Homeschool
Basics
We’ve
all had times in our lives that were crazy with busyness. Perhaps unexpected
company arrived, a new baby changed the household routine for a time, a child
was sick and needed constant care, or worse yet when we ourselves were sick. Or
maybe you’ve been in a time when an overwhelming crisis made regular
homeschooling impossible. Oftentimes the upcoming holiday season with it’s
flurry of activities, company and traveling can put homeschooling on the “back
burner.”
To counteract these times of emergency or busyness, ensure that your
children are always learning by adopting some ideas on basic homeschooling into
your regular homeschool routine. This will help ensure that your children
continue these habits of learning during the irregular times of your life.
Always have family worship, individual Bible study and spend time with
God. Memorize scripture each week. Use verses for little ones, paragraphs and
chapters for older children. Share what you’ve memorized for worship or while
riding in the car to church.
Read
a book out loud together, at least a chapter a day. Children love listening to
you read regardless of their age. Together, you can visit a foreign country,
experience life in another culture, go back in time to another era and learn so
much more from reading good, true, books.
Require
your children to always be reading a book on their own and to keep a list of
books they’ve read. They can write book reviews or recommendations to family
members, design a personal method of grading and evaluating books i.e. five
stars.
Write
something everyday in your journals i.e. thankfulness, prayers, what I did…,
events I witnessed, nature I observed, etc.
If
you are always working on a learning project on a topic of interest, your
children can continue working on this together even if you can’t be 100%
involved.
Encourage
your children to develop and work on a personal hobby or a topic they are
investigating.
Chores are simply a part of being a family, everyone works together to get accomplished what is necessary. This is especially important during times of crisis or busyness. Many hands make light work. Teach children how to do the laundry and make a simple meal you never know when it will be invaluable knowledge.
Use
the current situation to teach your children. Health principles for sickness.
Service for others during unexpected company, a new baby, or elderly parents.
Teach the origins of traditions during the holidays. Cooperation and working
together are taught during a crisis situation.
Of
course these ideas are not your
only curriculum for homeschool. It’s just the “basics of homeschool.”
Habits to get into, to get you and your family through a busy or unusual time of
your life.
Our
goal is to create a love for learning within our children, so that they can be
learning wherever they are, in whatever situation they find themselves and to
continue learning for a lifetime.
May
you find a blessing in the basics of homeschooling during this busy holiday time
of year, and may your family grow closer to Jesus is my prayer for you.
~Judy
©2002