One of the main reasons we so highly value homeschooling is the freedom we have to learn in varied ways and through many means. For us, the Bible is our primary source of education. We can utilize the Word of God for every aspect of learning...and so we do. The Bible is central and key to our homeschool all day, every day.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:16
As the Word of Christ dwells in us richly and as the gospel permeates our everything, the inevitable overflow becomes a desire to live like Christ, think like Christ, love like Christ...which manifests in love for our local and global neighbors.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:36-39
This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:36-39
Our aim is to use the catalyst of education to also direct our children's hearts (and our hearts as the parents) back to the Word. We want to be fueled outward by God's Word and also redirected back TO God's Word through our every experience, question, or learning opportunity. This is because we want our lives to be constantly in line with Scripture and we know that it is profitable and sufficient in itself to prepare our hearts and minds for all things.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17
2 Timothy 3:16-17
As our love for Christ grows, our hearts desire what He desires and this results in a love for the hurting world around us. Since we have so many learners in our family at varied ages, it works well for us to pick a common source (mainly the Bible, but also other resources) and work together as a family to learn. We then take that unified time to propel us toward prayer and other individualized and age appropriate activities for learning. In this way, we get to take something we genuinely enjoy and are invested in, and allow it to be the stimulus for all sorts of other learning enhancement. Above all, we want our children to grow in the Lord and we know that as we honor Him in this, He faithfully fills in the rest. He provides infinite and abundant educational opportunities through streamlined beginnings and life/learning is...simple.
Here are just a few of our most often used mission minded resources (in addition to the Bible of course) for our group time:
OPERATION WORLD
We use the Operation World book to read about and pray for one country at a time. We use the website (www.operationworld.org) for prayer videos and further learning about people groups represented in the countries we study. Among other subjects of interest, this hits geography, world history, social studies, biology at times, global economics, government, anthropology, and most importantly a love for the world and other cultures in particular with regard to their physical and spiritual needs. If the children take notes or write about what we have learned, we take this opportunity to address grammar and language arts. In the past we have made folders with the national flags as a way to get some art in there too.
We use the Operation World book to read about and pray for one country at a time. We use the website (www.operationworld.org) for prayer videos and further learning about people groups represented in the countries we study. Among other subjects of interest, this hits geography, world history, social studies, biology at times, global economics, government, anthropology, and most importantly a love for the world and other cultures in particular with regard to their physical and spiritual needs. If the children take notes or write about what we have learned, we take this opportunity to address grammar and language arts. In the past we have made folders with the national flags as a way to get some art in there too.
THE GLOBE
Following our Operation World study, we pray on our knees as a family around the globe. We pray for the specific needs we have learned and read about a country and it's people groups. We pray for the missionaries and the challenges of the area. We pray for the Lord to raise up laborers for the harvest and we also pray and ask God to show us any way that our family can be part of reaching out to the people we are focusing on. This is geography at it's best if you ask me.
WINDOW ON THE WORLD
The children like this book because it has many pictures and facts about different nations.
They can use it to browse through or read further on their own about countries we have discussed and prayed for.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD (VOLUME 2)
Put out by Operation World specifically for children, this book also contains many facts about different people groups and countries. It has illustrations as opposed to the photographs of Window on the World, yet still lots of great information that the children can read through on their own as an offshoot of our time together around the globe.
In addition to these learning experiences at home, we try to get our family involved in tangible outreach as well in order to foster a mission minded homeschool. We do this through local opportunities, but also desire to have an international experience once a year as well. We have some plans in the works for this year (Lord willing) and are brushing up on some Spanish. We will see what He has planned, but we are convinced that spending 2% of our time out of our normal context and in the context of another culture has a way of influencing the other 98% of our time here at home.
(Puzzles and games also make excellent and FUN geography tools!
Aida is finally at an age to appreciate David Platt's book, Radical, so she is currently reading that. We also encourage the older ones to be reading the many missionary biographies we have collected over the years, so those are always on rotation as well. We utilize missions documentary videos online and inspiring DVDs we own or borrow. When we sit down to watch something together at night, we realize that what we consider entertaining is also continuing education. Documentaries are a wonderful way to spend family time together and if we choose resources of value, they instigate further curiosity, learning, wisdom, and prayer well after our video has ended. In this way, "school" isn't just something that takes place in the morning and there don't even need to be desks involved. I'd say our greatest learning takes place in a comfy circle...ah the beauty of homeschool!
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:14
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Put out by Operation World specifically for children, this book also contains many facts about different people groups and countries. It has illustrations as opposed to the photographs of Window on the World, yet still lots of great information that the children can read through on their own as an offshoot of our time together around the globe.
In addition to these learning experiences at home, we try to get our family involved in tangible outreach as well in order to foster a mission minded homeschool. We do this through local opportunities, but also desire to have an international experience once a year as well. We have some plans in the works for this year (Lord willing) and are brushing up on some Spanish. We will see what He has planned, but we are convinced that spending 2% of our time out of our normal context and in the context of another culture has a way of influencing the other 98% of our time here at home.
Aida is finally at an age to appreciate David Platt's book, Radical, so she is currently reading that. We also encourage the older ones to be reading the many missionary biographies we have collected over the years, so those are always on rotation as well. We utilize missions documentary videos online and inspiring DVDs we own or borrow. When we sit down to watch something together at night, we realize that what we consider entertaining is also continuing education. Documentaries are a wonderful way to spend family time together and if we choose resources of value, they instigate further curiosity, learning, wisdom, and prayer well after our video has ended. In this way, "school" isn't just something that takes place in the morning and there don't even need to be desks involved. I'd say our greatest learning takes place in a comfy circle...ah the beauty of homeschool!
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:14
Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!