BJU Press Blog

3 Tips to Beat Homeschool Winter Boredom

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child at computer tired of winter boredom
When I was a homeschooled student, February seemed to drag on forever. It was cold and snowy (I lived in Illinois). There weren’t many opportunities to get out of the house and winter boredom hit hard. The routine of homeschooling seemed dull, and I was ready to be done.

Now I’m the homeschool mom instead of the homeschool student. I live in the South where the winters are milder, but I have still found the winter months to be a challenging time to homeschool. By the time February rolls around, I (and my kids) just want to be done homeschooling for the year. But we can’t just quit. We have to stick with it to the very end. Here’s a few ideas to help you and your homeschool crew make it past those “winter doldrums.”

Find out how to beat boredom this winter!

God-Centered Self Care

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use your Bible for God-centered self care
I had to laugh at a recent advertising slogan I saw: “Mac and cheese is self-care.” As I thought about this matter of self-care, I realized that we don’t usually neglect to take care of ourselves. The problem is we tend to allow the world, our feelings, or our friends to dictate how we “self-care.” In every area of life, our purpose should be to bring glory to God, and this includes taking care of ourselves. If we do this selfishly, it will end up only hurting us and our families.

So what is the right way to approach this issue of self-care? As in all other aspects of life, we can look to Jesus, our perfect example. Though fully God, He was also fully human and experienced human needs. Jesus spent His earthly life serving others, but He also took time to take care of Himself in two main ways.

Read more about spiritual self-care…

Scriptural Responses to Earthly Leadership

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earthly leadership nero
As we approach Inauguration Day, you and your children may be having regular conversations about the outcome of the elections, how leaders are chosen, and how Christians should respond to leaders who do not value God’s commands. The Bible should always guide our responses to the major events in our lives. However, our world often appears differently from the way it did in Bible times.

In Bible times, when leaders were often born into their roles, it was easy to see how God chose leaders. In a democracy, the people choose our leaders. Certainly God remains sovereign over all the choices of man, but is it possible that God intended for us to have a better leader but allowed the people to choose a worse leader? Are our current leaders not the leaders He chose for us? How should we as Christians respond to earthly leadership?

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4 Simple Options for Modifying BJU Press Curriculum

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boy using spelling 3 modifying curriculum post
Have you ever noticed that life and homeschool curriculum just don’t always see eye-to-eye? The days are either too short or they somehow get too full. How can you possibly get every subject done and all the extras, too? If you’re overwhelmed with life events, if you’re transitioning to a new curriculum, if you’re just getting into homeschooling, or if you’re spending way too much time each day just getting through curriculum, it may be time to consider modifying your curriculum to make it simpler for you and your children.

This doesn’t need to be another daunting task for you to accomplish. Modifying your BJU Press curriculum doesn’t usually mean rewriting it or finding additional resources to add to your day. Modifying either your parent-led or video course curriculum usually means deciding which resources provide the most value to your family and focusing on those. Our writers never intended for students to answer every question and complete every activity. Each book has more than you need for the completion of the course. An important learning principle is that successful education doesn’t mean doing all the things all the time. Successful learning comes when you do the things you have time to do effectively. We will look at ways to modify the program so it works better for you, but first, here are some things to consider before making those modifications.

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4 Tips for Creating a Positive Tone in Your Homeschool

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mother daughter with positive tone
Homeschooling is hard. Parenting is even harder. We homeschool parents probably have it the hardest of all—we have to be both the teacher and the parent all day long. This dual role can be a blessing. We have the opportunity to deal with character issues that would likely not be addressed if our child sat in a traditional classroom. But wearing both hats can also be deeply discouraging. Without a positive tone in our homeschool, we may feel like we are constantly having to correct our children. We’re correcting their schoolwork, their attitudes, and wrong behavior. Correction, correction, correction. All. Day. Long.

We homeschool parents have a unique superpower—we set the tone of the atmosphere in our homes. Have you ever noticed that when you are feeling grumpy everyone in your house gets grumpy too? The same phenomena happens when we are full of joy. It’s contagious. So if we want to change the tone in our home away from the constant doom and gloom of correction, we are going to need to change both our words and our actions. Here are some ways to get you started on creating a positive tone in your homeschool.

Read tips for creating a positive tone in your homeschool!