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Is God the Principle and the Principal of Your Home School?

Earlier this evening, I received some email messages from a home school mom's e-group. I responded, and realized that my response was the foundation of an article.

The numerous emails this afternoon were about selecting curriculum. Everyone has his or her own ideas about which curriculum to use. Some have successfully used workbook type materials. Others have used videos. There was some concern about how much of each subject is actually required by the different states during elementary school. I enjoyed reading the emails and didn't have anything to say. Then, one of the moms wrote about the importance of praying and having God be a part of the Christian home school adventure. That's where I had to jump in and respond. I had such a fun experience to share!

When my son was about eleven, I searched and searched for a good character building curriculum and just couldn't find what I wanted. I really got so frustrated. I finally settled down at my desk and prayed about it. A little later my spouse made a simple comment. He said, "Marilyn you know exactly what you want and need for that study. You write and organize well. Why don't you just write your own character building study." Well, as the kids say, "duh!"

I spent a few days in prayer and study myself, and then began writing. Once I had the first unit completed, my son began studying as I wrote the next one, all the while studying God's word as I planned. The product was simple. Each unit was about just one characteristic of good character. On day one, Derek studied the word and defined it and learned to use it. On day two, he tried to find a Biblical character who epitomized that characteristic. On day three, he searched for historical and famous people who have been described as having that characteristic. And on day four and five, we found fun activities to do that would incorporate that characteristic into our fun. Those days were sometimes of Derek's design and sometimes of mine, but all the while it was evident that God was actually the author.

Here's the awesome part! Derek enjoyed it so much, that he told his neighborhood public school buddies about it. One of the moms overheard him talking about it and called to inquire. Suddenly, I was teaching a group of boys every afternoon after public school let out. Then, because we studied various aspects of good character and then opened our Bibles to find those characteristics in Bible stories, I turned that study over to my spouse. Our pastor even came and did a lesson and so did our youth pastor. Our character building lessons turned into a pre-teen boy's Bible study for the whole neighborhood! I was so glad that I hadn't just grabbed one of the studies that I had found. The study we had took more work on my part, but God had a plan all along. It is so important that we allow Him to direct and be the director of our Christian home school!

When my son was 13 and suffering so with low self-esteem, the solution we designed to overcome that was actually God-designed.