Mornings in the Car

Jena Muhr shares how she's following her mom's example of using the time on the ride to school to help her kids learn to pray and study.

I’m not sure about you but when I was a kid, I learned a lot from my mom on rides to and from school. Each day we had about a 30- to 40-minute commute to and from school, and my mom had a very strict no-radio policy. This was in the days before streaming and CDs, and we were forced to talk to each other on the way. Sometimes, especially in middle and high school, this was a drag. There was no escape during these rides and the only thing to do was look out the window and talk to each other.   

Looking back, my mom is a genius.  

What we did 

We learned so much on those rides. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but it is what I remember learning on our rides:  

• All of our prayers: We learned so many of our prayers and how to pray a Rosary on our morning rides. Most things about my Catholic faith, I learned about on those rides. 

• The facts of life: This was probably not always how my mom wanted to start the day, but any question that my siblings and I could dish up she was willing to answer. I learned all about the birds and the bees, where babies come from, and so many other things about growing up on these drives. In all honesty, my little sister was the better question asker in this area, but I was a listening participant.  

• Math facts, spelling words, vocabulary, SAT test prep, last-minute studying for tests were all completed in the car. It is amazing how much you can learn when you’re trapped with few distractions. 

• Writing out the family grocery list: This became more popular the older we got and our penmanship improved. My mom would often list out all the things we needed to pick up on the way home from school.  

• How to drive: Driving in Southern California is not easy and we definitely needed a lot of practice on the way to and from school each day. My poor mom. 

• Getting to know all about what is going on at school. Without other distractions, we would end up spilling everything that was going on at school and with our friends on the car ride. My mom says this was her favorite part. 
   

Current situation 

These days I would love to have a driver to take me to all of the places while I study, read, and learn something new. It sounds like heaven.   

Being a mom of school-aged kids myself I have never appreciated my mom and what she taught me than now. With my own kids in the car on our own 17-minute commute to school, we do many of the same things. Talking about what is going on with their friends and in the classrooms is important to me.

Some of my additions to my mom’s roundup are: 

• Alphabet and number flash cards, from the Dollar Tree, for my youngest.

• High and Low: Most days, this gives me a snapshot of how the day went and what’s going on. 

• Saint Podcasts: My oldest loves a good podcast and learning about a saint is a good way to start or end the day. 

• Pump-up Song: With streaming it is really easy to find just the right song and sometimes the kids need a song to get the morning started off right. 

Driving kids to and from school across town can be just another thing to do in the morning. Our mornings are by no means perfect, but I am trying to look on these as times to be treasured rather than be wished away. 

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2024 Jena Muhr
Images: Canva