back to the street. Miraculously he did not fall. Then after he finally had the bicycle under control again, he turned to my wife with a grin on his face and said, “I bet you can’t do that, Mom!” We rolled with laughter when we heard the story and still get enjoyment as we tell the story to his nieces and nephews. Oh, the joys of such fun family learning experiences!
A wonderful thing about homeschooling families is the fact that many of the best learning moments are not academic in nature. Sometimes they are in the everyday events of your family and may even be hilarious. Homeschoolers have the advantage of being together all day as a family, so they can laugh around the table as they study together and can laugh with each other while pursuing other responsibilities. Sure… there are serious moments; but make certain to enjoy your family all day, every day, as you homeschool.
It is recorded in Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” There is something therapeutic about a merry heart, even to the point of promoting healing. Be sure to develop and maintain a joyful spirit as you homeschool this year. Enjoy the funny times and do not let the serious times become overbearing. When the pressures come during the school year and you fight the tendency to get discouraged, remember the admonition of Nehemiah 8:10, “… the joy of the LORD is your strength.”