Even as home-schoolers, sometimes we get stuck in a rut. We do the same lessons, in the same place, in the same order even, day after day. Moms who are normally loving and patient become mean, evil school-marms who get frustrated when their child asks for the hundredth time how to spell (fill in the blank).
This happened to my family last week--here is how I dealt with it. We decided to have an unconventional school day and teach Munchkin how to ride her bike sans training wheels. Some might consider this an off day, but Munchkin needs LOTS of encouragement to try new things...particularly when she might fall and get hurt. I had to remind her that since we were in "school," she was required to keep trying...if it had been a fun day, she probably would have given up trying. Here is a short video of her displaying her newly-learned skill.
The video is actually from the second day we tried...I was not able to let go long enough to get a video the first day. Looking back on the day, she learned so much more than how to ride a bike. She learned balance of course, and proper weight distribution, but she also learned about trusting me, trusting herself, self-confidence, and a little bit of independence. In my eyes, she learned several important lessons today, and it was well worth pushing back the "paperwork" for a day. (Not to mention, it gave us both a chance to get outside on a nice day, and we set into the paperwork a bit easier the next morning.)
What do you do to get out of the rut? I would love some feedback in the comments section!
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I remember doing the same thing a few years ago when my daughter wanted to learn to ride her bike. I, like you pointed out, believe it was a great use of our day! She learned patience and perseverance, and we had a great time making memories together. :)
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