Homeschooling on the Road to Hana
When a twelve-year-old boy says, “This school work is making me sick!” it can reduce a homeschool mom to an afternoon of tears and prayers.
But on this day, I was empathetic. Like any homeschool mom, I am always concerned about providing a well-balanced education. I tend to panic at the number of textbooks floating around in the world that we could be using. I often ask myself, “Which curriculum is best? Should I try this method or that method?” I feel the urge to cram every bit of information possible into my children and make every life event an educational experience. Such was the case, recently, when I decided to take my children’s classroom on the infamous road to Hana.
Our family moved from Texas to Maui a few months ago to join the staff of Grace Church in Pukalani. After our arrival in Maui, our children were very happy to find that our shipment of schoolbooks had been delayed. They had time to go to the beach and build sandcastles; a place where I could find plenty of science labs! When our schoolbooks finally arrived, I was ready to make up for lost time and I worked very hard to protect our school days. By the end of each day, my brain was swimming with fractions, decimals, and protoplasm. At one point, my son actually said, “Mom, you’re making my brain hurt.” Despite the pain, I was not backing down.
Our children’s education should not be confined to the page of a textbook, but balanced with the wonder of experience.
One morning, my husband had the brilliant idea of taking a trip on the road to Hana since his parents were in town.
Of all days, he would choose a school day. My first inclination was to stay home and do school, but I surmised that my husband had a better plan. Being a dedicated, practical teacher, I decided to accomplish two tasks on that day, so I brought our schoolbooks along, figuring that we could finish our work and have a field trip all at the same time! We would hold class in the vehicle.
What was I thinking?
The road to Hana is a two-hour journey—each way—and includes 617 switchbacks along the cliff sides and jungles of Maui. There are many magnificent waterfalls to see along the way. The bright, blue sky rises above the rolling, sapphire ocean and the white waves smash into the black lava rocks. The plants and trees display the greenest of greens, dotted with vivid flowers of orange, yellow, red, a n d pink. The aroma of a floral shop invades the car and the smell of life is invigorating. On one side, you can see the ocean below, and on the other side, you can see the lush, green cliffs mounting into the sky. The sights bring your mind to wonder if the drive to Hana is like the Garden of Eden.
One can only imagine that such a journey would be quite a distraction. As I gazed out the window, I suddenly realized that I had been blind to the greatest lesson of the day. How could I have thought that textbooks would give my children a better education than this glorious drive? Coming to my senses, I said, “Britain and Sara, put your books away for awhile and look at this.” As they put the books aside, we came to a turn-off where people were parking at the start of a trail. We parked the car and began walking down a tiny, muddy path that eventually led to a lookout that revealed an incredible waterfall. We were completely surrounded by a wide variety of trees that grew to the edge of a drop off of a few hundred feet. We watched the water falling into the depths below.
We continued our journey, which took us into an old town that was nestled in a very green peninsula. Along the shoreline, there were rusty remnants of a harbor that once welcomed ships bringing in supplies. Nearby, there was a stand that served the best banana bread I have ever e a t e n . The kids insisted that we buy at least two loaves to take home. While we ate our bread and walked the town, we came upon an old church made from lava stones. An old, Hawaiian cemetery sat at the side of the church. I listened to the breeze blowing through the palm trees and I pondered how many worship services had taken place here and how many of the worshippers now lay buried next to their church. I wondered if this was the place where the Hawaiian children went to school to be taught by the missionaries. What a rich history and heritage!
I took my children aside and told them, “Look at everything very carefully. Take a picture in your mind and never forget this.” We returned to the car and began our winding expedition towards home. I had learned a big lesson that day. Our children’s education should not be confined to the page of a textbook, but balanced with the wonder of experience. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when He encouraged us to be doers of the word, and not just hearers. I made a note to remember this and I quietly thanked God for a very successful day at school.
©2009 Homeschooling Today magazine, Nehemiah Four, LLC