The other day my 12 year old son invited me to go out to play Around the World. It was kind of a big deal for me, because I’ve been suffering with a condition called Frozen Shoulder for about six months now, and up until recently, I would not have been able to use my one arm at all for basketball. Thanks to some work over the last month with an gifted sports therapist, I’ve regained quite a bit of my range of motion, so I felt like I could say yes and give it a try.
Strangely, though I have four boys at home that all enjoy playing basketball, I guess I’ve always been cheering them on, and never joining them in play. (how did that happen?!) Around the world is a game where you basically have stations that form an arch around the key/3 point line area on the court, and you make a shot from each spot. Once you make the first shot you advance to the next spot and try to make a basket from that one, and continue all the way around to the other side. If you miss on your turn, you wait and the other players all take a turn, those who make a basket advancing to the next spots until they finally miss. The goal: to be the first person “around the world.” (or in my case, the goal was to simply get all the way around the world!)
My first shot was a basket! You should have seen the looks on my boys’ faces. They were like, “woa! Mom can shoot baskets!” Street cred with my kids, yo! 🙂 We had a fun time, and yes, I made it all the way around the world, and I didn’t even come in last.
As usual, joining my kids in an opportunity to do something they enjoy and know well, and letting them teach me, was so fun and rewarding. It’s great on a relationship level, and it’s also a great opportunity for my kids to take a leadership and teaching role, and for them to organize information in order to present it to someone else. It’s also good for me to be reminded how it is to be the learner. I encourage you to try it! Invite your kids to teach you about something that they enjoy. They will love it, and you will get to experience the benefits too!
Have your kids taught you anything recently? What’s one thing you’d like to have them teach you? Leave a comment!
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