Bible Resources for Home

Of all the things we teach our children, the Bible and a biblical worldview are the most important. It’s tempting to think preparing kids for future jobs and adult life should command our highest attention, but if our kids aren’t saturated in biblical truth, the “education” we have given them for life will be pointless.

To thrive in life is more than succeeding at a job. It is following God, living for Him rather than the world, and standing firm in what you believe. There are so many things pulling our kids {and ourselves} away from biblical truth. If we are not reading the Bible and teaching our children the difference between secular thought and what the Bible teaches, we will get swept away.

Fortunately, we live in a time and place where resources to help us teach biblical truth are ready and waiting! I’m continually astounded by the level of quality and amount of good resources available. Here is a rundown of some of my favorites. I’ve tried to mention the age the series is appropriate for to help you out. :)

picture books

Tales that tell the truth series

This series is a perfect beginning place for reading aloud to toddlers. Bright pictures, simple language, and yet filled with profound truths, these books {currently 14 in the series} take Bible events and beautifully share the stories while weaving in how the story matters in the big picture of the Gospel. These are also great for elementary readers. My favorite is “The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross” and it makes the perfect Easter gift.

baby believer series

These board books are a great size for baby hands to grip and fun to read aloud. From opposites to emotions to shapes, each book has a theme that is brought out with biblical people, animals, and words. Even though my kids are older, they still love these.

God made me series

While newer to me, I’ve been very impressed with the quality of these books. The books in this series help teach children the value of all life, an age appropriate introduction to how babies are made, gender, being made in God’s image, protecting our bodies, and more. The colorful pictures keep attention and the text is age appropriate and covers biblical truth. Great to read aloud for younger kids or for elementary kids to read with parents.

story bibles

The biggest story & the biggest story bible storybook

Tracing the theme of God’s redemption and grace from Genesis to Revelation, these books show how the Bible is one large story and how it all fits together. The Biggest Story is divided into ten chapters and, while it doesn’t go in-depth with any one story, it mentions many of the familiar Bible events and shows how they point to the cross. The Biggest Story Bible Storybook offers more of a retelling of specific biblical events, still with the theme of the Bible as one overarching story. Lots of colorful illustrations in both.

the big picture story bible

This was the first story Bible I read to my son before bed when he was just a toddler. It is easy for kids to understand, just enough pictures to keep them interested, and each chapter is short enough to hold their attention. It’s a physically BIG book but a great resource.

The jesus storybook bible

We received this when my oldest daughter was a baby and we’ve read it with each of our kids in their baby/toddler stages. The format points to Jesus as the hero and focal point of the entire Bible, every story points to him. I can’t recommend everything from this author because she’s swung a little left but this book is beautiful. We also have the DVD, which is the pictures from the book animated with David Suchet narrating.

the gospel story bible

This is by the same author as Long Story Short and Old Story New {I’ll mention these more below in the devotional category}. This story Bible is covers the entire Bible and each day’s reading is one full page with an illustration on the facing page. This is another book that points every individual story to the truth of the Gospel. This is a great option for preschool kids bedtime or homeschool families to read before school.

biographies

I have A LOT of recommendations for biographies! Part of that is to give all ages a good resource for learning about Christians from the past. The other reason is because the series below have some different people highlighted. There will be overlap but if you are looking for a good biography about a certain person, I want to give you as many options to find who you are looking for!

Do great things for god series

The ladies in these eight books all served God in various ways with their all. Fun drawings, brief overviews, and timelines make these accessible for all ages and put them into a historical context. A great way to introduce biographies and women of the faith from before.

christian heroes: then and now series

The next step for kids interested in biographies! Great for reading aloud or for upper elementary to read alone. With 48 books in this series, there is a book for whatever time period your child is interested in. We have enjoyed reading these and learning more about specific people from Christian history. Hudson Taylor, Corrie Ten Boom, Eric Liddell, Amy Carmichael, Jonathan Goforth, and so many more. An option I love for these is to include them in geography. Find a person who lived in a country your kids are learning about and read their biography!

christian biographies for young readers

If you have young children not at reading level, this series is a good read aloud picture book option. At under 100 pages each with beautiful illustrations, these books will introduce kids to a variety of Christians from history. The series is published by Reformation Heritage Press so many of the people highlighted come from Reformation history or might not be as well known, but we’ve enjoyed all the books we’ve read from this series.

The lightkeepers series {boys & girls}

My kids have enjoyed these and we’ve learned about a few new people! There’s a set for girls and another for boys. I liked how each book had a theme: Ten Boys/Girls …Who Changed the World, …Who Used Their Talents, …Who Made a Difference, …Who Didn't Give in, and …Who Made History. Each book contains ten different boys or girls and also gives a timeline of their life. Another great, short way to introduce biographies.

trailblazer books

I read some of these by Dave and Neta Jackson when I was young and they were my first step into Christian biographies. Told with a fictional story of a young person alongside real events in the famous Christian’s life allows the children to experience what it would have been like in various places and times.

There are newer additions to this same series by a variety of authors. You can purchase individually or buy a boxed set on a theme {Heroes & Heroines, Missionaries & Medics, Arts & Science, etc.}. These are advertised for 8-12 year olds but could probably be read aloud to younger kids.

heroes for young readers series

This series is similar to the Christian Heroes: Then and Now series but for younger readers. Lots of colorful illustrations and the text is a running poem which makes it easier to read and less text on each page. I would recommend these for early readers, ages 6-9, although some of the words might be bigger and not as familiar.

Devotionals

Between Us {girls & boys}

If you have an upper elementary or Jr High daughter or son, these are great for beginning conversations about biblical worldview and life topics. It is made for a mom/daughter or dad/son to read together with fun, serious, and biblical questions mixed together. Each chapter covers a topic {some different for boys and girls} with Bible verses, conversation starters, questions, and short text about a biblical truth.

lies girls believe & a mom’s guide to lies girls believe

My oldest daughter and I went through this study with a group of girls and moms from our church and we loved it. It was great to read together during the week and then gather with friends and talk about it. There is a chapter about hormones and changing bodies and our group decided to not discuss that as a group but it can be skipped entirely if your daughter isn’t ready for that. We did this with girls ages 8-13. There is also a Lies Young Women Believe for ages 15-17.

Long story short & old story new

This is the devotional we are using as a family everyday this year. The kids take turns reading the Bible passage aloud and Tommy reads the devotional from the book and asks questions. This is great for all ages and getting everyone involved in Bible study.

unfolding grace

This is what we have been reading one morning a week before heading down for school. Each of these 40 readings is straight from the Bible. After a few paragraphs of introduction and an illustration, the text from the Bible is printed. It is usually about a chapter but is sometimes portions from various chapters. The text is the English Standard Version. There is also a version for adults and I believe the only difference is the length of each reading — the adult book is around 600 pages while the kids version is not quite 300 pages.

picture bibles

the action bible

Laid out like a comic book or graphic novel, The Action Bible brings the Bible to life for early readers and older kids alike. The Bible passage is given and the story unfolds through bubble text and colorful illustrations. There have been many stories that my kids were having trouble picturing but The Action Bible gave them a way to visualize what the Bible was describing. Huge hit!

Kingston bible trilogy

Similar to The Action Bible, this is the entire Bible in three graphic novels. We don’t own this one but I have seen it from a friend and it is high quality and good content. Probably best for older readers.

General information

The radical book for kids & the really radical book for kids

We received the first book for Christmas and bought the second this spring {it just released in March!}. These books are packed with information about the Bible, faith, theology, and answers to so many questions kids ask. Neat graphics and bright colors keep kids reading. My kids will pick these up, curl under a blanket, and read away or ask me to read certain sections.

bible infographics for kids vol. 1 & 2& epic guide to jesus

Similar in idea as the Radical Book for Kids but more for younger kids. These give information about villains and heroes, animals, Bible verses and themes, books of the Bible, and a whole lot more. Lots of charts and graphs, great for kids — or adults — who benefit from visualization. These are some of our favorites.

The Daily Grace Co.

I love the resources from this company! So many great options for all ages. Board books, picture books, Bible verse copying books, sermon notes notebooks, theology and Bible verse cards, and a bunch more. I always wait for a sale to order and they drop the price {sometimes down to $5!} on most of their items.

the answers books for kids

Have you had your kids ask a question from the Bible and you didn’t know how to explain it? These books are for you! Each book covers a range of questions actual kids have asked; everything from dinosaurs and fossils to salvation and death. Every answer is supported with Scripture and great to read as a family or for young readers to read alone. If you have older kids {teens}, they have another version with the same type of questions but deeper answers.

The heavens

I love this book! Gorgeous pictures of our incredible universe, Bible verses, and biblical, scientific information about space, stars, and the galaxy. My kids love looking at the pictures. Great resource for studying astronomy or just marveling at our Creator.

Wow! I got a little carried away on this one! But clearly, there are loads of resources available for all ages, all learning types, and I didn’t even list them all! I hope this takes some of the confusion and endless searching through websites for you.

Photo by Asal Lotfi on Unsplash

Homeschool Update

It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about our homeschool year! Here’s a brief update on all things school.

1. My oldest was struggling with history. She loves to read and usually loves history but as this was more of a review year for her with our current curriculum, she was getting bored. She’s done small portions of American history for the last four years and this year was one big overview. I don’t think it’s possible to know/remember everything you’ve learned over the years but when I would talk with her, she clearly knew the big events, people, and time periods and was simply bored. I’ve NEVER switched curriculum in the middle of the year but I felt it necessary to keep her interest engaged. So she started reading A Child’s Geography on the Holy Land. It combines geographical, historical, and cultural information with lots of colorful pictures. She’s enjoyed it much more and it started the ball rolling for world history, which she’ll begin next year.

2. My second grader is loving Handwriting Without Tears…as much as a boy who doesn’t love writing can! This has been a great program for him; it combines learning and practicing separate letters with writing them in words. He’s almost finished with his current book and ready to move on to pre-cursive.

3. The big win for our preschooler has been UsBourne Wipe Clean books and activity books. She loves them and with the Wipe Clean, I’m amazed how she happily does the same activities over and over. She does need help reading the pages to know what to do/look for in the activity book but I can easily step away from the older kids, tell her what to do on those pages, and she completes them on her own.

4. I recently bought this book and we’ve enjoyed reading the entry for the day. It’s opened some questions about different people, events, inventions and so far we haven’t come across anything not appropriate for kids. We also read a nature poem a day from this book and the older kids have started taking turns reading them aloud. I think reading poems aloud is such a great skill to have!

   That about sums it up! This year has gone fairly smoothly and I can’t believe we’re already in March! Another school year almost complete.

   Photo by Anton Sukhinov on Unsplash

New Bible Verse Printable!

Last year, as we were going into the schoolyear, I made a collection of cards with Bible verses that could easily be printed off and left around the house, schoolroom, or whatever you wanted. My aim was to encourage all the mamas out there and give you a resource for memorizing a Bible verse a week with your kids, whatever education choice you made.

This year, I wanted to do it again with a few changes. I’m really excited to share this new printable with you! A few things different from last year:

• I found these amazing printable index-sized cards at Walmart. I thought they were a perfect option for our weekly Bible verse cards! They are perforated which makes it so easy and fast; just print and fold and you’re done!

• The cards this year are larger — I put four verses on each sheet opposed to the six last year. I did this so they would fit the printable index cards mentioned above and so I could make the font larger.

• Extra room to doodle! It’s a proven fact that copying, highlighting, underlining, etc. all help in memorization. These cards have more room and larger font for kids to trace the words, copy on the back, draw symbols, or whatever they want to lock these Bible truths in their hearts. Print a set for each child and let them underline new words or put stickers on the corners.

• If you print these on index cards, they are thicker and an easy size to hold. Of course, you can print these on regular paper, cut them out, and glue them to fancy cardstock as well.

• This summer, I felt a pull to focus on Bible verses that have to do with our personal character. We’ve memorized verses about God helping us, salvation, peace, etc. But the Bible has a lot to say about how we should act…and shouldn’t! Many of the verses I chose this year are reminders of how we are to treat others, listening, confessing our sins, and the benefits of obeying God.

I hope these are a help and blessing to you! Many of you commented to me that you had printed off the verses last year and enjoyed them. Please print off as many as you want and share the link to this post with friends. I’m praying this school year brings joy, growth, and a love for our God and the children we’ve been entrusted with.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Things I've Learned from Homeschooling

We have finished our fifth year of homeschooling!

Even though I knew I wanted to homeschool my kids before we even had kids, each year that we successfully complete is a triumph but also kind of amazing! Homeschooling is an opportunity that I am very grateful for but it’s not the easiest option, it’s not always the most convenient option, and it’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly or flippantly. It’s definitely a choice that we make every year and go into with much prayer.

I’ve had so many people ask me about homeschooling and how we do it year after year. To be honest, we look at just the year in front of us and plan our best for that year’s needs. I’m also changing routines and aspects of our school days each year based on what worked the previous year, what didn’t, what my kids are interested in, how they learn best, and how they’re developing. Learning is not a static process and I don’t treat our school that way.

Although I love homeschooling and recommend it without reservation, I know people’s situations are different, there isn’t one answer to good education, and I try to never disparage another parent’s decision about education. That said, I want to share some things I’ve learned about homeschooling and present an honest truth from my own experiences.

I don’t have to know everything before I teach my children. One of the most humbling things about teaching is realizing all the things you’ve forgotten. Especially as my oldest gets into complicated math problems, more complex literature and grammar rules, and deeper science theories, I find myself with a niggling in my mind that at one time I did learn these things; I just don’t completely remember them. So I have to review, work a few long division problems, watch some YouTube videos about diagramming sentences, and move forward with my daughter.

Not everyday is the same. Because I like planning and routine, I used to set out with grand plans for everything we would do each hour of our school day. But those aren’t practical for us or very sustainable. I know some homeschooling families are much more structured but one of the beauties of homeschooling is making it fit with your family. Sometimes history takes us 15 minutes, other days we’ll stop after 45. If something is resonating and sparking questions, we’ll dwell on it a little more. When my daughter was learning about sand being heated to make glass, she asked about the process and we watched a few YouTube videos that showed the glass making process. That led to a conversation about recycling, how things are recycled, and another video on that topic. We are flexible and I’m thankful for the option.

Learning can look different than books. I love reading and beautiful illustrations and diagrams and maps. To me, books are great treasures for learning about things. They can involve your imagination and emotions and teach you in ways other mediums can’t. There’s nothing like holding a book in your hands and being transported. But I’ve found my kids can put into practice the things they’ve studied in so many different ways. By giving them Legos, blocks, pipecleaners, buttons, and a host of other ordinary things, they can build and imagine in such a diverse way. It’s one thing to read how a bridge supports weight or how people lived in castles and another to actually build a structure that stands and design your own town with everything people need to survive. But it is all learning.

I’m not strong enough. The hardest days in homeschooling are when I’m frantic, distracted with worries and anxious, and haven’t read my Bible or fixed my mind on biblical truth. Anything I try to push through and muster the strength for on my own leaves me frustrated, tired, and ready to give up. Even though we are the teacher for our children and it feels like a weight and responsibility we alone need to bear, we were never meant to do it alone. I love James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God has promised to give us the wisdom we need to fulfill what he has called us to. We have but to ask, yet how often do we attempt to power through on our own? It’s not weakness to admit we need grace and help. It’s living in humility.

Life is about learning. Homeschooling is a humbling, growing, stretching blessing that I don’t take for granted. I’m thankful to teach my children and learn alongside them. Every year that I homeschool I find out more about God and my children and myself. It’s a unique and remarkable journey that I don’t regret.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash.

Bible Truth for School + a Printable

I think we can all agree that this school year is going to be crazy.

No matter what choice we made for our kids, there are going to be challenges and adjustments. And even if we aren’t doing anything radically different, the world around us is a completely different place. Wearing masks, not going certain places, not being able to visit friends or family. Depending on where you live, it might feel like what was normal last fall will never return.

I’ve been struggling with keeping a positive attitude. I’m usually an optimistic person and I genuinely try to not let things get me down. But there are some aspects of 2020-21 that I am not looking forward to. And I’m not excited about explaining things to my kids or dealing with their frustrations.

This summer as I prepared for our school year and planned curriculum, there were moments when I wondered if my efforts would even matter. Will we be able to do the fun things I’ve researched? Will field trips be a possibility? How can I get my kids excited for things without risking having to cancel our plans and disappoint them?

There’s always a measure of unknown about the future but this year feels completely uncertain. Thankfully, we are not alone. And the One Who is with us is Sovereign over all. This summer as I’ve prepared curriculum and spreadsheets and my lesson planner, I’ve also been praying and meditating on Bible verses a lot. When the wisdom of this world is complete foolishness and I’m at the end of my mental and emotional rope, I can always rest in the truth found in the Bible.

The Bible never grows old or outdated. The truth that comforted David as he ran from Saul can comfort me in 2020. The grace Paul wrote of is available to me now. The wisdom Solomon gave his son thousands of years ago is relevant for us to pass on to our children. And God Who inspired and directed its words is still in control of the world He created.

So as I approached this unprecedented 2020-21 school year, I wanted to make sure I was filling myself with God’s words and not the discourse of today’s news. The Bible is brimming with encouraging verses that we often forget.

To help myself — and hopefully you — I’ve created a very simple printable of 47 verses. My hope is that we print off and cut out these small cards, put them in the schoolroom, in our planners, on our bathroom mirrors, in our kitchen windows, and recite these promises to ourselves and our kids.

I made them simple because 1) I’m not a graphic designer, 2) I know not everyone has a color printer, 3) I wanted the Bible verse to take full attention. If you want to color, draw, glue on scrapbook paper, make it pretty, go for it!! Print it and make it yours. Read a new verse everyday then circle back to review throughout the year. Or mediate on the same verse for a whole week.

Just click the button below and a PDF should open for printing.

Photo from Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash

Making Unit Plans

We are over halfway into summer! For me, that means planning for next school year!

This might seem tedious but I love it. Talking to my kids about what they want to learn and researching possibilities is fun for me. Mapping out a {tentative} school year plan is always challenging but I enjoy it! Of course, rarely does a year go exactly as planned {hello, COVID-19!!} but I like having a goal set and some things in place to strive for.

First off, we traditionally homeschool meaning we use a set curriculum for our core subjects, my kids have books and workbooks and a laid out lesson plan for math, science, language arts, and history. We use the Bob Jones Press textbooks and really love them. They have a great scope and sequence laid out that flows together from year to year, and the subjects tie together well {like what we’re learning in English grammar corresponds to what we’re doing in spelling, etc.}. So far, my kids have demonstrated that sitting at desks and having a structure works for them.

So, when I say my kids are choosing what they want to study, what am I talking about? I fully realize that some things in school you just have to learn but different people are drawn to different things. When I was a student, I loved reading, history, and writing. I still gravitate toward those more than science or math. But science and math are necessary and important so we can’t spend all our time reading literature and writing book reports.

I’m a firm believer that most kids love learning but they need to have an opportunity to learn things that keep them interested. Every year, I ask my kids what topics they want to know more about. It can be an animal, a place, a time period, a person. I ask them to choose two or three each. Then I look for books, activities, YouTube videos, etc. that we can incorporate into our school year. This isn’t a formal curriculum or something that’s super structured. In the past, we’ve done it one day a week and alternated weeks. This year, we’re going to try doing each subject daily for two weeks, then switching subjects.

What I love about this is it gives the kids {and me} the opportunity to learn about something that might not be included in curriculum we would usually use and to dig in a little deeper. I haven’t finished putting the plans together yet but let me show you my process for planning:

We will be learning about Sweden, the Vikings, dinosaurs and Creation, and Russia and the Romanovs in our first semester. Here are the steps I followed for each topic:

1. To start, I thought about what aspects of those topics I want my kids to learn, keeping in mind their ages. Obviously, we can’t be exhaustive on the subject, especially if we’re only spending 2 weeks on each one! So I try to keep it realistic. For Sweden, for example, I would like them to learn where it is, major city names, and a little about the history. For fun activities, we’ll cook some Swedish food and learn how they celebrate holidays.

2. Then I looked up what books the library has available on these topics {for dinosaurs, I looked in our church library to focus on the Creation/young earth viewpoint, not evolution}. I wrote down the names and call numbers to save time in the fall. Once I know what weeks we’ll be covering each topic, I’ll put the books on hold at the library.

3. Then I looked online for things that might fill in, like activity books, sticker books, videos, etc. I found dinosaur ‘eggs’ you chisel open and find the dinosaur ‘bones’ in then reconstruct the dinosaur! On YouTube, I found a video that gives an overview of Sweden’s history with animation. Anything fun or hands-on I save to an Amazon list or write down. I don’t want to break the bank or purchase more than we can use so I set a limit on how much I’m going to buy per subject. Pinterest is a great place to look for activities to download. I found a whole Viking unit with games, crosswords, and puzzles that a homeschool mom put together for a free download!

This might sound like a lot but I love it! It also helps to get the kids excited about school next year. I try to keep some of the plans a surprise for them, but knowing we will be learning about things they love helps their enthusiasm stay high.

What fun things do you incorporate into your school year? What are some unit studies you’ve tackled?

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Homeschool Resources

There are so many places for educational resources out there! It’s easy to get bogged down or not even know where to start! If you are new to homeschooling or if you just want some educational things for your kids, I hope you find this helpful.

Before you start looking for resources, I would recommend knowing what type of homeschooling method or style you plan to follow. I’m not going to get into all the options here but it will dramatically change what you look for depending on your philosophy {unschooling, Charlotte Mason, traditional, classical, literature based, etc.}.

NOTE: If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this post from Pam Barnhill is a great breakdown of the methods of homeschooling and some resources for each type. If you want information on starting to homeschool, check out this post from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

There is always Amazon but I’ve been surprised to find some curriculum and games less expensive on some of the sites listed below. It pays to look around! So let’s get into a few of the great places to look for educational supplies!! I’ll mention if the website is Christian or carries Christian curriculum. I’m sure I’m leaving out some but these are websites I’ve shopped on or heard about in my homeschool community. In no particular order:

1. Lakeshore Learning - I love so many things here! Great bulk art/craft supplies, fun games and puzzles and toys, daily journals. You can get an educator card — even as a homeschooler — for a discount.

2. Oriental Trading Co. - Did you know they have a whole education line?! Lots of craft supplies, notepads, stickers. I get their pom-poms and buttons for counters to use in math.

3. Dover Publishers - When I was little, it was always a treat to get paper dolls from Dover. They have paper dolls or sticker dolls to show the fashion of just about every era, previously out of print books, novels, stickers, activity books. They are a great place to check for inexpensive fun ‘fillers’ to your school curriculum.

4. Barnes and Noble - Of course you know they have books! But did you know you can get an educator card and receive 20% off all purchases {except things like Legos}? I like to take my kids and let them pick out a book or two, then stop at the cafe for a sweet treat and coffee to start the school year!

5. Rainbow Resource - This is a great place to look for discount curriculum and books. I’ve found so many fun things here, including Usborne books! They are a Christian company and have a great selection of Bible curriculum, books, etc. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed on their site; they have a ton of stuff for all ages. I like to request a free catalog to browse instead of searching online. They send out a curriculum catalog and a separate catalog for educational toys, books, and manipulatives.

6. Timberdoodles - This is a new company to me but I’m impressed with what they have. You can get complete curriculum kits if you aren’t sure what you want or some fun educational toys. My daughter is very intrigued by the Graphic Library history books {like comic books} that we found here. This is a Christian company but you can get secular curriculum/kits.

7. Christian Book Distributors - As the name implies, this is a Christian company. But they have an entire search option for homeschool supplies. They frequently have sales and also offer popular curriculum {Bob Jones, A Beka, Saxon, etc.}. I’ve gotten some Melissa and Doug educational toys from here at great prices.

8. Mardel - Another Christian company that offers big name curriculum, often at a discount. They also have planners {I’m using their homeschool planner and really loving it!}, religious shirts and jewelry, and Bibles.

9. Masterbooks - If you are familiar with Answers in Genesis, you’ll recognize this name. They publish many of the books Ken Ham has written but they also have their own curriculum. I’m planning to use, “A Child’s Geography: Explore Viking Realms” and “Passport to the World” for part of our unit lessons this fall. I also love all their resources about dinosaurs and creation for kids.

10. Homeschool Used Book - I recently found this site through the Well-Planned Gal page. This is an online place for you to sell and buy used curriculum. They offer a range of grades, curricula, and subjects and note on each one the condition of the item and the discount from retail price. Many are 50%+ off!!

11. ThriftBooks - I’m a fan of book buying but especially discount book buying! ThriftBooks has just about any book and DVD and if they don’t currently have it, you can add it to a wishlist and be notified when they get one in. I’ve saved so much money comparing here to Amazon. I usually pay about half what it is on Amazon. They have a points program and you can earn free books by buying books, sending friend referrals, and using their mobile app. They have adult books, cookbooks, UsBorne, picture books, dictionaries….

12. Home Science Tools - Last year I ordered the science kit that went with our curriculum and we received in one box all the materials to do all the experiments listed in my third grader’s science book! They have kits that go with a variety of curricula and also offer individual things like microscopes, dissection kits, chemistry supplies, weather and geological experiments, and more.

13. UsBorne - I love UsBorne books! They are great quality, colorful, educational, and cover so many topics. I look for these books on other sites {a few I mentioned above} but there are certain titles that are impossible to find unless you go straight to the source. We love the Lift a Flap, Shine a Light, and doodle books from here!

14. A Child’s Dream - This is a Waldorf method website. They have mostly arts and crafts type things and not as many books. I haven’t ordered from them but they have high quality wool, felt, and painting supplies.

15. Nature Watch - If you want rocks, minerals, butterfly kits, fossils, and other hands-on things about nature, this is a great site! If you teach a Co-Op class or want a fun activity for a group of kids, they also have craft kits that are less expensive the more you order {does that make sense?}. I haven’t ordered from here but I have my eye on a few things if the budget allows.

Now, you can also go to publisher’s websites and order straight from them for curriculum. I have not ordered or used curriculum from all these companies but I know families that do use products from the companies listed and have recommended them to me. I’ve mentioned a few of the major ones below.

If you are interested in classical learning: Classical Conversations, Memoria Press, Classical Academic Press.

If you are interested in Charlotte Mason: Beautiful Feet Books, Ambleside Online.

If you are interested in traditional learning: Bob Jones Press, A Beka.

A few other companies are: All About Learning Press, Sonlight, My Father’s World, Math-U-See, The Good and the Beautiful, Rod and Staff.

Like I said, knowing your homeschool teaching style/method is important so you don’t get bogged down in all the possibilities! It is possible to mix things. We are traditional style {using Bob Jones Press for most things} but we use Song School Latin from Classical Academic Press and New American Handwriting from Memoria Press. But I like using the same company for our core subjects because it gives a cohesion and familiarity to our school day and makes sure we’re not forgetting something.

If you are feeling like homeschooling is impossible, don’t give up! Just choose one of the above websites and start looking around. You don’t have to buy everything available to get started. Just get your core subjects {math, language arts, science}, start slow, get comfortable, and gradually expand. You also don’t have to buy everything at once. I’ve ordered supplemental books or activities in October once I saw what we were learning for the year and what my kids enjoyed doing.

Please comment below if you have questions! I’d love to help and encourage you if I can.

Photo by J Kelly Brito on Unsplash

Growing in Grace

We homeschool our children. We chose to do that for many different reasons {read more about why here}. But ultimately, when we tell people that we homeschool, I’ll receive looks of compassion and long suffering and hear, “You must be such a patient person.”

My gut reaction is to laugh in their face. But my mom raised me to be polite so I smile and reply, “Not always.” You see, for all the reasons I teach my kids, being patient isn’t one of them.

When we decided on home education, it was the simplest decision and the hardest decision to make. Simple because I love watching my kids learn, I want to know what they struggle with and who they hang out with and what they are exposed to. Hard because I knew it would require sacrifice. It meant my time and energy every morning would be wrapped up in their education and needs. Some days are still hard but I never regret the decision to homeschool. It’s taught me just about as much as I’ve taught my kids, only in a deeper sense than reading and math go.

In our state, I needed to fill out an affidavit to file with the county giving my intention to homeschool and take responsibility for my children’s education. I didn’t fill it out flippantly; the gravity of what I was committing to weighed on me. On part of the affidavit, I was asked what the name of our school was. I paused to consider. Names are something I don’t take lightly. A name, a title, speaks volumes about what you want to stand for and represent. And I’m a classic over thinker, non decisive person.

Finally, I landed on Growing in Grace Academy. Not because I think we’ve arrived and we’re waiting for the world to catch up. But because we continually need to do it! One secular definition for grace is, “the manifestation of favor to an individual” but the biblical definition is, “receiving a gift I don’t deserve.” I want my kids to learn to demonstrate grace to others and remember the grace that God has already lavishly bestowed on them.

We have a warped view that grace is for salvation and then we keep walking. But grace continues to follow us through the sanctification process!! We never outgrow our need for grace!! And God abundantly provides it. In the same way, we need to show grace to others. Even if we feel they don’t deserve our forgiveness, our love, our empathy. We show up and say, “God offers you grace and so do I.” And we pray for them and forgive and don’t allow bitterness to take root.

Naming our school Growing in Grace is a daily reminder of what I want to be doing and how I want to be an example to my kids. I want to show them I need grace and I also give grace. I forgive bad attitudes and love them through their struggles. I ask for forgiveness and apologize when I raise my voice. I remind them no one is perfect and we all fall short. We all need grace and we all need to give grace.

So as we homeschool, as I go about my mornings correcting spelling words, handwriting form, and grammar structure, I always have the amazing gift of grace before me. And I strive to show it, live it out, grow in it through my teaching and life. I get multiple chances a day to try and — with God’s grace — I pray I show it to those around me.

Photo by Maarten Deckers on Unsplash.

Teaching with Patience

I love that we never stop learning. The truth that there will always be something we could do better, something we don’t fully understand, something to aspire to. I’m sure for some it’s frustrating, but I find it exciting. I love learning new things.

As a homeschool mom, I’m constantly learning new things with my kids. But I’m also noticing things that I have forgotten I ever learned. Do you sit and think about things that are second nature to you? You can’t remember when you learned them or how they clicked. You just know it. Like explaining how to hold a knife and fork to cut something or fold laundry or rinse shampoo out of your hair. I think for adults it’s easy to forget all the basic things that we’ve had to learn.

Then we have kids. And whether you homeschool or not, we suddenly find ourselves having to explain things that seem natural to us. Definitions of words, how to perform a task, why we do things a certain way or why something is necessary. It’s all new to our children. They are discovering this world for the first time and everything is fresh and uncertain and unfamiliar. It’s up to us to guide them.

My son has a large vocabulary for a five year old. He was an early talker and if anything, his communication skills have increased tenfold. But he also listens and pays attention more than I’ve given him credit for. When he hears a word in a sentence, he can use that word in another sentence and it will make sense. But I’m finding out he doesn’t know what the word actually means. He just knows how to use it from hearing it in context. So all these words like ‘especially’, ‘specific’, ‘spontaneous’, ‘direct’, etc. that he’s been saying for years he is finally asking me what it means. And I often have to think a little longer than I want to admit to come up with a good definition.

A huge part of parenting is breaking down information, making it accessible and relevant to our kids. We need to demonstrate and explain why knowledge is important. If they feel like they don’t need a certain set of information, why learn it? I felt this way about math. If I have a calculator, why memorize times tables? {That argument didn’t work with my parents and I’m not letting my kids off either.} But to keep them learning, we need to foster an environment where they 1} want to ask questions and 2} feel safe asking questions.

A Desire to Ask

And this is where patience comes in. It can be incredibly frustrating when everything you do or everywhere you go is met with a slew of questions. “Why are stoplights red? Why is there a yellow light? What does definitely mean? Why can we definitely not buy that? How long is a month? How long is an hour? Do we have to count to 60 for 60 seconds to pass? Why is my birthday in March? Why do I have to hold my pencil like that? How do you know the chicken is cooked? Why are you cooking those carrots?” In case you’re wondering, I’ve been asked all these questions right in the middle of tasks I was attempting to complete and it is very frustrating and distracting to think of answers and explain reasonings while trying to drive, cook, shop, etc.

But I try to remind myself my kids aren’t asking these things to be annoying. They have a genuine curiosity about the things around them. They also know the best way to learn is to ask. I try my best to answer but sometimes I have to resort to a new default we 21st century parents have: let’s ask Google. Sometimes I don’t know the answer or I don’t have the brain power to explain coherently why there are 24 hours in a day. So we ask Google or look online together.

I never want my kids to think their questions are dumb or unimportant because that’s the first step in them not asking me questions anymore. If they feel silly or like I’m too busy to answer, they will assume it’s not worth the embarrassment to ask and move on. I think we’ve all either been the kid who doesn’t ask questions or witnessed a kid not asking questions because of how adults responded. I see this happen just going to the grocery store. A child asks the parent how bread is made and the parent either ignores him in an attempt to get through the shopping trip or says something like, “Machines make it” and moves on.

The Safety of Asking

The second point I mentioned above is feeling safe enough to keep asking. Part of this is the child’s personality — naturally shy children usually have a harder time speaking up, even in a nurturing environment. But if we laugh, tease, mock, or ridicule children for asking about the world around them, any child is going to feel silly and eventually stop asking. Remember at the beginning when I mentioned so many things being second nature to adults, we have forgotten we learned them? When our children ask us why we have to wash hands before eating, it’s easy to say, “To get rid of germs” and move on. But they might then ask what germs are, how we get them, why we don’t want them, what they look like. If we put a blanket statement of, “Just wash your hands!” over all inquiries about germs, they will continue to wonder about them but they might not feel like asking about them anymore. We have forgotten that at one point, we had to learn everything we know about germs too.

It can be incredibly difficult to not laugh at some of the things kids say or ask. I’m often caught completely off guard by the things they wonder about or how they pronounce words. But even if I have to bite my inner cheek for a few seconds before responding, I try to not treat their questions like a big joke. I haven’t always done a good job of this and I can remember watching the embarrassment rise in their little faces and the quick, “Never mind” as they acted like it wasn’t important. And I immediately felt guilty for making light of their natural curiosity.

We as parents need to realize children learn through asking and wondering and if they don’t believe we care, listen to, or take seriously their questions, they will stop asking us and find an outlet that will listen. And they might start getting answers we don’t agree with. We live in an age of information but not all information is equal or correct if we want to instill a biblical worldview in our children. God has given us these little blessings called children and it is our responsibility to teach them, train them to follow God. Yes, it takes time and patience. It requires us to think through things in different ways and see the world through their eyes. But it is a task well worth the effort, for our children and for us.

In closing, I’ve been convicted by two verses recently that go hand in hand with teaching in patience:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3

Photo by element5 digital on Unsplash

Fostering Creativity in Children

We’ve been talking a lot about creativity and helping ourselves get creative and why it’s important. For the last post about creativity {for now!} I want to encourage you to help your children be creative.

This might seem strange because most children naturally enjoy pretend play, stories, and art. But there are ways we as adults sometimes hinder their efforts or maybe even keep them from trying something. So here are some tips I’ve learned - sometimes the hard way - with my kids.

1. Be encouraging. Yes, your 3 year old isn’t going to draw a cat perfectly - or anything resembling a cat. But if you only point out how funny it looks, what he should have done, or ways to improve the next drawing, your child is going to stop wanting to try. Just as we enjoy positive remarks about our attempts at things, we need to encourage our children that just attempting something is a triumph.

2. Let them try. When my kids are trying something new, I give them space to experiment before I jump in and tell them how they should do it. Failing and seeing what doesn’t work is just as much a part of learning and creating as doing a perfect job. I remember my son getting so frustrated because his block tower kept falling over. But it was because he started with the shortest block and tried to pile the long ones on top. Instead of building a tower for him, I asked him to watch how I started mine. I choose the longest blocks and made a good foundation then built up one level with the short ones. He looked, considered, and then grabbed the long pieces and started again, this time with success. But letting our kids fail at first isn’t bad; it doesn’t make us mean parents. It gives our kids a chance to discover and try and experiment. Who knows, they might come up with a way to do something we would never think of!

3. Messes happen. There are some activities that I refused for awhile because I didn’t want to mess with the mess. Painting with kids?! No way! Baking? Flour everywhere! But I have since changed my thinking on this. No, we don’t do finger painting everyday but when we do, the joy and excitement and thrill on their faces makes all the paper towel cleanup worth it. Yes, we get flour and sugar and melted butter on every kitchen surface but they really aren’t that much more messy than I am when I cook! Mess is part of life, especially a life with kids. But when you look back on a project or they remember an afternoon of creativity, none of you will remember the mess. You will remember the finished product and joy.

4. Give them access. We never know what will click with our kids. When they are born, there isn’t a manual that says, ‘This child will enjoy music and paper crafts’ or ‘She loves painting more than writing.’ We have to expose them to different things and see what sticks. In our family, we haven’t found an art project or craft that my oldest daughter doesn’t love and excel at: drawing, coloring, painting, any type of craft, designing. She also enjoys playing piano and writing her own songs. My son likes to paint his own creations but not color in a coloring book, he considers the subject of the craft {superhero or animal} more important than the actual craft, he’s beginning to enjoy music especially his ukulele. But he’s most creative in his pretend play - battling villains, building cities with Legos, playing restaurant. While there are limits to what we can do {time, money, resources} we shouldn’t limit them based on what we would choose them to do.

5. Teach them how to learn. What I mean by this is sometimes our creativity is unleashed after watching someone else. The reason I started learning handlettering and drawing flowers is because I saw greeting cards on Pinterest that looked nice but doable and I thought it would be fun to try. But just looking at the designs, I had no idea how to recreate them. I checked YouTube and found a channel to subscribe to with great tutorials. But my kids sometimes struggle with the concept of watching someone do a project that they have ideas about. So we’ve been talking about how learning requires listening and after we learn the basic concept of how to do something, we can use our own creativity to expand the original idea. I believe showing our kids the steps and process behind any kind of art helps them learn other subjects and abilities.

6. Do it together. When my kids were younger, it was obvious that all crafting would be done with me. They needed help cutting, gluing, finding needed materials. I was not about to set them and their imaginations loose with no adult filter of reality. But as they became more independent and more able to function without me, I started drifting off the scene. They still need to ask before using certain things {glitter, paints, stamp pads, Elmer’s glue} but paper, pencils, and scissors are readily available. But it’s amazing how often they want me involved, even if it is something they can do on their own. They want me to watch or they ask what color I would like. So I encourage you to sit with your kids as they create. Even if you aren’t assisting with the process, ask them to explain what they are doing, why they chose those colors or that paper. Let them know that you are interested, that you care about their creative endeavors.

I could go on but we’ll leave it at this for now. The big thing I want to encourage you with is to not be afraid of creativity, in yourself or your kids. Learn something new, try a project, create something together and have fun. You’ll probably see a new side to your kids and maybe even yourself.

Photo by Joshua Eckstein on Unsplash

Why We Homeschool

Recently someone asked if I homeschool because it’s easier than getting my kids to traditional school. I had to smother a laugh. Yes, I’m glad I don’t have to shuffle kids into the car each morning and brave the pickup line each afternoon. Yes, we love taking vacations when everyone else is tucked behind a desk. But our decision to homeschool is so much deeper than these reasons touch on. And it is far from easy.

**Before I begin let me say that how you choose to school your children is a personal choice. Homeschool is not for everyone and within homeschool there are various types {free schooling, classical, structured, online, etc}. My point in this post is not to shame anyone for choosing different than we have chosen, nor is it to say our way is best. But whenever people find out we teach our kids at home I get two immediate reactions: 1) people think I’m amazing and super patient for doing it, 2) they want to know why we chose to educate this way. So I figured a blog post would dispel some of the rumors of my patience and answer the incredulous question “Why?” Keep in mind different families homeschool for different reasons. Some of what I have below may not apply to all who school this way.**

Last week, I was explaining the hundreds place to my older daughter while cutting out a paper bat for my son and holding my nine month old who happened to be screaming in my ear. At that moment, our decision to school at home was anything but easy or desirable. When we left our little schoolroom - basically a walkin closet - I asked myself why I was doing this. And it wasn’t the first time I’d asked.

I’m going to first address the reasons people assume we homeschool but are false. These are things people have said about our decision but are not true for us.

-We don’t trust other people. This is almost laughable. I enjoy it when my kids can learn from others. For three years we were involved in a Co-Op and most of the time I was not with my kids for those three hours every week. Giving my kids the opportunity to sit in a classroom and listen and raise their hands was great for them. They also take music lessons and self defense classes from people outside our family.

-We only teach what we believe. This is a big one. My kids know about evolution, other religions, ancient mythology. We don’t shelter them from the world. But we do get to teach them through a biblical worldview lens, answer their questions without going through a third party, and choose when to introduce topics. Anyone will tell you children develop at different rates. So being able to see what my individual child can process and grasp and choose when to start talking about evolution vs creation, etc is a huge benefit of homeschool. And I’ll be honest, some of the questions they randomly ask from talking to friends, watching Netflix, or reading still catch me off guard. But I’m glad we have the framework of learning together daily to approach each question in turn.

-It’s less expensive to homeschool. Again, completely false. For two years we participated in ‘public online school’ where I was sent all the material and could teach it how I wanted and it was completely free. However, we had to do state testing, online meetings with a teacher, and keep to the district school schedule. The benefit was FREE!! But we decided we wanted to choose curriculum and my daughter was tired of having everything online. So now we purchase books, manipulatives, learning resources, etc that we want to use in addition to paying our state taxes for education.

So now that I’ve covered why my husband and I DON’T homeschool, why DO we?

-I love learning with them. It can be draining to go over the same concepts day after day and wonder when we’ll move on, but once it clicks I love seeing the pride and joy they take in it. And it really stretches me also. I have to change how I explain something or find another example that maybe will help them better. And their curiosity about things keeps me learning and exploring and seeing the world through new eyes. My kids love animals and over the last few years, I have learned more random animal facts and watched more nature programs than I thought possible.

-We get to learn together. My son doesn’t realize it but he knows more at four years old than I did. Because he has never liked to be alone, for the last three years he’s been sitting in on school with his older sister. When we read, he’s right there answering questions about the scene and characters. When we do science experiments he wants to watch the “volcano” explode and plant his own bean seed and everything. The other day, we were reading about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller and he closed his eyes and covered his ears, trying to imagine a life lived in darkness and silence. Knowledge doesn’t have age limits.

-We can take time for extra things. My daughter loves crafts and art. So we’ve been learning about different artists every other week and doing a craft project. Since she’s taking piano lessons, we’ve also been learning about composers. I’ve already mentioned our animal fascination and we regularly check out the live animal cameras at the San Diego Zoo and a few other places, just to see what the pandas in Washington DC might be doing on a Wednesday afternoon. With online resources and YouTube, it’s amazing what we can learn about. And that doesn’t include our library trips!!

-I get to be with my kids all day. Moment of honesty: sometimes this introvert wishes I had a day to myself. I am far from perfect in my attitude and cheerfulness and joy every moment of everyday. But being a stay at home homeschooling mom has grown me and stretched me and taught me a lot about myself. I’m not as patient as I would like, I like things done a certain way, I definitely need grace and strength from God. When I look back on each day, I’m amazed at all the little blessings I saw. My daughter reading to her brother for Book It points, my son tracing his name with master concentration, the older kids playing with the baby and setting the table. They sometimes fight - we deal with hurt feelings and bad attitudes and complaining just like everyone else - but I am there to help them apologize and forgive and start a dance party. Though the days be hard I’m thankful this is what we’ve chosen.

As I said before, people choose how to educate their children for different reasons and our choice is not the right one for everyone. You may start with one type of school but switch as your family changes. But whatever your choice - public, charter, homeschool, private, online - remember that you as a parent are your children’s biggest influence. Even if they aren’t with you most of the day, get into their lives, learn with them, laugh with them, teach them. God placed your children in your family for you to disciple them. Pray for these gifts from God and never take a moment for granted.

For more reasons I love homeschooling, check out this post.

Photo by Evan Kirby on Unsplash

Planning Our Homeschool Year

I've had some interest in how I'm planning our homeschool year and thought I'd write a post to break down what I'm doing. It's important to note that each state has its own rules and requirements for homeschool families so check with your state. Utah - where we live - suggests doing school 180 days but I don't have to turn in or record any type of attendance. Many curricula are organized with 180 days or 36 weeks of school in mind so it just makes it easier to plan with those numbers in mind.

Curriculum

The first big decision is choosing what method of homeschool you will follow and what books you plan to use. We are more school at home in our approach and this year we are using BJU Press for all the major subjects, Sing Song Latin for language, and I'm writing/planning art, music, and Bible on my own. If you aren't familiar with the different methods to homeschool, this website will break down the most common ones.  Keep in mind you don't have to follow any one of these completely. While we are structured in the curriculum we use we don't have a set schedule of how much time is spent on each subject, the time we do certain subjects, etc. Once you have your books in hand, you are ready for the next step. The actual planning.

Yearly Planning

Once you know what books you're using and how many days/weeks your state requires, you can decide how your year will look. Some homeschoolers prefer a year round approach. This gives mom a few weeks off throughout the year to regroup and rest. It often looks like 9 weeks doing school {one term}, three weeks off, and repeat. So instead of having a long summer you have breaks at nine week intervals all year and just three to four weeks off in the summer. I've never tried this because I enjoy having a long summer break and my kids definitely do! We start in mid August and go through mid April with short breaks at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also finish school daily by noon so that gives us every afternoon to go places and do things. 

I print off a calendar from this website because you can choose your beginning and ending months and what format you want. I mark off the holidays/breaks we plan to take and circle the date we plan to start. Then I count out 36 weeks, taking into account any days or weeks I blocked out for holidays. That gives me my end date. You can add or subtract days if you don't take full week breaks. And we're ready to move on to the last step!

Daily Page Planning

Because I am a planner, I like having guidelines for where we should be as the year goes on. I also think it's good for children to see a goal {in this case a certain page number} and work toward it. I make a simple chart that lists all the subjects, the number of pages or chapters each has, and my start and end dates. Some subjects like spelling and Latin are easy. We do one lesson a week in each. For the other subjects I take the total number of pages in the book, divide by 180 {the days we do school}, and it tells me how many pages we should do a day to be finished in 180 days. If the number isn't even - like 2.6 - I make a note to do 2-3 pages a day.

 We break our year into four nine-week terms. So I also take the total number of pages, divide by two, and that's the page number we should be on halfway through the year. I split it in half again for the first term and add that number to the halfway point for the third. Is that confusing? Here's an example:

Our math book has 332 pages. 332 divided by 180 equals 1.84 {about 2 pages a day}. **You can be finished at this point because you know how many pages to do each day. But if you want to give yourself or your student a number to help keep on track throughout the year, keep going!** Now we take 332 divided by 2 and get 166. We should be on page 166 by the end of our second term. Divide 166 by 2 and we have 83 so we should be on page 83 by the end of our first term. Now take 166 and add 83 and we get 249 which is the page we should be on by the end of our third term. 

In our art and music schedule I purposely left the last two weeks of school free. This gives us extra time those last two weeks to finish up the other subjects if we get behind for some reason. Also her spelling only has 33 lessons so we will finish that three weeks early.

I know this seems like a lot, especially when you have multiple kids. But once you get into a groove it goes very quickly. It took me a few afternoons but that was doing it with a baby in my arms between nap times. I should note that I only do this with my second grader. For my preschooler I'm very relaxed. He'll do art, music, and Bible with us. Then he has his own book and we'll focus on a certain page each day but I'm not going to be super scheduled with him because at his age a lot of learning is just playing and observing new things.

If you are a seasoned homeschool mom, do you schedule out your year like this? Have you found any tips or tricks to make prepping easy? I'd love to hear about it!

Photo by Melinda Gimpel on Unsplash

Four Reasons I Love to Homeschool

It's that amazing time of year when school ends. You survived, your kids survived, it was a great year.

Regardless of your schooling method for your children there's always a sigh of relief when one grade is finished and you can take a breather before diving in again.

For some, this summer will be spent evaluating the past year and deciding if a change in schooling is right for your family. And maybe you're considering homeschool. This fall we'll be going into our third year of homeschooling and I'd like to share a few benefits I've noticed.

1. We can vacation anytime. Our state suggests doing school 180 days - which is what public schools do - but puts no qualifications on when those days should occur. So we can vacation when it's the down time for popular places. We can also take breaks for visiting family when it's convenient without playing catch up.

2. I know what my kids are learning and how they learn best. Every child is different and this year I figured out my son learns completely different than my daughter did at his age. While they both are visual, hands on learners, my daughter could do coloring and worksheets all day. My son got bored within a month of starting preschool. But he loves counting, sorting, building, and books. With that knowledge, I won't buy him preschool workbooks for K4 this year but we'll get lots of library books, work alphabet puzzles, sort shapes and colors. Also, my daughter enjoys crafting and remembers lessons better if we make something or color as review. So we'll be adding some crafts where we can to reinforce what we talk about.

3. I get to watch them learn. Teaching can be frustrating but it's also a joy when you notice the light turn on and see your children thrive. The fact that you help them reach that point makes it even sweeter. It also teaches you as the parent patience like nothing else will!

4. I get to learn things with my children. I've heard people say they could never homeschool because they don't remember grammar rules or long division, let alone be able to teach it. But the great thing is you get to learn it again as you teach your children. I don't remember anything about how my mom taught me to read or phonics rules but as my daughter and I went over the curriculum together, it slowly came back. And there are some things we've talked about that I don't think I ever learned about animals and geography.

I know homeschooling isn't for everyone. Children learn differently and thrive in different environments. But if you are considering homeschool, don't be intimidated or overwhelmed or scared. There are so many reasons to give it a try!

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Instructing with Kindness

Recently I was reading in Proverbs and this short verse stood out to me. ‘Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.’ (Prov. 31:26 CSB) Chapter 31 on the virtuous woman is not a new passage for me but I was reading in a different translation than I usually do and the words ‘loving instruction’ stood out to me. The English Standard Version translates it ‘the teaching of kindness.’

As a stay at home, homeschooling mom, my days are full of instructing others. My children are lower elementary age so basic facts about phonics, math, writing, and the alphabet are usual topics of teaching. We're also learning manners, how to get along and solve disputes between siblings, how to do chores. It seems as if my days are one long teaching session.

If I'm honest I would have to admit that what I teach is not always done in love or patience or kindness. Sometimes it's a frustrated nails-digging-into-my-palm kind of teaching. When I've explained the same thing 20 times and they still look doubtful. When I correct and deal with the same attitude issues and see no proof they've listened. When I struggle to not raise my voice and retreat to my room for a long cry, wondering if I'll ever arrive as a good mom.

Maybe that's why verse 26 leaped off the page at me. Because I've lived the opposite of teaching my children with loving instruction and I didn't like it.

Proverbs isn't the only guide we have for how to use our mouths. Consider what James says when he writes, ‘Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.’ (James 1:19) A few chapters later we read, ‘So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.’ (3:5) We can use words with love and kindness or in anger and selfishness. And how we speak shows others what is in our hearts. (Matt. 15:18)

So where does that put us with speaking loving instruction? Or rather we should ask what does loving instruction look like practically lived out?

To me it means having an attitude of love for who we are teaching before the teaching ever begins. If my response and attitude don't show my kids I love them, anything I say or try to teach will fall on unresponsive ears. I will look like a hypocrite - instructing them to love others and serve God while failing to do it myself.

Teaching includes a large percentage of ‘do what I do.’ And children are notorious mimics. They will copy what we do whether we tell them to or not.

When I look back on my day with my kids, I don't want to regret what I taught with my own attitude. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking I don't enjoy my time with them or I regret my decision to homeschool. I want our everyday interactions to be brimming with love.

My desire is to do all with kindness.

Whether you homeschool or not, you are primarily responsible for teaching your children the ways of the Lord. And it begins with the attitude in how we teach.

photo by Laith Abdulkareem on Unsplash