Is your home a place of action? We’re not talking about busyness—your children can take initiative to serve in the context of your own family! This week on Home School Heartbeat, with HSLDA President Mike Smith, learn how to make your homeschool active.
Mike Smith:
My guest this week is MaryAnn Gaver, a regular columnist for the Home School Court Report magazine. MaryAnn and her husband Jay have homeschooled their twin boys for nine years. MaryAnn, thanks for joining us today!
MaryAnn:
Thanks, Mike, it’s great to be here!
Mike:
MaryAnn, your Parent to Parent column is filled with hands-on, practical tips for homeschooling families. This week, we want to bring some of those action-oriented, get-out-and-do-it ideas to our listeners! Let’s start at home. How can parents encourage their children to take initiative in serving their own family?
MaryAnn:
Well, when you homeschool, you spend a lot of time together. There’s the day to day living all under one roof. So there needs to be consideration for one another. And parents can foster that. You know, it’s the little things that make a big difference. We can encourage our kids to serve by thinking of others. For instance, by, say, putting that bathroom towel back on the rack, or letting others go first in that game. And here’s one that I encourage everyone in our household to do, it’s this. Are you opening the fridge to get a cup of milk? How about asking if anyone else wants one and pouring them a glass, too? So the key word is consideration. The home is, after all, where we live out our faith in simple, tangible ways.
Mike:
MaryAnn, those are great ideas! Thanks for joining us today! We’ll talk more next time. And until then, I’m Mike Smith.
