How do I disciple my children as I homeschool them? Every parent does it differently! Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Smith talks to a homeschool dad about one approach.
Mike Smith:
I’m joined today by Ken Schuenemeyer, a homeschool dad of four children. Ken, it’s great to have you on the program.
Ken Schuenemeyer:
Thanks, Mike. It’s great to be here.
Mike:
Ken, how do you and your wife incorporate spiritual training into your homeschool curriculum?
Ken:
What we try to do is—I have three boys and a girl and their ages are spread out over about 10 years—and as much as possible, what we try to do is do things together and bring them into our world. One small thing—well, it might seem like a small thing—but what we try to do is have family devotions, and we do that to incorporate the spiritual training. We set aside about, I don’t know, maybe 15, 20 minutes right after dinner, and we read the Bible together, and this allows me to ask the kids, using the same passage, different questions appropriate to their age. For the younger ones I can ask more straightforward and simple questions; for the older ones, it gives them time to think. And all this together allows us to work together as a family.
As the kids have gotten older, entering into their teen years, what I’ve done as a father is focus on some more specific and in-depth issues. We’ve brought them into our Bible studies—in the adult Bible studies—and sometimes people think that’s a little bit steep for a teen. But if you work with a kid, it’s amazing how much they can absorb if you work with them before and afterwards.
Mike:
Well, thank you, Ken. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.
