BJU Press Blog

A Homeschool Graduate Embarks on Teaching Her Own Children

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Hello, I’m Karin, and I’m excited to begin blogging with BJU Press to share my homeschool experiences and discoveries. My blog posts will offer a glimpse into our homeschool life, share practical teaching ideas and Deuteronomy 6 teaching moments, pass on tips from veteran homeschool moms, and discuss ways of balancing homeschooling with homemaking. We will draw strength from Scripture as we learn to trust and obey the Good Shepherd, who will “gently lead those who are with young” (Isaiah 40:11 NKJV).

In the picture above, the excited student sitting at her desk is me, twenty-plus years ago. My mother has faithfully homeschooled her four children and is currently finishing up with my youngest sibling in high school. BJU Press was the backbone of our curricula, and that’s what my oldest sister is now using to home educate her children.

I still remember the anticipation of opening a new box from BJU Press—interesting textbooks and colorful workbooks of my very own that would become quite familiar throughout the school year. One of my favorite times was when my siblings and I would gather on the couch to listen to my mom read us a classic book. We’d always beg for “just one more chapter.” When I was in junior high, we started using BJU Press Distance Learning, which at that time was broadcast via satellite. I laughed and learned through science classes with funny Mr. Harmon and grew in my love for writing and grammar with Dr. Seibert.

I so relished my homeschool experience that after high school I continued learning from home through CLEP tests and distance learning college courses. At Liberty University, I completed studies for my BA in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in English and journalism. I have enjoyed writing and editing for three different Christian ministries, doing mostly contract work from home.

God blessed me with a Psalm 1 husband that I met at my church. He grew up going to church, but in college, when God convicted him of his sin and caused him to be born again (John 3), he trusted Christ as his Savior and Lord. He had a good experience as a child going to public school in a small town, but we both agreed that we wanted to home educate our children. God has blessed us with two children so far, and we feel the weighty responsibility of the mandate to raise them in the “training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4 NKJV).

Having been homeschooled myself, I’m not bound by idealist notions of a Pinterest-perfect homeschool room with an always prepared teacher and ever eager to learn students. I know it’s difficult since as a child I was a challenge to teach at times. I remember on several occasions walking into my mom’s room and finding her on her knees in prayer. Only by God’s grace can our children learn to fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Only by His saving work in their hearts—through repentance and faith in Christ—will they have a home in heaven and a heart for learning and serving in God’s world. So we fall on the mercy of God and ask Him for strength to teach our children, trusting Him to reach their hearts.

Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:16–17 NKJV)

Don’t Celebrate Columbus Day?

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Columbus was only one of many famous explorers, and he never actually got to the North American continent. So, why celebrate Columbus?

Christopher Columbus arrives in America
Christopher Columbus arrives in America by L. Prang & Co., Boston/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

As early as 1792, there were official celebrations of Columbus’s voyage. In 1934, in response to lobbying by Italian immigrants, Congress passed a resolution asking the president to designate October 12 as Columbus Day. President Roosevelt signed a proclamation in 1937, but it was still not a federal holiday. In 1968, in honor of Columbus as an example of the courage and determination of all immigrants who have come to America, Congress decided to create a legal public holiday to be celebrated on the second Monday of October each year.

But Columbus’s arrival in the New World actually opened the door for major changes no one wants to celebrate. Europeans brought enslavement and death to thousands of people in the Americas. If humans were simply advanced primates, perhaps these acts could be explained as necessary for the survival of the fittest. But human beings are image-bearers of God (Genesis 1:27), and the Bible teaches that that people are to love their neighbors (Mark 12:31). A Christian cannot please God by celebrating or even by ignoring the death or mistreatment of other people.

The real question is whether you can celebrate the good that someone does without talking about the evil that he does. The Bible gives us guidance on that. As the Old Testament accounts show, God used people like Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and David despite their failings and sins. But God does not whitewash their history. In each case He details both their successes and their failures to love God and their neighbors. However, God does not always feel compelled to give both sides. In Hebrews 11 there is a list of heroes of faith. God mentions Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and David, but not their failures. The list even includes Rahab, Samson, and Jephthah, all of whom were conspicuous for sinfulness! Why are they in this chapter? It’s not that the failures don’t matter. God spent a lot of time talking about their failures in other places. It’s just that a person is not simply the sum of his failures; he is also a product of grace working in his life.

When historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto took up the question of whether Columbus was a saint or criminal, he concluded on the five-hundredth anniversary of his famous voyage that “the real Columbus was a mixture of virtues and vices like the rest of us, not conspicuously good or just, but generally well-intentioned, who grappled creditably with intractable problems.”

So what can you celebrate on Columbus Day? Celebrate the truth. Remember that early explorers such as Columbus courageously faced enormous obstacles and persevered. Acknowledge the fact that many also sinned against their fellow human beings. Recognize that in spite of man’s sinfulness, God is gracious. Thank God for the good, and learn from the bad. For Christians, Columbus is a reminder that we are all sinners desperately in need of the grace of God.

P Is for Party!

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Preschool and K4 students work their way through the alphabet letter by letter. They need to learn to recognize letters by their shapes, and they need to know what sounds the letter makes. These are important pre-reading skills that will help them when they get to K5 and beyond.

Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be boring. Since young children learn best by experiencing the world around them, parents and teachers can make learning fun by involving all of the senses.

October is both National Pizza Month (according to pizza.com) and National Popcorn Poppin’ Month (according to popcorn.org). Put these two ideas together for a fantastic p-themed party that will help teach little ones about the letter p.

Dress

Encourage the kids to dress up as something that begins with the letter p. Examples include a pirate, parrot, princess, painter, pumpkin, policeman, popsicle, or postal worker. Or you could let them wear their pajamas to school!

Food

Every party has to have food. For this p-themed party, pizza and popcorn are on the menu. Below are some great easy recipes for treats you can prepare ahead of time.

 

caramel popcorn in a treat bag and bowl

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients

4 quarts popped popcorn (unsalted, butter-free)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup light Karo® syrup

1 stick margarine

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
        1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil and coat it with cooking spray. Add popped popcorn.
        2. Combine the margarine, salt, brown sugar, and Karo® syrup in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.
        3. Boil for five minutes without stirring. Remove from heat, and quickly add the baking soda and vanilla; stir until the mixture turns an even caramel color.
        4. Pour mixture over popped popcorn and toss to coat evenly.
        5. Bake for one hour, tossing every fifteen minutes. Allow to cool; store in an airtight container.

Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup sour cream

1 8-oz. package cream cheese

1 package dry ranch dressing mix

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1½ cups broccoli, chopped

1 carrot, grated

Directions
            1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
            2. Pat crescent roll dough onto a greased jellyroll pan. Pierce with a fork.
            3. Bake for ten minutes. Cool completely.
            4. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, and ranch dressing mix. Spread onto crust.
            5. Add chopped vegetables. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour or more in the fridge. Cut into small triangles and serve.

Games/Activities

Don’t forget about your kinesthetic learners. Below are some p-themed activities to get the kids moving.

Parade

The day before the party, ask the children to bring an object to school that starts with the letter p. Sample objects might include a stuffed puppy, a small pumpkin, a pencil, or a puppet. On party day, let each child carry his object as you all line up and walk around the school building. Be sure to smile and wave at the people you pass!

Musical Pillows

The day before the party, ask the children to bring a pillow to school. Play the classic game of musical chairs, but use pillows instead!

Peanut Toss

Materials

Bag of circus peanuts
Two buckets or other open containers
Masking tape

Directions
                1. Divide the children into two teams.
                2. Use the masking tape to mark two starting lines on the floor. Place the buckets two to three feet away from the tape marks.
                3. Challenge the children to try to toss the circus peanuts into the bucket. The team that gets more circus peanuts in the bucket wins.

As you can imagine, the possibilities for a p-themed party are endless! If you have a  p-themed party idea, please tell us about it in the comments.

Family Calendars

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A few weeks ago, I left my phone at home on a Sunday morning. I didn’t realize it until we were on the way to church. When I gasped and told my family, there was silence for a moment. Then my husband semi-facetiously said, “How will we know what to do today?”

Like most families, our calendar is jam-packed with soccer practices, music lessons, youth group activities, school projects, orthodontist appointments, and more. Meeting those obligations in a timely manner is an important life skill that I’d like my children to learn. Another goal of mine is to help them meet their obligations without any of us having to endure my endless nagging! Something that I’ve incorporated recently is the Google Calendar™ tool. My kids are in or near their teens now, so each of them has a mobile device or tablet.

 

In the Google Calendar™ tool, I’ve set up four different calendars—one master family calendar plus a calendar for each child. The master family calendar is for activities that the whole family needs to know about—church events, my husband’s business trips, and so forth. The individual calendars are tailored for each child (the other siblings don’t necessarily have access) and include soccer practices, homework milestones or due dates, doctor appointments, music lessons, and so on. I’ve set up alarms or reminders as needed. I’ve encouraged my kids to add their own events (and to-do items like chores and music practice) to their calendars. The various calendars have been helpful for me and for my husband too.

My two older children have done very well with the family calendar and refer to their own calendars regularly to make sure they’re prepared. My youngest still likes Mom’s personal reminders better.

What do you do to keep your schedule organized?

• • • • •

Jennifer has worked at BJU Press for over twenty years. A favorite aspect of her job is talking with home educators and teachers about their experiences. Jennifer is married, with three children. She enjoys cooking for her family, and is always ready to try a new recipe.

Bug Masks

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Little kids have big imaginations. Empty boxes can become caves, minivans, even rocket ships. Dressing up adds to the adventure. A plain bathrobe can transform them into superheroes. Add a pair of fur-lined boots, and suddenly they’re trekking through a frozen wilderness in search of polar bears.

This month, kids can create their own bug masks with some help from our free templates. Download the template to make a bee mask, a cricket mask, or a ladybug mask. Or make all three! Just follow the instructions below to get kids started on their own bug adventure.

Supplies to gather

Steps to follow

  1. Print out the mask template.
  2. Cut out the gray areas of the printout.
  3. Use a hole punch where indicated.
  4. Color and decorate the mask.
  5. Allow it to dry completely, if needed.
  6. Tie a piece of yarn to each hole to make a headband.
  7. Tie the mask around the child’s forehead, and let the fun begin!

What other fun crafts do you and your children enjoy doing? Let me know how your bug mask turned out by commenting below.