In 2003, my hair was still brown and my kids weren’t school-age yet. We were leaving our ten year stint as missionaries with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Maui and getting our first job with an annual salary in Oahu.

It was a fun, easy time in life. The kids were good travelers and ready for an adventure. We bought our first home and all of us were together all day every day. The kids attended the school where we worked. We moved because the school wanted to hire us to help them integrate the Principle Approach to education.

Oahu was a short-term plan. By 2005, we were ready to homeschool and my husband was ready to work in his legal profession.

My first year of homeschooling was so surreal. I had so much vision and so much training, but learning to homeschool 2nd grade was a whole other learning experience.

Isaac was 2nd grade and Isabel was 1st, but she could handle the 2nd grade material. That made things so easy for me. I loved to plan curriculum so these are the lofty plans I came up with.

My Curriculum Plan

1. Build a homeschool room (which we did build a room 15 by 6 feet; it was so cute)
2. Meet other homeschoolers in the area and invite them to our festival
3. Courageously teach a subject I didn’t like (literature-Heidi)
4. Plan a one-day festival of literature activities to celebrate what we learned (Switzerland Day from our reading of Heidi)
5. Research how to teach the Providential view of history (this was before The Mighty Works of God came out) and gather my resources
6. Make a plan on teaching RightStart Math (I already had the training when the kids were babies)
7. Finalize my language arts routines and assess my kids reading, spelling, and writing skills to meet their needs individually using The Writing Road to Reading (I already had the training before having the kids) (I used this curriculum until 6th grade and supplemented with Wordly Wise until 10th grade, Reasoning and Reading for 4th-6th, Reading Comprehension in Varied Subjects Book 1-3 for 4th-6th or higher if needed, and Analytical Grammar for 4th-6th or higher if needed)
8. Order and organize binders, dividers, and paper and make the schoolhouse look home-y. Oh, and throw a science curriculum in there. LOL!

This was just the academic stuff. Then came the extra curricular and life skills.

My Extra Curricular Plan

1. Sign up for soccer.
2. Teach them how to ride a bike, roller skate, and fly a kite.
3. Plan geography, drama, and music into literature and history.
4. Buy the DVD art curriculum to have them practice drawing.
5. Bake with them.
6. Make a homemade gingerbread house at Christmas.
7. Explicitly teach how to travel well (when traveling)
8. And don’t forget the mini talks at dinner, during commercials, and before going to a friend’s house.

You probably already do most of that, but the part that I want to encourage you in this week is to think of homeschooling as your opportunity to teach children how to think biblically in every day life. Here are some of the questions I’ve asked to prepare my kids for thinking biblically.

My Daily Living Questions

1. What does the Bible say about man? (sinner, in need of God, dependence on God)
2. What does the Bible say about sin? (death is the wage, Jesus saves you from sin, staying in the Word keeps you from sinning)
3. What is the most important quality in following God? (humility, dependence/close relationship with God, listening to His voice)
4. How do you know you’re a Christian? (heart change/desire to please God, hunger for the Word, consistent growth)
5. What has God revealed to you through His word? (through daily reading, how can we apply the word to our life; what can we learn)
6. What does God want you to do in this situation? (stop and think before acting)
7. What areas in your life does Jesus want you to grow in? (reading the Word, praying, worship/devotion, attending church, being loving, governing myself)
8. How can we speak to others in a way that reflects Jesus? (try different ways to test out what is right and what is wrong)
9. Does this behavior reflect the way Jesus acts? (evaluate and decide what is right and wrong)
10. What are some of the most important decisions in life? (learning to govern yourself, accepting and following Jesus, who you marry, and how you shine the light of Jesus into the world)
11. What does the Bible say about wisdom? (read the Proverbs as a family at least once a year)
12. What does the Bible say about folly or foolishness? (read the Proverbs as a family at least once a year)
13. What does the Bible say about how to respond when faced with evil or bad influences? (read the Proverbs as a family at least once a year)
14. What does the bible say about food: fish, birds, eagles, etc; plants: trees, olives, palms, etc; objects: chains, rocks, mountains, bones, money etc; and big concepts: faith, the fruit of the spirit, the influence of the devil, the greatness of God, etc.
15. What are some ways to: honor your parents, respect your elders, speak to adults, greet others, say thank you, please, or goodbye, overcome boredom, glorify God while riding in a car, shopping at the grocery store, or waiting for food at a restaurant, etc? (teach explicit instructions for each)
16. How do you become a good husband/wife? What should you look for in a husband/wife? (teach what the Bible says and your family values)
17. How do we take care of our bodies? (physical: shower every day, eat healthy, exercise, sleep, save yourself for marriage, mental: don’t be reckless in your decision making process, control your behavior/don’t act like an animal, accept your emotions but don’t let them control you)
18. How do you handle conflict with others? (speak with soft answers, try to understand the other, ask for forgiveness if when you don’t do anything wrong, offer to do something kind; walk/get away if it’s dangerous)
19. How do you handle when someone hurts your feelings? (think about it and ask God to give you wisdom, follow biblical principles)
20. What do you do to change your behavior and become more like Christ? (be honest with yourself, ask God for help daily, seek God’s wisdom, ask for parent’s help and prayers)

That’s a lot! I know. But I hope and pray that something inspired you! I pray the Holy Spirit lead and empower you! I don’t expect you to do everything on this list this week, but I hope it’s thought-provoking and challenging.

Raising children is more than just academics. It’s RELATIONSHIP and DISCIPLESHIP!!