This is officially my tenth post, and it’s a pleasure to use this outlet as a way for some of us to communicate with each other and to uplift one another. Always feel welcome to comment and ask questions if you have any. Thank you for being here!
Well, I started the journey of homeschooling a few years ago with my children, and it is the most wondrous and challenging experience (and I’m not even close to being done)! This year by the time May rolled around, I was completely wiped and ready for summer vacation. To get my kids and I through the last two weeks of school, this was my plan:
1. Pick topics that are easy to learn about outside.
2. Make sure it doesn’t require a lot of planning!
In general, I like to pick a verse from the Bible to memorize each week, a song that goes with the verse, and then pray regarding the topic we have chosen. Based on that, I decided we would learn about INSECTS and other BUGS related to the Bible verses I wanted to cover. Here was our general format, and you can use this as a springboard for more ideas for teaching your kids!
Note: Please don’t feel you have to teach what I have written to a tee, although you may do that if you would like. I want to be clear that my intention is not to make anyone think they have to do things one particular way, but rather use my ideas and then combine them with what your kids are interested in, their various learning styles, and your own creativity and imagination!
1. Week One
VERSE:“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 (We read Matthew 5:13-15 and I reminded kids that these are words that Jesus taught to people when he was alive on earth).
SONG: “We are the light of the world” by Karie Jobe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8cX6SHtxeE
*Note: I have four children ranging from 7 to 2 years old, so we sang only the chorus of the song with motions (We are the light of the world, we are a city on a hill, we are the light of the world and we gotta, we gotta, we gotta let our light shine). For older children, you can practice learning the other verses of this beautiful song!
PRAYER: Pray for neighbors by name and that we can be a light to them (see “Refreshing–Shine Your Light” post previously written for a cool testimony that happened during our learning)!
INSECT: FIREFLIES (or “lightning bugs”) and BEETLES in general– They light up the darkness, just as we are to do as Christians! We got a bunch of non-fiction library books about insects, bugs and fireflies and had them on the coffee table for kids to peruse and to read together as a family. Also, we watched THE CAT IN THE HAT video about bugs from the library and watched the one about BEETLES (fireflies or lightning bugs are classified as beetles). My two older boys took notes on what they learned from the video with my help–very basic bullet points, nothing fancy, and then they drew a picture of a firefly above their notes. THE CAT IN THE HAT videos I have found always have a Spanish language option, so we actually watched and wrote in Spanish for this one. This video about beetles talks about 3 tricks they have (God gave them), to protect themselves, so that is what the boys wrote about (very brief but interesting!)
Lastly, don’t forget to do the fun part and go outside and catch some beetles and on a hot summer night, look for fireflies!
2. Week Two
VERSE: “…love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44
(We read Matthew 5:43-45 and again I reminded the kids that Jesus preached these words to others himself while he was alive)
SONG: “Love Your Enemies” by Kate Carpenter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnXoT01Hz24
*This song is ADORABLE and very catchy to sing and learn! You’ll need to sing it a few times to remember the main parts, but it is a fast one to have fun with. I try to sing the songs we are learning whenever we are outside playing, taking walks, or eating. I made up some motions to go with the song, and had my kids do the motions with me when we would sing it.
PRAYER: *You will probably need to talk about what “persecute” means (in the song I included above they give a bunch of Biblical examples of persecution: David, Stephen, Jesus). I simply explained that it means someone mistreats you, and continues to attack you.* Pray for people that have hurt you, for us to forgive them and to love them still. For my kids, they prayed for other kids who made them feel left out and for them to forgive each other quickly when they are disappointed and/or angry, and for the persecuted church around the world.
INSECT: ANTS and SPIDERS-We connected ants to the verse in saying that ants work very well together as a colony but aren’t going to be able to love their enemies; WE as people, are the ones that The Bible states are created in God’s image, and can know and follow God and His heart. Again, we got a bunch of non-fiction and some interesting fiction stories about ants, spiders and read and learned about these fascinating creatures! Going outside and observing these little insects was a big part, and identifying what makes ants an insect (antennae, 3 parts: head, thorax, abdomen, and six legs) and why spiders are NOT (eight legs, no antennae, only 2 body segments).
I love keeping LEARNING simple, practical, and fun. I think it can quickly become over-complicated, so I hope these doable ideas can help make your summer more engaging, fun, and intentional. It really can start with picking a Scripture passage or verse, and then choosing a topic that could relate to it (insects here). Next, get the books you need from your local library and that puts you on your way to fresh new learning! The beauty is that you will learn along with your kids, and be astonished at what you find!
Happy learning and share any thoughts or ideas, please! If you like this post and want more teaching ideas, let me know! I have other topics I am planning to learn about with my children during our summer vacation, while still being in “vacation-mode” 🙂
God bless you all!
Yes, discovery on their own is key! There is a lot we don't have to directly teach kids, as they are naturally curious. Giving them some general guidelines and tools they need to learn is what matters most!
Learning about how you make summer time fun while learning! It’s something great to share to everyone.
The implementation of singing, watching a movie and learning makes a big difference on much kids get interest to discover in their own.