BJU Press Blog

5 Fun Things to Do on Your First Day of Homeschool

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5 Things

Are you ready to jump back into homeschooling? Summer is fun and relaxing, but for busy little minds it can eventually become boring. Your kids are probably eager to hold their new textbooks in their hands and start on new projects. Here are some ways to feed that excitement and make good memories on your first day of homeschool.

1. A Special Breakfast

On the first morning of the homeschool year, you’ll have a lot of things to do, but make time to eat a nutritious breakfast together. Whether you add extra bacon to the plate, indulge in doughnuts or cinnamon rolls alongside the scrambled eggs, or whip up some pancakes in unique shapes, the breakfast becomes special and memorable. You could even make a breakfast casserole the previous evening and warm it up in the oven that morning.

2. Annual Photos

Many families take a few pictures before the first day of school begins, and  you can do the same thing with your kids on the first day of your homeschool. Gather everyone on the doorstep, in front of a big tree, or in the driveway, and snap a photo. If you take your “back-to-school” photos in the same spot annually, you’ll be able to look back at the pictures someday and see your kids’ growth from year to year.

3. Journal Entries and Surveys

Are your kids involved in journaling? Have them write an entry about their interests, expectations, and dreams for the year. Save the entries in a special envelope or notebook and read last year’s entry at the beginning of each new homeschool year. Another way to do this is to have the children take the same survey every year and record their answers.

4. Surprises and Gifts

Is there something useful or educational that your children want? Maybe you can give it to them on the first day of homeschool. The surprise gift could be as simple as binders with their favorite characters on them, or as complex as a science kit or an art set.

5. Games, Crafts, and Scavenger Hunts

Remember that the kids are transitioning from a summer of outside learning fun. You can keep the workload a bit lighter on the first day by including an exciting craft or an educational game or two. A “back-to-school” scavenger hunt for their supplies or their new textbooks is another way to keep the summer spirit alive as everyone eases back into the homeschool routine.

Share some of the traditions that your family enjoys on the first day of your homeschool!

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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.

PLACE

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The mantra of stressed-out souls in the twenty-first century has become “I’m going to my happy place.” It refers, of course, to the practice of mentally escaping into an imaginary scene of tranquility and pleasure. Because it is not real and a dream that can be easily interrupted, going to one’s “happy place” is extremely limited. How far superior was Paul’s encouragement to the Ephesian Christians when he reminded them that they had been made to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus! (Ephesians 2:6)

cover image of Wonderful Words

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6). “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26–27). “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).

Golden thought: Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you.”

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (August 3 reading).]

3 Ways to Enjoy Kindergarten

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kindergarten

Both my school-age daughters love to learn. I knew my firstborn would; she was the child that could sit and listen to me read for hours. But I was a little more nervous when I sent my second daughter off to K4 last fall. As my active child, she never stops moving (or talking) all day. I wasn’t sure how she was going to handle sitting and listening, and I was afraid that she was going to come to hate school from the very beginning. The fact that she too loves to learn is a wonderful surprise and is no doubt a result of both the curriculum the school used (BJU Press Footsteps for Fours) and her amazing teacher.

My daughter’s teacher was truly amazing, and she taught me a lot about teaching kindergarteners and instilling in them an early love for learning. Below are some of the things I learned that you could apply in your teaching.

1. Divide Up the Learning

A lot of kindergarteners won’t be able to sit for long periods of time, so divide up your lessons into fifteen- to twenty-minute segments. These frequent breaks will help keep young minds fresh and focused.

2. Make Time for Play
Remember that play is a big part of learning for four- and five-year-olds, so make time for it in your daily schedule. When the weather is nice, allow them to play outside and work on improving their strength and coordination as they run, throw balls, or play on playground equipment. Indoor activities such as role-playing or building with blocks are also helpful because they help build social and problem-solving skills.

3. Engage the Senses
Lessons that engage multiple senses not only help concepts “stick,” but they also help make learning more fun. The teacher’s editions that correspond to the BJU Press kindergarten curricula include a lot of ideas for multisensory learning activities (such as divvying up snacks in Math K5 to illustrate parts of a whole). Additional ideas can be found on homeschooling blogs and Pinterest boards.

Kindergarten is a special time. During the kindergarten years, your children are going to be introduced to a lot of concepts for the very first time, and you’ll be there to witness those special moments—when they succeed in writing their names for the first time, when they read their first words, and when they realize they can count to a hundred.

Enjoy these years even more by helping your child enjoy them too.

Homeschooling During an Election Year

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JH Politics and HS

The controversies surrounding the 2016 presidential election have at times made me want to shut politics out of my life until the election is over. But each time, I decide against that because I know how important it is.  As Christians, we can’t hide from the issues since many directly impact us. It’s our responsibility to make sure that both we and our children are well informed and ready to cast our votes now and in the future. There is no better time than an election year to be teaching children what the political process of our nation involves and how to evaluate the issues and candidates from the perspective of a biblical worldview.

Our Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, Redemption textbook (pages 239–40) says it well:

God laid the foundation for government as He laid the foundation of the earth. Government has been part of God’s good and glorious plan from the beginning. . . . Governments have power from the Highest Power. But governments are made up of fallen people who twist that power in frivolous ways.

Government in itself is not bad and is something that has been planned by God (Romans 13:1). So it’s important for all Christians to understand their nation’s government and participate in it appropriately. However, it’s also true that all governments are made up of fallen individuals, making it equally important for us as Christians to be well informed about what the Bible has to say about the issues and the candidates who take positions on those issues. It’s also our responsibility to make sure our children are prepared to do the same.

I strongly encourage teenagers who are looking forward to voting in this election for the first time to work though Biblical Worldview: Creation, Fall, and Redemption. It takes the biblical values they have been hearing from you as well as from BJU Press curriculum and applies those values to politics, government, and adult life. It also can help you prepare them to defend their Christian faith against the many challenges they’ll encounter as they transition into college and adult life.

Take a look inside the book here.

 

PATTERN

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“If all else fails—read the directions.”

Without directions, Noah and his company would have faced the 40-day flood in a vessel built from his own devices; Moses would have watched the Hebrew people sink further into lawlessness; the walls of Jericho would not have fallen; and Solomon’s temple would have been comprised of his own ideas. Our Lord has hidden nothing from us that we need to know for our good and His glory. What rich advice to us Christians, to look into God’s Word BEFORE we follow our own notions and fail.

cover image of Wonderful Words

“According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle . . . even so shall ye make it” (Exodus 25:9). “I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 1:16). “In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works” (Titus 2:7). “As Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount” (Hebrews 8:5). “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these” (Hebrews 9:23).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: In all things, showing yourself a pattern of good works.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (July 27 reading).]