You have the power to slow down your life and the life of your family.  Stay home more instead of running to activities, say “no” when someone calls and asks you to volunteer for another worthy cause.  Your children do not need to have more play dates or extra-curricular activities.  They don’t need electronic babysitters, more screen time, or social media.  They don’t even need online lessons as much as they need interaction with you, their parents.

It won’t be easy; you will have many temptations trying to pull you into over commitment and keep you breathlessly busy.  There will be numerous opportunities for your children to participate in "advantages” outside the home, but you can learn to deliberately slow the pace of life and give your family a place of refuge from all the crazy rush of the world.

Children do not need to be entertained all the time.  They need you to love them and teach them what is right and what is wrong, they need your influence, your availability, your council, wisdom, and guidance.  They need to hear you laugh, sing, tell a few jokes. They need to see you work through difficulties, forgive, and ask for forgiveness, they need you to set boundaries and hold them accountable, to show them what faith looks like.

The years pass by quicker than you realize.  Put away your own technology.  Give your family what they need most, your time and attention.  Do it before it’s too late.

Send your children out to play, or better yet, take them.  During the warm months, most of a young child’s life should be spent in the fresh air.  It is what is truly best for the child.  Give them plenty of time to explore and romp.  Their innate curiosity and wonder of the outdoor world teach better than any worksheet or book.  Leave them much to themselves to take in the beauty of earth and heaven but be ever near to keep the time as joyful as possible.  Here is the parent’s opportunity grow your children’s observation skills and communication skills (“Who can see the most and tell the most about that hill—or stream or grove—over there?”)

Your children do not need to be entertained but help them to develop the art of really seeing in detail the world around them.  “Do you see the reflection of the trees?  What do those tall grasses remind you of?”  The plastic and wooden play sets are acceptable for vigorous play, but then guide them to nature and be there to answer questions like, “What is it? What is it for?”  If you do not know those answers, be sure to look them up and return with your own new-found knowledge and wonder of the world our great God has created.  Even babies can feel the breeze and watch the leaves and the shadows.  Talk with them, “Do you hear the birds?  Look! that’s a butterfly.  The grass is funny isn’t it. Feel how soft it is.”  The great outdoors is the best classroom you will find.  Use it often for the most excellent education for your children.

"The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus means that one day everything sad will come untrue."  ~J.R.R. Tolkien

Seat work in schools is often designed to manage groups and fill up time slots. At home, you can use other methods to determine if your child is learning the material. For example, the end-of-the-chapter review questions could be orally answered at the supper table (where all can learn and review) or while mom is cooking in the kitchen or weeding the flower bed. Your child simply brings you the book and you read the question and listen to the answer.  If you as the teacher are not sure of the answer to the question, ask your child to find the information in the chapter and show it to you, or have them read that section aloud.  

Parents, the “best” in education for your children is usually yourself.  It is your encouragement, warm responses, and the one-to-one relationship you have with your child that makes home education the success that it is.  Most of us are afraid at first, but devoted parents who believe that home education is a good thing and the right thing to do for their family will grow and learn together.  As you choose to move forward, even if you don’t feel competent, you will gain ability and confidence and your inspiration and example will provide a rich education—academically as well as behaviorally—for children of all ages.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  ~Luke 2:10-14

The most precious gift to give to those you love is your undivided attention.  Turn off the television or the podcast you’ve been listening to. Shut off the technology, put your phone away in the drawer and tune in to the people around you.  Talk and listen to one another, share your ideas, your feelings, your hopes, your joys.  Play a board game or a card game together, read aloud a story or chapter from a book and discuss it, laugh and be silly, share memories and plans.  Because home schoolers are together so much, we often forget to really connect, and we lose the opportunities to build those important relationships.  Let your presence be your present this Christmas and throughout the new year.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.  ~John Adams

The Christmas season is the perfect time add music to your curriculum.  Even if you take a break this time of year from your school routine you can “teach” music simply by listening to and singing the hymns proclaiming the birth of Christ.

If your church does not sing hymns now is a good time to explore the rich heritage of historical Christian hymns and the depth of theology they bring us.  Start with the more common Christmas carols like Joy to the World, Hark the Herald, Silent Night.   Perhaps less familiar, but just as beautiful are Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks by Night.

But don’t stop there! Ask if you may borrow a hymnal from your church or buy a hymnal for your family to keep (sometimes you can find them at thrift stores). Another great resource is the book Hymns for a Kid’s Heart, Vol 1 by Joni Eareckson Tada and Bobbie Wolgemuth.  (There is a volume 2 as well.)  You and your children will love it.

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14 KJV

This sign from the Lord himself was foretold to the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ. Surprisingly, Isaiah 7:14 is one of the most controversial verses in the Bible.  Critics often reject that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Many people deny the miracle of the virgin birth; they dismiss that Mary, a virgin in the strictest sense of the word, could bear a child.  They simply cannot comprehend the supernatural nature of the God of the Bible.

However, for the God who saved Daniel from the mouth of the lions and parted the Red Sea this is not a problem. The God of the Old Testament is the same God we worship today. Christians know the immutable power of God witnessed in the virgin birth, in the feeding of the 5,000 and in the communion of the saints.  We take comfort and rejoice in the name Immanuel, which means “God with us”.

In a world where evil surrounds and threatens us, the virgin birth is a sign of God’s grace and faithfulness to his people.  Just as Israel waited the coming of Messiah, we in these last days await his return. The virgin birth of Christ confirms all God spoke through the prophets; the resurrection of Jesus from the dead confirms that salvation is finished; his return confirms God’s covenant promise of eternal life.  “For the promise is to you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself” (Acts 2:39).  We celebrate the miracle birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and await the glorious day of his return.

Mothers, to a large degree you set the atmosphere in your home.  How you begin the morning often sets the tone for the rest of the day.  When your children/husband come into the kitchen for breakfast, greet them with a smile and a pleasant “good morning”.  Remember to pray and thank God before your meals.

Smile more.  Smile as you begin your lessons, smile when you suggest making lunch together or tell them it’s time to take a nap. Take a moment to make eye contact and smile at your children throughout the day, tell them that you love them.  Have fun together, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself or to laugh with your children.

Good manners show respect for others. “Please,” “thank you” and “excuse me” should not only be company manners but should be applied liberally at home as well.  Practice being helpful instead of demanding, grateful instead of grumbling. Hum or sing softly while you wash dishes or change a diaper.

When Father comes home or when someone wakes up after resting, give them a little while to themselves before you make requests on their time.  A warm greeting is welcomed, but a few moments to transition into the dynamics of family life will be appreciated.  Say “I’m sorry” readily and forgive offenses quickly.  Kindness, patience and understanding are always appreciated, and remember to give hugs and snuggles freely.

The atmosphere you create is important.  A happy home is a place where people want to spend time together, a place where children flourish, and blessings abound.

“Yea the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle(dove) and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming: but my people know not the judgement of the Lord.”  Jeremiah 8:7  

Birds instinctively know when to migrate south and when to return to northern nesting areas.  They keep these appointed times without argument or attitude, but God’s people do not act so wisely.

The people of Judah were religious.  They were pleased with their outward forms of worship.  Yet their sins had become so common in society, so engrained in their hearts that they no longer discerned or valued truth.  The day of grace was over for them because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God (Jeremiah 22:9).

The prophet Jeremiah was sent to warn Judah that judgement was coming because of their shameful and persistent sins.  The false prophets spoke of peace when there was no peace (Jeremiah 8:11), but Jeremiah spoke honestly appealing to his brethren to return to the Lord and warning them of the horrors of the impending judgement.

Many today think that attending services once or twice a week satisfies our Christian duty.  Certainly, corporate worship is God’s design for His church; yet do we see parallels between today and Jeremiah’s time?  A mere form of godliness without a heart of faith and without repentance and obedience has never been accepted by God.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6)

Our children spell love T-I-M-E

No matter how we plan, schedule and organize our time, some days seem to just fall apart.  That's life in the real world. Home education is not only about teaching the academics, it's also about learning how to adjust to real life situations.  I have a skeleton schedule that I fall back on so I do not lose all my momentum.  A skeleton schedule is simply the bare bones of my day.  I set times to:

get up each morning

eat breakfast

eat the noon meal

read aloud

rest hour (an hour of quiet, alone time for all ages.  It is my daily life-line)

eat supper

bed time

In between these scheduled times I can neatly schedule in chores, seat-work, play, etc. but my simple skeleton schedule is what holds us together as a family when life goes awry.

Teaching age-appropriate practical skills can make your household run more smoothly.  A homeschool mom wears many hats, "how do you do it all?" I'm often asked.  We work together.  My experience is that children love to help and be part of the family.  Start forming good habits early.  Work beside your child and talk about what you are doing.  Show them how to do a task and tell them what you expect.  An eight-year-old may learn to neatly fold clothes without wrinkles, but even a three-year-old can practice folding wash cloths.

A two-year-old can clear their place at the table, pick up their toys, put their shoes away and help dump the cups of flour in the bowl when you bake cookies.  At age six (or there about) children can learn to wash/dry dishes by hand and to load and unload the dishwasher putting the dishes away in the cupboard.  Teach a 10-year-old to sweep and use the dust pan.  Your 15-year-old can learn how to effectively was windows.

Teach the task, help them to succeed, evaluate their work occasionally, provide charts, incentives and consequences as needed.  As they become more skilled, allow them to do the task without prompting or coaching.  At first it will take time and patience but remember, you will be teaching important life skills to your children; and when the work is finished, you can do the fun things together.