On the two year anniversary of my dad’s death, I wanted to honor him on FB with pics or memories or kind words……then I saw some old pics of him doing school with my kids and knew how I wanted to share about him.
My dad never graduated from high school. He never had the opportunities for education that we have now.
As we homeschooled our kids, he and my step-mom were so proud of us and our kids. They bragged about how smart the kids were, how obedient and kind they were, and how much they loved to be with them.
When we left the kids with them whenever we went away, Dad took his role as their substitute teacher very seriously.
He would wake them up early in the morning telling them that it was time to be “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
As they worked on their independent work lists, Dad would hover, making sure they did them all.
When it was time for them to read aloud, if the chart said to read one story, he made them read two.
When they said they were done, he would tell them it was too early, and they should do more school.
He loved taking the kids to the zoo and afternoon matinees–and even tolerated our long library visits at times.
He was the loudest (Go, Wackey! when he meant WACHE!) cheerleader in sporting events, most opinionated speech and debate spectator (i.e.biased!), and the most beaming piano recital and drama attendee.
It was so precious…..as you can tell in the pictures below—he would read to them, have them read to him, watch over their charts, and attend everything they participated in.
I appreciate my dad so much for so many things, especially after I became an adult and he learned to follow God more and more in his life. (He said that it was because of all of the kids’ speeches, programs, and dramas that he learned about Christ!) And the fact that he was truly one of the most devoted, loving, generous grandfathers in the world! Oh how we all miss him!
So….you might be homeschooled if your grandpa was your substitute teacher…….
