BJU Press Blog

Successful Learning

You want your children to succeed in their education. We do too. We offer practical tips for teaching your children math, science, writing, and more! These tips can be applied to any homeschool curriculum. There are also highlights of our new textbooks with examples of how our curriculum trains your children to have success in their learning.

Start here:

Remember These Dates in December

by

December may be the last month of our calendar year, but it’s definitely not the least important one. Whenever I think of this month, I see visions of steamy hot cocoa (with extra marshmallows), car rides at night to see Christmas lights, and conversations with loved ones around the dining room table.

Growing up, I spent most of my Decembers in California with my immediate family, enjoying palm trees, balmy breezes, and sunshine. Whatever your Christmas and the new year may bring you, I hope this season is one filled with the hope and joy that come through accepting God’s special gift—our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord!

WP-Portrait-GWashington-Stuart-12-2015

December 3

Gilbert Charles Stuart entered the world on this day in 1755. You might be more familiar with his paintings than with his name. This American-born artist established his legacy by painting portraits of famous and influential leaders, including six United States presidents. Among the many notable people who sat for him were Thomas Jefferson, King Louis XVI, John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams, Martha Washington, John Monroe, George Washington, King George III, John Jay, and Benjamin West. View some portraits by Stuart and have your kids answer these questions.

• What physical features does Stuart emphasize in each painting either by its placement, size, or color?
• Why might the people have particular expressions on their faces?
• How are the paintings similar/different?

Your kids might even want to try sitting for their own portraits, so don’t forget to brush up on your art skills!

WP-Amending-Constitution-12-2015

December 6

The 13th Amendment was ratified by the necessary number of states in 1865. This addition to the United States Constitution officially ended the slavery of all people throughout our country and any other place under its rule. Its adoption came about two years after Abraham Lincoln presented his Emancipation Proclamation. Take time to share the 13th Amendment and related documents with your kids.

WP-USS-West-Virginia-12-2015

December 7

The infamous attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on this date in 1941, leaving more than three thousand Americans wounded, dead, or missing. As a preteen, I met a Pearl Harbor survivor. I still remember listening to him recount “the day which will live in infamy.” When the attack began he rushed out of the mess hall and witnessed destruction all around. This event and others prompted America’s entry into World War II. It’s important that we remember our past so that we can learn from it and most importantly so that we learn to recognize God’s sovereign hand. Read survivor stories, view pictures, and learn about the impact of this event on our nation at the Visit Pearl Harbor website.

WP-Boston-tea-party-12-2015

December 16

The Boston Tea Party flavored the waters of that city’s harbor in 1773. The British Parliament had placed a tax on this hot beverage for those living in the American colonies, but the colonists resisted taxation and regulation of trade. Their sentiments about the tea tax were clearly displayed when at midnight a group of men barely disguised as Mohawks boarded the Dartmouth and dumped all the cargo overboard. Their actions were peaceful considering that no one was injured and no property damage occurred, but were their actions right? That question might spark a good discussion with your teens about respecting authority and obeying established rules. For a younger group of kids, make this event relatable by brewing some of your favorite hot tea (mine’s Midnight in Paris) and settling down for a read-aloud session of Regina Silsby’s Secret War. Quiet time with tea and a historical adventure to read—that’s a win-win in my book!

WP-Christmas-ornaments-12-2015

December 25

Christmas Day celebrates the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God the Creator took on the flesh of His created beings to save us from our sins (1 John 4). We don’t know the exact day that Jesus was born, but this event is central to the gospel. One of my favorite family Christmas traditions is to read the account of Jesus’s birth from Luke 2. Assign everyone to read a portion of the Scripture passage or have small children create illustrations for the story as they listen. Focusing on the true meaning behind Christmas brings an inner peace and joy during a busy time of year.

WP-Johannes-Kepler-12-2015

December 27

Mathematician Johannes Kepler was born on this day in 1571. He formulated the three laws of planetary motion to explain the movements of the planets in our solar system. Kepler used detailed data to define the true shape (an ellipse and not a circle), size, and speed of planetary orbits. Have a Spirograph® session and make different geometric shapes to celebrate today. I think the images you come up with could make awesome Christmas thank-you cards!

Wishing you all the best for a joyful Christmas and a peaceful new year!

Save

The Real Story of Thanksgiving Day

by

Native American chief

What do you imagine when you think of the first Thanksgiving? Prim people in black hats with buckles, dressed in crisp outfits with white collars? Instead, imagine tired moms and dads, thrilled to finally have enough food for their hungry children. Picture Wampanoag warriors, hauling in whole deer as their contribution to the meal. The tables weren’t beautifully appointed with chic centerpieces and fine flatware; most of the guests probably sat on the ground or on nearby tree stumps, eating from wooden bowls.

For the Pilgrims, that year had been brutal. Many people they loved had died from accidents, privation, or illness. Their shining dream of a free Promised Land had melted into the grim reality of dark, dense forest and hard, unbroken ground.

The American Indians looked out from the sheltering boughs of that wild forest, and they saw haggard, white-faced men and women, slow and stumbling from weariness and lack of food. The tribes saw that these newcomers had the will to survive. All they lacked was knowledge—and enough supplies to give them a second chance.

And then came the wonder that makes Thanksgiving so special. Although they did not know Him, God moved in the hearts of those Native Americans, planting seeds of mercy. With the Wampanoags’ help the Pilgrims had a bountiful harvest, and Governor William Bradford invited everyone to feast and celebrate.

That first Thanksgiving feast went on for three days. No one forgot the sadness of the past months, but they let joy and gratitude overflow instead. They lived out Psalm 106:1, “Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.”

Thanksgiving Day exists to remind us of all the blessings and gifts of the year, especially the ones that fill your heart so full of gladness so that sorrow has no room—the small arms of a child around your neck, the laugh of someone you cherish, the smile of a friend.

So “let the peace of God rule in your hearts . . . and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15–17).

Image Source

• • • • •

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.

Linking Up for Thanksgiving

by

Every year when Thanksgiving comes, we often ask each other the question, “What are you thankful for?” But I like the point Nancy Leigh DeMoss makes in her book Choosing Gratitude that it’s not about the what but the Who. As a Christian, I have the blessing of knowing the One to whom my thanks is directed. Everything I have and everyone I know is a direct result of His guidance in my life. Here are four ways to make Thanksgiving more meaningful for you and your family.

4 Ways to Make Thanksgiving Meaningful from the BJU Press blog

1. Rejoice in God’s blessings by meditating on the words of these Scripture passages or studying well-known thanksgiving hymns.

2. Reflect on the Thanksgiving holiday with these articles.

Thanksgiving table decorations

3. Use table decorations to share the good news.

4. Review these recipes and choose ones easy enough your kids can prepare for the celebration meal.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Education in the New World

by

drawing of teacher with young students in a New England school room from the book America's Story for America's Children

I remember my parents being criticized by many family members for taking us out of the public schools. But just like thousands of other Christian families today, my parents didn’t want their kids influenced by the agenda of modern society. Today’s exodus of Christian families from the secular public schools is reminiscent of another pilgrimage.

When the Pilgrims came to America, they left Europe so that they could be the primary influence on their own children. It was a difficult first year, but the Lord provided. As they offered up thanksgiving, other deeply committed Christians who wanted the same opportunity for their children started pilgrimages to North America. Soon other communities popped up in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with the intent of establishing “a city on a hill.” These parents wanted to be governed by God’s law and to train their children to live the same way. It was their desire that future townships could be shining examples of communities committed to serving God.

Committed to Education

These Puritan parents and leaders were committed to godly learning. They believed that reading was critical to knowing God through His Word and to following the laws of their townships. So parents took the time to teach their children how to read in spite of the difficulties of frontier life.

However, the commitment to education began to diminish within twenty-five years. Parents were beginning to be negligent in teaching their children reading and Christian doctrine. So in 1642, the Puritan leaders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony gathered to establish a law requiring that parents teach their children to read and “that all masters of families do once a week (at the least) catechize their children . . . in the grounds & principles of Religion.”   [text of Massachusetts Act of 1642]

More Challenges

Five years later, the Puritan leaders gathered again and outlined a plan to provide assistance to parents for the education of their children. They believed that “one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, [was] to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures” by preventing children from learning to read. [text of Massachusetts 1647 “Old Deluder, Satan” Act]

So the Puritans provided a teacher for every township with fifty families to help them in teaching their children to read and write. If the township had a hundred families, they made provision for constructing a school building. Parents made a nominal contribution to pay the salaries of the teachers, but they were still responsible for their children’s education. All of this learning was motivated by a desire that children know the Lord through reading His Word.

Startling Changes

Imagine what the Puritans would think if they walked through the halls of today’s schools. How would they respond to the discovery that education has been ripped from its intended purpose—service to God? I think the Puritans would do what many Christian parents are doing today and take their children away from the evil influences. After all, they were willing to take their families into the wilderness of Massachusetts to give their children a thoroughly Christian education.

But even after that arduous journey, Puritan parents still faced challenges in providing education for their children. Yet they were willing to make the sacrifices they believed were necessary to ensure their children received that biblical education.

Providing our children with Bible-based education is vital, and BJU Press supports families like yours and mine in making this kind of commitment to Christian education by creating textbooks that present every academic subject and every aspect of life through the lens of what God has to say about it.

Are you ready to make the commitment?

Art at Home: Creating an Art Station

by

At a yard sale several months ago, I bought a worktable. It was mammoth—almost eight feet in length. It barely fit in our minivan. It was also incredibly heavy.  I really had no idea where I was going to put this monstrosity. I wasn’t even sure how we would get it inside the house. But I knew that this ten-dollar table was perfect for what I wanted it to be—an art station.

My older daughters, four and six years old, love doing art projects. I have encouraged their interest because I know that doing art projects helps young children learn about colors and shapes, boosts fine motor skills, and allows them opportunities to express their creativity.

But paints spill. Glitter is almost impossible to contain. Confetti-sized pieces of paper easily litter the floor. Add a toddler in the mix, and the mess just gets worse because suddenly that toddler is trying to eat all the crayons and pieces of paper. This scene repeated itself frequently at my house, so I knew we needed a space that would contain the mess and yet allow for the creativity. And I knew that there wasn’t much household budget for setting up an art station, so whatever I ended up doing, I needed to do it inexpensively.

If you want to set up a creative space for your kids, here are some ideas that worked really well for us when we set up our art station.

1. Providing a surface

You don’t need an eight-foot worktable in order to set up an art station. Use an old desk, a sewing table, or even an end table. Just make sure that whatever surface you choose is sturdy.

2. Displaying your kids’ artwork

I bought a four-pack of cork squares in the office supply section of a discount store. I mounted one on either side of the worktable so each of my two daughters could have a place to showcase her creations.

3. Making cleanup a breeze

Messes will happen, so making it easy to clean them up is key. My worktable has a laminated plastic top, so it’s really easy to wipe down. But if your surface is solid wood, you might want to consider covering it with a clear vinyl tablecloth to make cleanup easier. I bought a couple of small wastebaskets at the dollar store and placed one on either side of my table to make trash pickup easy. I also bought some very inexpensive cookie sheets (I found them for as low as $.88 each), which have been wonderful for containing glitter, colored sand, and other messy (but fun!) supplies. Small foil baking dishes can help contain paint and yet allow little ones to experiment with color mixing.

4. Stocking art supplies

I keep crayons, colored pencils, child-sized scissors, and white paper out at all times. I bought shower caddies at the dollar store, and they have helped keep everything neat and organized. Currently, our paper is stored in shallow boxes that we picked up at the grocery store for free. I also keep the following art supplies on hand, but my children have to ask to use them.

  • Markers
  • Glue sticks
  • Glue bottles
  • Clear tape
  • Glitter
  • Glitter glue
  • Stickers
  • Construction paper
  • Watercolor paper
  • Washable poster and watercolor paints (I highly recommend Crayola® paint because it comes off anything)

Another way to keep costs low but creativity high is by collecting a box of “junk” that your kids can use to create things with. Here’s a list of some things we have used, but the possibilities are limited only by your imagination!

  • Scraps of tin foil
  • Buttons
  • Coffee filters
  • Paper plates
  • Ribbon and fabric scraps
  • Plastic drinking straws
  • Empty oatmeal canisters
  • Small empty boxes
  • Scraps of wrapping paper

Our art station is set up along a wall in our dining room, and my kids spend hours there every week. They’ve created bookmarks, produced original drawings, engineered paper airplanes—they even made their own chore charts! Below are some pictures of our space that I hope will help inspire yours.

photo collage of art table and art supplies