Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

How can I get my child to think? Michael Farris and his wife Vickie talk about teaching kids to look beyond the obvious on this edition of Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Farris:


One of the great things about homeschooling is the opportunity it gives parents to challenge their kids to think. Vickie, how have you done this in our own homeschool?


Vickie Farris:


Well, just in general, I try to ask them a lot of questions when we're going over their work. I try to get them to think through things on their own and solve their own problems. One thing I especially enjoy is going over their literature assignments with them. We always discuss things that they've read, and it's just a good chance to talk about all of the subtleties in a particular story—what the point was that the author was trying to bring across, talking about an irony in a particular situation, and maybe even talking about scriptural principles that were illustrated in the story.


Something else I try to do, and I know you are particularly good at doing, is just teaching our kids to reason from Scripture. Whether it's a family discussion or family devotions, I know you often ask them questions that require them to reason from scriptural principles, and I really think that's one of the most important things that we as Christian parents should be doing.


Mike:


Vickie, thanks so much. Getting our kids to think will prepare them to solve problems in their future families, in the church, and in the nation. I'm Mike Farris.