BJU Press Blog

Guest Writer

Motivational Scripture for the New Homeschool Year

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motivational scripture
It’s hard to believe another homeschool year is under way already! Doesn’t it seem like just a few days ago we were putting away last year’s textbooks? Maybe you’re thinking, “School? Bring it on!” Maybe (like me) you’re thinking, “School? Not yet—just a couple more weeks of summer vacation!” Whether we feel ready or not, we can find encouragement and motivation in Scripture as we embark on this new year of learning.

Nothing else has the power to inspire us the way God’s Word can, especially when homeschooling (and life) becomes challenging. These are just a few verses that can help us keep our focus on God as we strive to educate our children for His glory.

Motivational Scripture for Giving Our Best

These passages can encourage us to do our best for the Lord, not just at the beginning of the academic year but all throughout.

Colossians 3:23—Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

1 Corinthians 10:31—Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Romans 12:11—[Be] not slothful in business, [but] fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 9:10—Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.

Gaining Wisdom, Not Just Knowledge

As we seek to help our children grow in academic knowledge, let’s also endeavor to teach them God’s wisdom for life.

Proverbs 1:7—The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:6—The Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Colossians 4:5—Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Proverbs 4:7—Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 8:11—Wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

Motivational Scripture for Maintaining Order

Being organized is not only conducive for learning, it’s also a biblical principle.

1 Corinthians 14:40—Let all things be done decently and in order.

Defeating Discouragement

Without a doubt, there will be times we struggle with despondency during this year. Unexpected obstacles, interruptions, disappointment, and tiredness will threaten to steal our God-given joy. One of the best verses to combat discouragement is Galatians 6:9, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Looking Ahead

As we begin this new season, let’s follow Paul’s example in Philippians 3:13–14, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” It’s a new opportunity for us and our children to grow in our knowledge of Christ, and His Word is always sufficient for us!

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Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and mom of two young girls and loves homeschooling them. During her own twelve years of being homeschooled, Jennifer developed a passion for reading and writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and relishes writing during her free time.

Read Out for Oral Reading Skills!

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teaching oral reading skills
An important part of teaching your child to read includes developing oral reading skills.

Mrs. Walker, who teaches reading for BJU Press Homeschool, has created more online videos to help demonstrate the value—and fun—of reading out loud! Here they are with a summary to introduce each one. I’d encourage you to watch them all and find out more about the importance of oral reading.

When Is Oral Reading Important?

The blog recently focused on silent reading as a valuable skill. The videos linked there show how silent reading helps your student focus and fully understand what he’s reading. But what about reading things out loud? Why is that important? And when’s the best time to do it?

While silent reading will help your student form his comprehensive skills, oral reading will help develop his communication skills. Reading a piece out loud will help your student take what he’s just learned and communicate that to someone else. It’s been said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. Having your child read aloud will not only help him communicate, it will also make sure he understands what he’s reading!

Save oral reading until after your student has read at least once silently. That way, he has already had time to engage with and process the material. Then he can work through sharing that information with others.

How Do I Grade Oral Reading?

As your student begins reading aloud, you’ll want to grade and record his reading. Tracking his progress helps you determine what areas he might need a little more help with. BJU Press has provided multiple oral reading assessments to help with this—along with specific things to listen for as your child is reading.

Again, we recommend you let your child read the material silently first. You may even want to ask him a few questions to make sure he fully understands what he’s reading.

When he’s ready, listen for the criteria listed on the rubric. Be sure to rate each item honestly but fairly, and give your child positive comments on the things he does well. Oral reading is a difficult skill that requires speaking, pronouncing, and communicating the author’s meaning. He has to do these things all at the same time, so be sure to work through the reading with your child lovingly and patiently.

Why Is Poetry for the Ears?

Poetry is a one form of writing that is well-suited for reading aloud. It’s a creative means of communicating information in a way that’s more memorable, more pleasant to listen to, and potentially simpler to understand. Many familiar songs are poems that express important truths in ways that stick with us and compel us to look at those truths in new and fresh ways.

Even though poetry is not a heavy component of BJU Press curriculum, we include it because we believe it’s important. Your child will likely encounter it regularly as he gets older. Large portions of Scripture are poetry, and we want students to be able to understand it and glean truth from it.

How Do We Perform Dramas at Home?

One more genre that’s meant to be both read and heard is theater! Performing dramas at home is a fun way to teach your student many important skills that he will use for the rest of his life. Public speaking, job interviews, and singing in a choir are all opportunities that doing theater at home will prepare him for.

Theater can also teach your child empathy. As he gets ready to be in a play, he’ll have to learn his lines, create a character, and explore why the character made the decisions he did. Being able to understand a fictional character’s motives will help your student interact with others.

You may also want to have your student go off-script and put things in his own words—which will demonstrate whether your child really understands everything that he’s performing!

We hope these videos have made it clear why reading things out loud is such an important life skill for your student. The more he is able to both understand and communicate what he reads, the more prepared he will be for communicating effectively in whatever positions God is preparing him for.

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Matt recently graduated with an MA in communication studies and currently works as a freelance writer. He attributes the wild variety in his current opportunities to the exploration his parents gave him through the homeschooling experience. He enjoys theater, the gym, and choral music and will rarely say no to a cold glass of sweet tea.

Family Bible Time: The Habit Families Need Most

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Family Bible Time

The most important pattern we can establish in our families is a consistent Bible time together. From the time our children can communicate until they leave home, we must be continually teaching them God’s Word. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 exhorts, “And these words . . . shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” All throughout the day we should be bringing up Bible conversations with our children. Every opportunity we have, we are to point them to Christ. But it’s important to schedule a specific time during the day to put aside everything else and gather as a family to study God’s Word and pray together.

Why Family Bible Time

It’s a time to learn more about our great God! It’s a time to teach our children how to effectively study God’s Word. It’s a time to share close fellowship in the Bible and prayer. Maintaining this mindset will help keep us from viewing devotions as a chore or duty. If we are passionate about God’s Word, it will encourage our children to get excited about it as well.

When and Where

Try to have your family devotions at the same time and place every day. We like to have our family devotions in the evening, just before bedtime. Usually it takes place in our daughters’ bedroom on one of their beds. Perhaps mornings or afternoons work better for your family. Whenever it is, try to have everything done and put away before devotions so no one will be distracted.

What to Read

Scripture itself is always the best choice! Choose a book of the Bible to read through, such as one of the Gospels or the book of Proverbs. Depending on your children’s ages, you can read just a few verses or an entire chapter. Recently our family started reading through the book of Psalms.

How to Get Everyone Involved in Bible Time

Every family member should be engaged during family devotions. One way our girls participate is by taking turns reading Bible verses aloud. If your children are too young to read, you can involve them by asking them simple questions about some of the verses you read. After reading a psalm, my husband asks our daughters specific questions about what we just read. For example, from Psalm 1 he asked questions like these:

“What does the word blessed mean?”
“How do we delight in the law of the Lord?”
“What does it mean to meditate?”
“Why does God compare the righteous person to a tree?”

After discussing the passage, we sing some songs together. We quote a memory verse and then close with prayer. We like to use “prayer sticks”—craft sticks with names of loved ones, missionaries, and church members written on them. We keep them in a jar and each of us draws one prayer stick and prays for that person or family.

Let’s make family Bible time the most special part of our day!

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Jennifer is a pastor’s wife and mom of two young girls and loves homeschooling them. During her own twelve years of being homeschooled, Jennifer developed a passion for reading and writing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and relishes writing during her free time.

Encouraging Silent Reading

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encouraging silent reading
We are thrilled to announce that Reading 2, a new Distance Learning course taught by Mrs. Walker, is now available! Mrs. Walker has also recorded a few online support videos to give you tips on guiding your child’s reading. Find out what she has to say about silent reading in the videos below.

Why Is Silent Reading Important?

A primary focus of your child’s elementary homeschool education needs to be his ability to read silently. Reading silently is something that all of us do every single day. Imagine how tedious it would be if we were required to read every product tag, highway sign, blog post, and book out loud! But what is the value in teaching your child to read silently? Why is it worth it for him to learn it?

Practicing silent reading skills will enhance your child’s speed, comprehension, and focus in reading. It will activate his imagination and allow him to visualize what he is reading in his own mind. Reading silently will also enable him to engage with what he’s reading. If he has engaged with the content, he will be better able to discerning the author’s level of skill in writing and to discover the author’s intended message. Then he can ask meaningful questions and work to understand the material at a depth he can discuss with you instead of merely repeating back to you what he has read. Finally, reading silently will clear away distractions for your student and help him fully focus on what he’s reading. The more he is able to focus, the more he will get out of what he reads, and the more obvious the applications for his life will be.

In an age when the volume of information is constantly increasing, your child needs to be able to fully understand the content in front of him so that he can evaluate it from a biblical worldview. Training your child to read silently will empower him to work through the large amounts of information he encounters on a daily basis.

What Is Sustained Silent Reading?

Sustained silent reading involves giving your student large blocks of time to dedicate to reading silently. Scheduling times of the day for your child to do nothing but read will clear away the distractions and help your child engage with the content in a meaningful way. Sustained silent reading will also lengthen your child’s attention span, which will enable him to process large amounts of text into applicable truths for his life.

So how can you get your child ready for sustained silent reading? First, be intentional with what you put in front of him. Give him a selection to read that he will find both easy to understand and interesting. Also, make sure you’re available to help him with any difficult words and answer any questions he has. You can also include topics in the selection that cater to your child’s specific interests. Maybe he has specific genres he prefers or certain topics he likes to explore. Giving him things to read in those areas will encourage him to learn more about the things he already loves. Finally, you could set aside a designated spot in your home for him to read, such as a reading nook or a special chair. This way, your child will always know that any reading done there will be both peaceful and focused.

While advertisements and social media typically give us shorter messages, your child can definitely expect to encounter larger amounts of writing in everyday life. Creating long periods of time for your student to read silently will enable him to handle and process larger chunks of information.

How Do You Assess It?

Every skill your child is learning should be measured so that you know how he is growing. But silent reading can be a difficult skill to measure. So how can you evaluate it?

BJU Press Homeschool has provided numerous tools for assessing how well your student is doing with silent reading. Each worksheet contains several components to help you get a feel for your child’s strengths and weaknesses in reading. They provide a goal for your child’s reading—which will help him read both proactively and reactively. The worksheets contain a series of comprehensive questions to make sure your child is thoroughly understanding what he reads. Finally, the worksheets will build up to more difficult questions to stretch your student’s critical-thinking skills, appropriate to his reading level. The ability to measure where your child is with reading silently will help determine where your student needs to grow and encourage him in areas where he already excels.

Hopefully these videos have made it clear why silent reading is such an important practice for your student! And be sure to check out the new Reading 2 course and its exciting amusement park theme. If you purchase the online course, you will have access to it immediately; if you choose DVDs, you can expect your order to ship by August 1. Happy reading!

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Matt recently graduated with an MA in communication studies and currently works as a freelance writer. He attributes the wild variety in his current opportunities to the exploration his parents gave him through the homeschooling experience. He enjoys theater, the gym, and choral music and will rarely say no to a cold glass of sweet tea.

Best Books for Vacation

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best books for vacations
Is your family taking a trip this year? Whether it’s a weekend at the beach, a cross-country camping trip, or a visit with family, your kids will need some books to keep them occupied along the way. During the summer, encourage your children to read what they enjoy—for the sheer love of the story! For your next vacation, check out this list of books that they won’t be able to put down.

A King for Brass Cobweb (ages 6–7)

Filled with lush, beautiful pictures, A King for Brass Cobweb by Dawn Watkins is just right for early readers who need plenty of engaging visuals with their text. Large print, simple words, and delightful characters make this adventure perfect for reading aloud or independently.

The Mice of the Herring Bone Series (ages 6–7+)

What’s a better vacation book than a swashbuckling tale of pirate seadogs and clever mice? Mice of the Herring Bone by Tim Davis is the first book in a set of five seafaring tales that are sure to delight any child who’s ready for chapter books!

The Nick Newton Series (ages 9–12)

This lighthearted, futuristic adventure series follows the antics of an inventive boy from the country of Thauma. Nick Newton Is Not a Genius by S. E. M. Ishida is an excellent choice for kids who are into science and technology since it blends a love of STEM with a fascinating mystery. The second book in the series, Nick Newton: The Highest Bidder, is a fun, encouraging novel about friendship, persistence, and applied creativity.

Brave the Wild Trail (ages 9–12)

Is your family headed westward to cattle country or south to Florida? Milly Howard’s Brave the Wild Trail is a historical cowboy adventure set in the South, featuring the bullwhip-wielding Florida Crackers who used to drive herds through the Florida wilderness. Vicious outlaws, wild animals, and other dangers of the trail will keep your kid glued to the page.

Beyond the Smoke (young adult)

Winner of the Will Rogers Medallion Award  in 2009, Beyond the Smoke by Terry W. Burns tells the tale of a young cowboy traversing the Wild West after his family dies in a Comanche raid. The choices that he makes along the way determine the kind of man—and the kind of American cowboy—he will be.

False Coin, True Coin (young adult)

In this historical fiction novel, False Coin, True Coin by Lois Hoadley Dick, a young girl faces the perils of seventeenth-century London. As the daughter of a jailkeeper, Cissy meets the Christian hero John Bunyan when he was imprisoned for preaching Christ. She also meets a young outlaw who steals her heart. Making the right choices is not easy for Cissy, especially when peril, plague, and persecution confront her at every turn.

You can purchase these novels and lots more books for vacation from the Journeyforth website or on Amazon. Explore the available titles with your kids and have them make a summer book wishlist. Happy reading!

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Rebecca is a work-at-home freelance writer, novelist, wife, and the mom of two bright-eyed little ones. She credits her success in writing and her love of books to her own mom, who homeschooled three kids from pre-K through high school.