Desiring the Kingdom: Habits for the (Home)(School)

After gleaning a dozen personal habits from my reading of James K. A. Smith's Desiring the Kingdom, I remembered that the book was written (and shared with me) to address education - Christian education.  How could a mother or teacher take these ideas and work a revolution in her home or class room?  How was I going to use these concepts in our own homeschooling?  What would these heart-forming habits look like for kids?  I've adapted the afore-mentioned habits to work with my kids on a home/school level, and I think any teacher or parent (homeschooling or not) could do the same with the children in his or her care.

1.  ORGANIZE YOUR TIME

• Live a liturgical week.  Stopping to rest and worshiip with others on Sunday.  Also attending other, regular church functions throughout the week.
• Live a liturgical year.  Develop in your children a desire for God through the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent and a celebration of Him during the seasons of Christmas and Easter.  Schedule times of seasonally-based worship and learning into your days just as you do other activities and curricula.

2.  SHEPHERD YOUR CHILDREN

• Shepherd your children toward baptism into the church.  Encourage their membership in the Kingdom and Family of God.  Teach them to prioritize this citizenship - this family.
• When your children do make that step of faith into a new Kingdom and Family, welcome them and pray for and encourage them in their role as a fellow citizen and heir with you and the Church.  Make service to and within the community of believers accessable to them.

3.  GATHER TOGETHER

• Every morning, before the day officially "begins," gather together to pray and ask God for His mercy and grace throughout the day.  (We do this at breakfast.) 
• Gather again at other times of the day to pray.

4.  SEEK GOD'S WILL

• During your morning gathering, also pray for God's guidance through the coming day.
• Post The Two Great Commandments somewhere near your "gathering place" as a reminder for all.

5.  RECITE YOUR "PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE"

• Along with your regular Scripture memorization, have your kids memorize The Apostle's Creed.
• Every morning, when most U. S. children are reciting the Pledge of Allegience together, lead your children in reciting The Apostle's Creed - our pledge of allegience to God and His Kingdom.

6.  PRAY

• Set aside times throughout the day to pray together.  Pray for the needs of others.  Pray for guidance and wisdom for yourselves.

7.  READ THE WORD OF GOD

• Set aside times throughout the day to read God's Word together.  Read it as a story from beginning to end or as segments picked out and read for instruction.
• Give your children the time and resources to read God's Word daily on their own.  Encourage them to surround this time of Bible reading with prayer and praise to God.

8.  MAKE MUSIC

• Sing to the Lord together throughout the day at regular times.  Teach your children hymns and help them memorize Psalms.  Meal times and bedtimes are great stopping points to do this, but any set time of the day will do.
• Play praise music during down times or during chore times.

9.  WELCOME EACHOTHER

• Spend time talking with eachother.  Just because you are with eachother all day doesn't mean you need to neglect communication.  Make a point to spend time conversing and listening and teaching the children to do the same.
• Make your house a welcoming home.  Regularly invite others in, and teach your children to be hospitable and inviting.

10.  COMMUNE

• Make family meal times a priority.  And don't just content yourself to sit together in front of the TV to eat.  Most of the time we need to making meal times a gathering around a table in which we share both food and conversation.
• Try very hard to not rush these family meal times.  Take time to enjoy both food and fellowship.
• If there have been on-going skirmishes amongst family members during the day, consider having a time before the blessing of the meal during which forgiveness and reconcilliation take place.
• Again, practice hospitality with your children. . . have regular meal-time guests.

10.  CONFESS and RECEIVE FORGIVENESS

• In the middle and / or at the end of the day, sit together for a time of confession.  Children and parents (or teachers) alike should all be encouraged to confess their sin struggles to eachother, ask forgiveness of eachother if needed, and pray for forgiveness and help from God together.
• Be sure to end these times of prayer with a word of assurance of God's forgiveness.  Perhaps learn and recite 1 John 1:9.

11.  GIVE

• Encourage and teach a habit of sharing.  Do not allow anyone in the family to easily take the attitude that certain things belong to them.  Teach your children that all we have is God's and that we are stewards of the things He has blessed us with and that one of the ways we do a good job of this is by sharing His blessings to us with others.  Begin the habit of giving inside your own home.
• Next, teach your children the importance of giving to others outside your immediate family.  Have kids get involved in either taking some of their own time to make gifts for others or taking some of their own money to buy gifts for others.
• Next, teach your children to give to those they may not even know.  Decide, as a family, ways to give to charitable causes - a local faith-based organization or a national organization that provides for those in need.
• When your children begin earning their own money, teach them good stewardship of their money.  Teach them that this money, though they earned it with work, still belongs to God.  Teach them to give, in gratitude, to God and then to manage wisely what they keep.

12.  GO FORTH

• Flee the temptation to shelter your kids completely from the world.  Having entrenched them in all the above habits, make a habit, now, of going out into the world.  Cover them in prayer and let them out into a suffering world.
• Get the kids involved in community sports, clubs and groups.
• Voluteer your services as a family to those in need.
• Let your children get paying jobs and / or voluteer their time to do work for free for people in the neighborhood.
• Teach your children how to form healthy and safe relationships with those outside the Body of Christ, and teach them how to bring the lost into the Family.

Desiring the Kingdom ~ Part 1
Desiring the Kingdom ~ Part 2
Desiring the Kingdom ~ Part 3

Seeking Simplicity

Slow down.  Count gifts.  Enjoy life.

Want less - less is more.

Find one devotional / quiet time series, book, idea, subject. . . and really let it seep in and change you.

Take a walk every day.

Read from two or three books instead of playing on the internet.  Do this reading outside as often as possible - by the window when it's not possible.

Blog a litte - journal a lot.

Don't feel the need to adopt every creative idea that comes through the blog feed.

Touch your husband every chance you get. . .

. . .and don't argue with him - just don't.

Read your children like a wonderful, engrossing book - watch them, listen to them, get involved, earmark, highlight, and take notes.

Have no other homeschool priorities besides the 5 Rs:  Religious instruction, Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic, and Recreation.

When there is a behavior problem - every time - Stop, Hug, Pray, and Leave.

But stop finding behavior problems where only childhood stages exist - most of these things will simply work themselves out.

Pick up the house as you move through your day - don't wait to do it all at chore times.

Pick up the house as a family.  Work as a team to get the house clean.

Nourishing ~ A Goal

"Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles."
~ Psalm 103:5

Like my mother, I pour over cook books - I love the sounds of the words in each recipe:  simmer, sift, and stir; batter and butter - softened butter; rise and punch-down; season-to-taste and rolling boil. . .  I've always loved food, and love making comforting food for my family.

Unfortunately, I spend so much time in the planning and shopping and cooking that the places in my home meant to nourish my family most are forgotten and lost to chaos.  While I plan a meal, cookbooks and picture books grown in stacks on the floor beside the book shelves.  I come back from shopping just to cram good food into over-stuffed cabinets and refrigerator.  I cook a time-consuming meal while homeschool supplies and plans fly in a confused mess over tables and floors and sofas.

To truly nourish my family's bodies, souls, and spirits I must get a handle on the places of nourishment.  I must make an environment that lends itself to nourshment.

This week I am working on the places in my home that nourish my family.  The reading area of the living room, the kitchen, and the school area of the family room.  I am getting rid of everything in those areas that doesn't nourish the body, soul, or spirit.  I am cleaning with an eye toward whole-person nourishment.  And I am hoping to add a couple touches to help in the nourishment process - a couple new books, some kitchen ware, and a sturdy school table.

I pray that my home will be a place that nourishes.

A Very Easy, Four Day President's Day Unit Study Focusing on the First Five Presidents (Elementary)

Monday:

• Read up on the first five U. S. Presidents in books from the library or on the internet.  Suggestion:  Don't Know Much About the Presidents by Kenneth Davis
• Find the birthplaces of the first five U. S. Presidents on a map of the United States.  You may want to buy or print a special map to bring out for this purpose each year.
• Begin a U. S. Presidents notebook.  Have the kids make up a separate page for each President, sketching or copying a picture of each President and writing down some facts and interesting information about each one.  These can begin very simply for younger children and become more in-depth for older children.

Tuesday:

• Read picture book biographies about one or two of the first five U. S. Presidents.  Suggestions:
• George Washington by Cheryl Harness
• Thomas Jefferson by Cheryl Harness

Thursday:

• Look up and read some of the Proverbs that deal with honesty.
• Tell your kids the story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree.
• Have your kids copy a sentence or two (or more if they're older) of the Declaration of Independence or the preamble to the United States Constitution.

Friday:

• Discuss the problems George Washington had with his teeth.  Suggestion:  George Washington's Teeth by Deborah Chandra.
• Discuss proper oral hygiene and consider coming up with a 30-day chart to help the kids make a habit of good oral hygiene (including brushing a certain number of times a day or for a set time each time they brush or flossing or eating less sugar).
• Plan and prepare a Presidential-themed meal based on the favorite foods of one or all of the first five U. S. Presidents.

A Very Easy, Four-Day, Valentine's Day / Gustav Klimt Unit Study (Elementary)

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

Monday

• Read from 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John what the Bible says about love
• Read some picture books about love.  Suggestions:
• I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse
• Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
• Papa, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
• What Does Love Look Like? by Janette Oke
• And I Love You by Ruth Krauss
• How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen

Tuesday

• Read a non-fiction book about Gustav Klimt, paying particular attention to his choice of colors and use of shapes and patterns.  Suggestion:  Silver, Gold, and Precious Stones: Adventures in Art . 
• Read a book about the use of color in art.
• Have students decide what they want to make a picture of on Friday.  Have them choose some basic colors to make their picture with.  Have them look through old magazines, scrap paper. . . and take out sheets of the colors they've chosen.

Thursday

• Read a fun, picture book about Gustav Klimt.  Suggestion:  Klimt and His Cat by Berenice Capatti.
• Read a book about the use of shapes in art.  Suggestion:  Shapes by Philip Yenawine.
• Have students cut various shapes of various sizes from the papers they selected on Tuesday.

Friday

• Discuss Gustav Klimt's homeland of Austria.  Find it on a map together - if you have printouts, have the students color in nation of Austria.
• Have children draw a basic sketch for their picture.  Then, have them use their cut-out shapes, acrylic paints, and various small objects for pattern-making to color in their picture.

A Different Spin on Consistency

My goal for this week was to figure out some easy ways to be more consistent in our home education.

So, of course, this is the week my husband comes down with viral meningitis. 

"Consistency-in-home-education week" has started out looking like my kids locked in the family room with the TV on almost all day. . . and all night as they are all sleeping down there - all this in an effort to keep the master bedroom as noise-free as possible.

My house-keeping isn't going much better, but that's another post. . .

I've been tempted several times in the last few days to get discouraged. . .  Okay, not discouraged; more like a mix of angry and depressed. . .  But, I'm choosing to take a different approach than I have been most of this horrible flu season we've gone through.

First, I'm seizing just a few of the opportunities available for small lessons throughout the day.  For instance, I've used some of the fights springing up amongst my tired, stir-crazy, irritable kids this Valentine's Day as opportunities to teach the Biblical principle of loving others.  I've also told the kids that, each day, when they go out to play or just take the dog out or run to the store for more meds for their daddy, to look for signs of spring - green leaves, flowers, robins. . .

Second, however, I'm refusing to seize every single opportunity to teach my kids something.  I've been tempted, don't get me wrong.  It would sound so good to say I've "seized every opportunity"; but the reality is that I'm slap exhausted from running up and down stairs and answering the cries of five instead of just four all day long.  If I seized every free moment I found, I'd collapse.  So, much of the time, I'm sitting down in five minute incriments to take a breather, close my eyes, pray, cry a bit. . . 

And, third, I'm constantly reminding myself not to feel guilty.  I'm making myself focus on the hour or two I locked my kids out back in the unusually nice weather this afternoon; the quick trip to the library with my two youngest that, granted, was filled with tired-4yo-tantrums, but was, nonetheless, "educational" to a degree; the flower seeds I gave the kids for Valentine's Day and all the garden planning we can do throughout the week. . .  I'm shifting my focus from what I'm not getting done, from the schedule I'm not keeping and the lists I'm not checking my way through; and I'm setting it on what I am getting done, however little that may be.

So, while I had plans to become more consistent in our schooling this week, maybe God just had other plans.  Or, maybe I am becoming more consistent - in His eyes:  consistently finding ways to teach small lessons, consistently taking a little extra care with myself, and consistently looking at the small successes instead of the small failures.

What I Think Is Most Important - Part 3

We continue to pray and read short snippets of Scripture at meals.  We, even I (sometimes), keep getting out in that cold yard and enjoying a breath of fresh air and a chance to check out the wonders of God's creation every day.  This week our habit was reading, at the very least, one picture book or chapter per kid each day.

I know four picture books / chapters does not sound like a whole lot.  And some days, it isn't; and those days we do a lot more reading.  But there are many-a-day when it seems a stretch to even get this small minimum in.  Those days when kids or mom are sick or over-tired. . . those days when daddy has other plans for the family or we get an unexpected invitation. . . those days when dirty laundry starts to stage a coup or all our main living areas begin to look like they were hit by bombs. . . those are the days - and, in this season of motherhood, they are more often than not - that we do good to get our four-a-day in.

And we had a couple of those days this week - just one or two. 

And, honestly, it felt good to think through the day as I lay in bed at night and mentally check off prayer and Bible reading, 30 minutes outside, and 4 books.  I could then say to myself, "At the very least, you got these three most important things done." 

And then I could sleep.

What I Think Is Most Important - Part 2

1. Praying with them and filling them with Scripture at least once a day.
2. Getting outside with them for at least 30 minutes - EVERY day.
3. Reading one book of each child's choosing to them at some point each day (a meager total of 4 picture books / chapters daily).

So, of course I pick the week when temps are in the 20's and we get a nice round of snow to work on spending 30 minutes outside with my kids every day.

And we did alright.

They did much better than I did.

My big hurdle was the weather, of course.  I can think of plenty of enjoyable outdoor activities for myself in spring, summer, and fall; but in the winter I, honestly, just want to cozy in a blanket by the window and watch the snow.

But I got out there (a few times) with them and scavenged for nature in the forms of dried seed pods and animal tracks, made ice art with them, went sledding with some friends, and built a snow fort of sorts.

Fresh air is good, and there is nothing healthier looking than pink, cold-nipped cheeks and noses beneath bright eyes.  We're all pleasanter with eachother when we are outside - it's a fact.  The fresh air is good for us physically, emotionally, spiritually. . .  that's why I never argue when they want to stay outside longer.  School, chores. . . even meals can wait.  Next to time spent with God, I think time outside is definitely most important.

What I Think Is Most Important - Part 1

In my quest to figure out how to get our homeschooling on the right track for our family, I sat down and thought about what, to me, are the three most important things I can be doing with my kids each and every day.  I came up with:

1. Praying with them and filling them with Scripture at least once a day.
2. Getting outside with them for at least 30 minutes - EVERY day.
3. Reading one book of each child's choosing to them at some point each day (a meager total of 4 picture books / chapters daily).

I feel if I can get just these small, simple bases covered I can feel I've done something of worth, right?

So, this week I began making a more consistent habit of the first - Praying with them and filling them with Scripture at least once a day.  And there were actually some days when I got this done more than once.  The key was finding the simplest method possible for me.  I'm taking very short exerpts of Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours readings and praying / reading them with the kids at each meal.  That's it - The Lord's Prayer, a small Scripture reading, and couple one-line prayers at each meal.  Conversation just takes off from there, and I quickly find myself answering questions about God and faith, praying for small needs and concerns, and just talking with the kids.

The challenge in this is not so much the forming of a new habit as it's the breaking of the old, bad habit - eating our meals in front of the TV.  Yes, I'm confessing to letting my kids watch TV - way - too - much.  But we are putting off this bad habit to take on the new - prayer and Bible reading.  And it's been great.  I have to say that it has helped set a more contented and peaceful tone in our home. 

One old habit on it's way out the door; one new habit getting nicely settled into our home.

When Something Just Feels "Off"

We're technically half-way through the school year, and things just seem off.  We tried a homeschool co-op which was wonderful, but it just required more from me than I can give at this stage of motherhood; so we dropped that.  We've been sick most of the past few months which has put a bit of a damper on every single one of my homeschool plans.  I've entered January questioning everything.  What the ideal looks like in my brain is not matching up what reality is looking like in my home.  It's disappointing, in a way.  But, it is also a challenge to re-evaluate.

So, I find myself looking over parenting and homeschool ideas here - and I'm convicted and encouraged all at the same time.

And, I find myself pulling out "Big Three's" - the three things I feel I must accomplish each day, if I don't do anything else; the three things that are most important to my husband; the three things that I feel are my biggest strengths; and, the three things that are my biggest weaknesses.

And I will slowly come to find exactly what it is that our little homeschool needs.

The upheaval of the past few months will prove the refining fire of our schooling, burning off the expectations of others - the plans and methods and ideals of people I, oftentimes, don't even know - leaving behind myself and my family and what works for us.