Canada's Homeschool

I don’t know about your home, but come spring and especially as it gets closer to summer at our house, trying to keep the kids focused on their academics can be an enormous task!  One of the incentives that motivates my kids to work diligently at finishing up their last assignments for the school year is the outdoor home school swim lessons offered at Bowview Pool.  My children have participated in these lessons for the past three years and literally count down the days till lessons begin.  With very few exceptions, we have been blessed with wonderful summer weather even though the lessons take place the last two weeks of June when the weather can often be sketchy.  As you can tell by the cover photo and the additional photos on this page, there is no lack of fun - for the kids or the moms - that takes place during these sunny pool days! 

Our family has been blessed to have home schooled for the past nine years. One of the many things we love about homeschooling is the opportunity for spontenaety and fun with friends.  We love the flexibility to stay at the pool for an afternoon of relaxing poolside and enjoying the socializing that happens for the parents and the kids during these times.  It usually doesn’t take long for a soccer ball to appear or the baseball gloves and a ball to come out.  The kids all join in on the fun around the pool during the lunch break.  While the kids play over the lunch hour, some of us moms even get ambitious enough to jump into the pool for adult lane swim from 12:00 till 1:00 pm. What a wonderful way to get right into the swing of summer!

As I browsed through the photos from last summer’s swim lessons I was filled with anticipation for the coming warmer weather and all that means for our family.  We think of all the fun learning opportunities as we are able to watch creation unfold before our eyes. Whether it be the sprouting of tulips, the budding of leaves or watching all the various bugs and spiders crawl out to enjoy the sun, they all provide learning opportunities and an excuse to get outside.  The favorite early spring spot for our family and many of our home school friends is Griffith Woods park, located in New Discovery.  Being there transports one to a mountainous environment where one can easliy forget that you are in the City.  There are many trails for walking, jogging, biking or roller blading and many streams to walk alongside with quiet little “beaches” for skipping stones and playing in the sand.

As I write this our family is packing for a trip to Israel from March 2 – 12.  We are doing a biblical tour together with 28 others from our church.  It is a very full itinerary with stops in Galilee, Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, Caesarea, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Mt. of Olives, Bethlehem and more.   Whew! We’ll even find time for a swim in the Dead Sea!  Talk about learning moments!  We may need a holiday to recover from our holiday!

Once we arrive back home and settle back into our routine, those swim lessons at Bowview Pool will be just around the corner. I know this year again, I will be using the incentive of spending relaxed time at the pool after lessons as motivation to stay focused.  It is amazing how fast the book work can get done when that carrot is dangling out there!  If your kids love to swim and you love being outside and hanging out with a bunch of friends at the pool, come join us for lessons this year.  You can see from all the smiling faces that you won’t be disappointed! <>