BJU Press Blog

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Homeschool Astronomy: Discovering the Night Sky

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Astronomy is a wonderful field of science for at-home study. The laboratory is your backyard, and the subject of study is right overhead! For Christians, astronomy has special significance. After all, the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Whether you and your children want to learn some astronomy over the summer or on homeschool weeknights, these ideas will help you get started.

Check Out Helpful Astronomy Magazines

Two major amateur astronomy magazines, Astronomy and Sky & Telescope, are available at many libraries and bookstores. They’re full of good information and advice, including beautiful photos, monthly sky charts, and notes about special things to watch for in the sky.

You can read the magazines at the library, but if you intend to seriously pursue astronomy for several months, consider subscribing instead. You can also subscribe to the email newsletters of these publications and check their websites for digital editions and online resources.

Explore Fascinating Books About the Stars

At the library, online, or at your local bookstore, you’ll find numerous resources. The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H. A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin, 1976) was written for children by the author of the Curious George series. For an interesting discussion of the biblical references to astronomy, have your teens check out Stewart Custer’s book The Stars Speak: Astronomy in the Bible (Bob Jones University Press, 2002).

Some more recent titles that discuss astronomy from a Christian perspective are Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation by Jason Lisle (Master Books, 2006) or The Astronomy Book  by Jonathan Henry (Master Books,  2012).

Use Your Eyes

You and your kids can begin with what astronomers call “naked-eye” astronomy in your own backyard. With some foundational information from BJU Press Science 3, help your younger children learn their way around the sky and become familiar with the major reference points. If you have teens, Earth Science from BJU Press is an excellent resource with plenty of up-to-date information about the solar system.

First, you can teach your kids about the major constellations, the map by which astronomers find everything else in the sky. Even young children can learn the most familiar ones, such as the Big Dipper and Orion. The constellations change with the seasons, and the moon and the planets are constantly moving around. To know when and where to look for them, use the NASA sky events calendar or sky charts from astronomy magazines.

Find Dark Places 

A little bit of stray light ruins the view of some of the most interesting things in the sky. Modern cities put so much light pollution into the sky that stargazing while in a city is difficult. Many children have never seen the Milky Way because it’s almost impossible to see unless the sky is actually dark. If you’re encountering this problem, plan a trip out in the country, to a spot far from any lights. Pick a night when the moon comes up late or when there is a new moon, so it will be truly dark. Your kids will be amazed at the view!

Look for the Big Ones

Even on days or nights when you can’t drive to the country, you and your kids can still study the sun and the moon. There’s no problem finding them in the sky! Sunsets, rainbows, sundials, eclipses, phases of the moon, tides—all of these are good subjects for study and provide abundant possibilities for projects.

Grab a Pair of Binoculars

Binoculars open up a whole new level of star viewing. With the help of sky charts, your homeschool astronomers will be able to see galaxies, nebulae, craters on the moon, and a host of new stars. You can use any set of binoculars with a large B value (lens size) for a bright, easy-to-see image. A common size that is good for astronomy is 7×50.

Visit a Local Planetarium

If you live near a planetarium, you have a unique opportunity to get a guided tour of the sky. Be aware that many planetariums now do a variety of music and light shows and educational programs that may not be related to astronomy. However, nearly all of them still do simple tours of the night sky.

If you visit the Creation Museum in Kentucky, remember to stop by the planetarium there. The amazing shows in the Creation Museum Planetarium will help you and your kids understand the scope of the known universe and the amazing power of the God who made it all.

Invest in a Telescope

Until you know your way around the sky, a telescope can be more frustrating than helpful. But after taking all the initial steps to familiarize yourself and your kids with astronomy, you might want to consider getting one.

The ideal telescope for home use is three inches or more in diameter, with a sturdy tripod and a mechanism that allows the telescope to move smoothly in order to keep the celestial object in the field of view as the earth slowly rotates. The higher the magnification, the smaller the field of view. But the smaller the field of view, the harder it is to locate and track the object. At 20x (meaning the image is magnified twenty times), the telescope becomes difficult to aim without a small “finder” scope to assist. You can see a lot with 30-50x, including the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, the Orion nebula, and craters on the moon. Principally, there are three basic types of telescopes: refractor, reflector, and compound. Refractors use lenses; reflectors use mirrors to guide the incoming light to a focal point wherein the viewing lens is adjusted (in or out) to produce a sharp image; compound telescopes use lenses and mirrors. Larger lenses or mirrors are much more important than large magnification since they yield a brighter, finer-detailed image.

Some of the cheap telescopes you can buy online or in stores are of poor quality; they feature high magnification but tiny optics and flimsy mounts. Before ordering or purchasing an inexpensive telescope, check the customer reviews posted for that product to help you decide if it’s a piece of junk or a useful tool for your homeschool astronomy sessions.

Astronomy is a subject you can tackle completely on your own with no previous experience necessary—and children of all ages can be involved. Explore the sky as a family and learn together!

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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.

Teaching Your Boys to Be Men of God

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A number of organizations, both secular and religious, have noted our culture’s lack of attention to the importance of strong males in both home and society. A lot of attention has been focused on myriads of other social issues, but the cultivation of strong, wise men has been neglected. As a homeschooling parent, you are uniquely positioned to direct your son toward biblical manhood.

Leadership

God has ordained at least three institutions—the home, the state, and the church—and in at least two of them, Scripture directs that the leadership should be male. This means that most men will be in some kind of leadership role; so it is vital to prepare boys for that future role.

Scripture is filled with examples of godly men, from Job to Moses to David to Paul (and of course, Jesus Himself, who though fully God is fully man as well). You can study these scriptural accounts with your boys and encourage them to note the key characteristics of each man of God.

Humility

Biblical leaders recognize that they are under leaders as well (Ephesians 6:9) and that they are prone to sinfulness as well as all the other characteristics of imperfection (Romans 3:10). They make mistakes, and when they do, they correct them. David repented of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:13), but he did not fail to meet his kingly obligations when facing the consequences of his sin (2 Samuel 12:20).

Self-Control

Self-control is one of the most important traits that a godly man can learn. In a world overflowing with temptations of all kinds, the ability to say “no” to oneself is crucial. Help your sons learn to say “no” to themselves when they are tempted by anger, lust, and selfish desires; and teach them how to focus on joy, gratitude, and service to others instead.

Love

Love is the key to self-control. It is putting the needs of others ahead of your own. Love is the opposite of pride and self-centeredness; and while it is necessary for all believers (Matthew 22:36–40), it’s especially vital for leaders, who have a bigger sphere of influence.

A key element of love— selflessness—comes from working with other people. Group projects (with siblings or other homeschooled children) can encourage your sons to work together and help one another succeed.

Responsibility and Courage

Often, being in charge means doing things that are not fun, and in some cases, not even pleasant. Leaders do those things anyway (2 Corinthians 7:8). They establish a vision, make a plan, and do what is necessary to accomplish it. Sometimes, leaders also have to make unpopular decisions. A godly man should be able to do the right thing despite opposition, even from those he loves; and that takes courage.

It can be healthy, if done in an encouraging environment, to stretch your sons by giving them a little bit more to do than they think they are capable of. Give your boys carefully measured opportunities to be responsible, and reward them with greater responsibility—and freedom—when they do well and make the right choices.

Attentiveness and Empathy

In order to recognize their responsibilities and make good decisions, leaders need to know what’s going on around them. They need to pay attention, listen, and consider carefully the actions and words of other people.

Good leaders have an understanding of how their own actions affect others. They recognize the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of those they are responsible for, and they seek to meet them in appropriate ways.

Christlikeness and Obedience

Whether a man is a leader or not, he is to be like Christ. Reading Christ’s great prayer (John 17), we are struck by the poignancy of His need for fellowship with His Father. The lowest point of His life was when He cried out from the cross, agonizing over the separation from His Father that occurred when He took on our sin. Being dependent on God is not weakness; it’s the wisdom of recognizing where a man finds his ultimate strength.

Christ also obeyed His Father (John 4:34) even though He is His Father’s equal (John 10:30; 14:9). We are even told that He “learned . . . obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

Knowledge

The Bible clearly says that Christ developed as a boy in all the growth areas of the human condition: intellectual, physical, spiritual, and social (Luke 2:52). He apparenlty learned to speak three different languages fluently: Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. He observed carefully the nature of creation (Matthew 6:28) as well as human culture (Luke 7:32). If He could be both omniscient and thirsty for knowledge, each godly boy or man should also strive to be a lifelong student.

Endurance

Your son might be overwhelmed with the idea that he has to cultivate all these characteristics. Like everyone else, he is a work in progress that will not be finished until Christ returns again. To develop these traits in themselves, a boy needs endurance.

Christ is the ultimate example of endurance (Hebrews 12:2). He lived in a fallen, broken, soiled world in a flimsy body of flesh among sinners. He had to face every day knowing what anguish lay ahead for Him in the form of a cross, but He kept going. Through the filth, the faithlessness, and the failures of his followers, He persevered. At last, He “became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the object of the Father’s curse (Galatians 3:13). He completed His mission even though it took years of toil and trouble; and He can walk with your sons, giving them the endurance they need.

Good men do not develop by accident. They are the product of the work of the Holy Spirit, the study of Scripture, diligent prayer, and careful discipleship. In God’s providence, you have been placed in a discipling role for your sons. Disciple on purpose.

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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.

Keeping School-Year Smarts During the Summer

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As summer approaches, most kids have just one thing on their minds—vacation! Most homeschool parents feel that the summer break is good for their children, giving them the opportunity to “just be kids.” It only makes sense, right? Everyone needs a vacation once in a while, especially the energetic “junior set.” The time away from the disciplines of your homeschool schedule allows them more opportunity to explore their personal interests and to further develop socially by playing with other children.

The Downside

But before your kids play away their summer days, consider these research findings from Johns Hopkins University that reveal the possible pitfalls of an extended vacation. On average, children lose 2.6 months of learning over the summer. That’s more than ten weeks of material they will have to review before being caught up enough to begin the curriculum for the next grade.

We’ve all heard that the brain is like a muscle, and that means that it has to be challenged and exercised regularly to stay in shape. The hard work students put into their studies during the homeschool year is almost wasted if they don’t spend at least some time during the summer months keeping the material fresh in their minds.

Maintenance Mode

That doesn’t mean that children should be locked away to study grammar and work math problems all summer. Taking them on frequent visits to the library to find reading material they enjoy is a far more effective way to keep their brains engaged throughout the sunny vacation months. This is also a great time to help your children establish good reading habits—manageable, set amounts of reading time every day—and to help them discover and broaden their reading tastes without the pressure of academics.

Reading throughout the summer months is especially important for children who are still developing fundamental reading comprehension skills. If they spend an entire summer without any extended reading practice, they’re far more likely to lose the vocabulary and comprehension they gained from the previous year.

Educational Outings

Be on the lookout for creative ways to sharpen academic skills or incorporate them into fun summer outings. Visiting a farmer’s market? You can include reviews on everything from geography and history (Where did these different fruits and vegetables grow natively? How and when did they cross into new countries?) to agriculture (What processes actually go into growing food?) and botany (What part of plants are the various fruits and veggies?).

Small-Business Ventures

You also might want to consider having a yard sale or a bake sale. Working with cash transactions and making change for customers will help young people strengthen basic computational skills while also giving them a concept of the realities of money management. A few math exercises out of a workbook every week can help keep math principles fresh in their minds but give them a fun motivation: earning points toward a small reward at summer’s end.

Media Options

Most libraries have a good selection of educational videos for younger children that can occasionally serve as a positive substitute for cartoons. Let your young audience help you choose videos on topics that interest them. Also, you can find many parent-approved educational websites that kids can visit to learn about their favorite topics, participate in simulated experiments, and play educational games.

Summer Camps and Programs

Enrolling children in summer programs or camps is another beneficial option for making the most of your family’s summer learning time. The Johns Hopkins study noted that only 10 percent of children nationwide are involved in summer learning programs. However, the majority of students consulted in the study wanted to be in an educational program during the summer. Children who attend get to enjoy making lasting memories while also learning in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

For another easy way to maintain your child’s academic skills over the summer, check out the Vacation Stations activity books. These short, fun-filled activities review math, language, and reading. With lots of hands-on activities, exciting outings, and a few pages of Vacation Stations review each week, your children can enjoy their summer while holding on to their hard-earned knowledge.

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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.

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My 5 Favorite Things to Give a Homeschool Mom

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hot-chocolate-in-Montsalvat-Melbourne-gifts

As thunder roars and lightning flashes, seven children huddle around Maria. In a strange new place, she must comfort these frightened kids, ranging in age from preschooler to teenager. She rises to the occasion with one of The Sound of Music‘s best-known songs, “My Favorite Things.” Maybe you or someone you know is having a “Maria moment”—a time when you need a bit of encouragement in the form of a favorite thing. Here are some of my favorite things to give my fellow moms!

#1: A Piece of Chocolate

Whether it comes in neat squares or gooey bars, chocolate is one of God’s greatest gifts to woman. Studies show that dark chocolate actually increases blood flow to the brain, enhancing your mood through endorphins and improving your reaction time and problem-solving abilities.

#2: A Part of Nature

Gather an armful of blooms from your backyard or fill vases with green boughs collected from a nearby forest. Just looking at God’s beautiful creation and breathing in its freshness may be enough to lift someone’s spirits.

#3: A Pocketful of Change

A little spending money is a lovely gift for a homeschool mom who spends all her resources on her children. Is a woman you know struggling to keep her head above the homeschool waters? Hand her a gift card to her favorite store or coffee shop, and watch her eyes light up.

#4: Playthings for the Kids

Sometimes, all a homeschool mom wants is a few minutes of quiet time. Put together a bag of inexpensive items like puzzles, glow sticks, books, and playdough and deliver it to a homeschooling family you know. While the children dive into the delights of the bag, the mom enjoys the gift of ten to fifteen minutes all to herself.

#5: A Pampering Kit

Few homeschool moms have the time to hit the spa. One of my favorite gifts to receive or to pass along is a personal spa kit. You can put all kinds of delights into a basket—nail polish, a nail file, softening cream for calluses, a homemade foot scrub, bath soak, essential oils, or soft slippers.
With a few dollars and a little thoughtfulness, you can help another mom weather one of life’s storms.

What would you add to this list of favorite things? Tell me in a comment.

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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.

4 Teaching Tips from the Master Teacher

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Wouldn’t it be nice if teaching were like a science experiment or a math equation? You could do A and B, and then C would always result. It would be nice if teaching a specific way would result in perfect knowledge and understanding in your kids—every time! Yet even wonderful teachers with great skills still have students who struggle.

Sometimes, as a homeschool mom, you may feel like asking the same question that Jesus asked His disciples—”Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:21, ESV). You can’t always control the results of your teaching, but you can continue to improve your teaching strategies so that you can communicate concepts to your kids more effectively. In fact, the Bible is full of helpful strategies used by the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, as He taught the most important lessons of all.

An Example to Follow

Think about the way Jesus presented the same truths in different ways to different groups of people. Sometimes He simply presented the facts; sometimes He told stories; other times He used actions or demonstrations to reveal truth and help it sink in for His followers. As you teach your children, you’ll learn more about the way each one of them learns best, and you’ll discover new techniques and strategies that yield better results.

A Familiar Foundation

Jesus often began his teachings by referring to the law and the Old Testament, something His Jewish listeners were very familiar with. From that starting point, He would reveal new knowledge or delve deeper into a concept.

Everyone learns better when the learning starts in a familiar place. If you can begin with something that your children already know or enjoy, you can then build new knowledge on that foundation. If they’re having trouble mastering a new concept, return to those basic familiar ideas to help them build the confidence and skills they need to move ahead.

A Clear Goal

Kids often ask, “What’s the point of learning this? How I am ever going to use it?” Good teaching communicates goals clearly. When Jesus taught, He constantly presented His followers with the goal—the kingdom of God and His work of redemption. Many of His talks and parables related to the kingdom of God and how true citizens of that kingdom should live.

Every time you teach your children a new lesson, let them know what you plan to cover within that lesson. Tell them why it’s important and what they will eventually be able to do with that knowledge. Having a goal and a purpose keeps them engaged and excited.

An Awareness of Learning Styles

Keep in mind that each one of your children learns differently. Some learn better by listening, others by reading, and others by acting or doing. Lessons that incorporate two or more of these learning methods are typically more effective. As He taught the crowds of people around Him, Jesus told stories and used everyday objects to illustrate the lesson. As much as possible, you can connect the abstract concepts of each subject back to your child’s daily life and activities. Those tangible, real-world connections help them process and retain the information better.

So what works most effectively for your children? Do they learn best by sight, sound, or activity? Are they working on each lesson with a clear goal in mind? Your insight into your children’s personalities and abilities enables you to teach according to their needs, which is the key to helping your children realize their full potential.

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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.