Disc Golf, Summer School

Saturday morning the kids and I had a round of disc golf together.  As a homeschool family, we should have known that a father, son, and daughter outing would turn into some life lessons.  Here are a few, with some ideas on how you can benefit from the final weeks of summer:

We also learned about the consequences of drought.
What's under our feet used to be grass.

In one way, it is not necessarily about disc golf.  Do you know how hard it is to get a 46 year old, 14 year old, 13 (almost) year old, and 10 year old to agree on anything?  Silly question, I'm sure you know.  Not only that, but outdoor time has been harder to come by.  The extreme heat and drought has affected us.  Note the lack of green grass in the photo.  You could say that finding common interests is like finding water (you would say gold, but water is more valuable right now).  We as family members need to learn that just because we are family, we don't always like the same things.  When we do, these opportunities cannot get away!  


Action idea:  What can you plan for your family that can be fun, family building, and that everyone can participate in?  When can you do it?


When some acquaintances introduced me to disc golf in college, those acquaintances became friends.  Lesson:  a shared experience can build friendships.  Our course was really something:  "holes" included this tree, that lamp post, underneath that bench, but only from this direction... -

Disc golf is also a teaching opportunity for your family:  strategy, friendly competition (with yourself as well as others), impromptu conversation (a.k.a. "quality time", the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, a good walk (spoiled), and more.  Disc golf, unlike regular golf, is free (after buying special discs, which generally range from 10 to 15 dollars each).

There are also lessons in etiquette, such as taking turns.

After we finished our round, we all agreed that we had a good morning and that we should do it again. Music to my ears!  Gatorade for everybody!

Disc golf not your thing?  You could try:

• Hiking
• Camping
• Regular golf 
• Miniature golf
• Classic board games
• Movie nights
• Listening to an audio book together

Action idea:  For the activity you thought of above, what will everyone, including you, learn from it beyond the activity?  


Leave some ideas in the comments, yours may inspire others!