Mar. 10, 2009 - Home Discipleship
Homeschooling has taken a whole different direction for us for the last couple of months. We have always tried to make the Bible the cornerstone of our homeschool (and lives), and we have been sticking to the basics in school ever since Johann was born, but we felt the Lord was leading us to lay off on academics for a time with Joshua, and just work on character training and instruction in godliness.
The verse the Lord gave us was 2 Peter 1:5-11: 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith) with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord used this verse in a creative way to speak to us, showing us that you have to have faith first, and add to that virtue, and to that knowledge. Without faith and virtue, we would not be serving our children by packing in the knowledge!
Joshua is very bright, and far above where his grade level in every subject, so there is no trouble in that department. That is part of the problem. He is smart, and he knows it, and people constantly tell him so. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1Cor 8:1). He is a very proud little boy, often feeling that he can correct even adults, because he “knows” so much. It’s awful! Knowledge is definitely not a virtue! I read an article this week that summed it up perfectly: Arrogants Anonymous. It is a fabulous read that I would recommend to every parent.
So, what have we been doing instead?
Well, we did finish up the Bible curriculum that we started last summer. We have been continuing to review the verses we memorized and pray for the Bible-less people we have learned about. As a review of this, we are now in the middle of making a lapbook about it. I will post more pictures once it is done. Here is a teaser. :-)
Other than that, we have been seeking to have him do things that focus on thinking about other people rather than himself. We made valentines for his cousins when it was valentine’s day, we learned about Purim and made our costumes for that, and we have looked up things in the concordance like “diligence”, and had him copy some of the verses about the topic in his journal. He really enjoys doing that.
We have also been trying to seek opportunities for him to work with his hands, serving around the home and even going to work with Daddy on some days! This has been SO good for him, to be discipled by Daddy as they work together. Daddy has the opportunity to turn him into a man and shape his character, as well as build a good work ethic in him.
We have explained this process to Joshua as well, instilling in him that the MOST important thing for him to know is Jesus, and that the most important thing he can do is hide the Word of God in his heart.
Daddy recently used this creative hands-on activity to drive the point home with the children:
He got all this rocky “soil” and gave each child a section to “cultivate”. They used forks to get out all the rocks and debris in order to prepare a good soil for planting. Then he gave them each a “seed” to bury in their plot, and on each seed was written: “Thankfulness”. As they worked, he explained to them that this soil was like their hearts! The rocks in their hearts were things like complaining, grumbling, disobedience, and strife. If they wanted to have a good attitude, they had to cultivate a thankful, happy heart!
After they had planted the seeds, they bowed their heads to pray that God would honor their work at cultivating their hearts’ soil, and when they opened their eyes, look what had grown!!
We pray that this will be a true picture of what grows in our children's hearts as we seek to cultivate the soil of their lives with the Word of God!
Comments
Mar. 10, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by SeekingJESUSnTeachingKIDS
Cool projects! I am sure Joshua will have great memories of being with Fabio doing "man stuff".
:>Michelle
Mar. 13, 2009 - hey :)
Posted by amada
I saw your site, but will have to look again when I have more time. Looks great. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to add something one of these days :) Great job!
Thanks for letting me know.
Amy
Trujillo, Peru
Mar. 13, 2009 - hi
Posted by Anonymous
What a great post. What a great idea. I think you will enjoy the reaping of those wonderful fruits of the spirit, which are more important than anything else.
Thanks for your note. My family and I are finally beginning to recover from a number of different things, one being the passing of grandpa. We look forward to seeing him again in heaven. Thanks so much for your encouraging words and prayer. They are still needed. God bless you for caring.
Mar. 13, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
oops, I forget to register. It is momofsix.
