Homeschool Service Projects

I’ve written about the importance of adding service projects to your homeschool before, but I want to reiterate how BIG making time to help others can be in the life your family.

Setting up for our homeless guests at church

I’m constantly amazed at the spiritual growth I see in my children as we take part in service projects.  They have more compassion for others, notice needs, willingly give up time and resources, joyfully take part in each and every opportunity, and specifically look for ways to help others.  I am blessed by their sweet hearts constantly!

Most importantly, I see them growing closer to Christ during these times.  They “get” that Christ first loved us and the overflow of His love can’t help but spill onto others.  They are beginning to see others through Jesus’ eyes and dig deep to make a difference in people’s lives.

Maybe surprisingly, these opportunities have opened the door to amazing family discussions about the Bible, the worldview of a Christian, when helping others might not be actually helping them, and more.  Heck, even political issues have found their way into these deep talks many times.

Feeding the hungry at a nearby mission

We prayed for quite some time to find a church with a heart for really serving others – in our community and around the world.  We have been so incredibly blessed to be part of Bedford Acres Christian Church for the past year and a half.  In that time, our family has been able to hand-deliver sack lunches to the homeless, prepare warm food and beds for several homeless friends through a weekly winter housing program, collect and deliver food for hungry families, serve lunches and clean a community soup kitchen, hang out with cancer patients, make and deliver blankets to a children’s hospital, take part in a Bible club feeding program for another church ministering to needy children, and clean the Ronald McDonald house.

It’s SO much easier to consistently serve when you’re working alongside others!  But, our family doesn’t only make time to serve through our church ministries.  We are always looking for ways to bless other people.  That’s what I want to encourage you to do.  Whether you have a church group to work with or not, make time to serve others.  You won’t regret the time spent!

Need some ideas for homeschool service projects?

I took some time this summer to jot down local possibilities and their contact numbers or email addresses.  I keep my list right in my weekly school planner so it’s always forefront in my mind.  Sometimes, I call another homeschooling family to see if they want to help and we schedule a date.  Other times, I simply set up a time for my own family to serve.  Here are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:

• Serve at a soup kitchen
• Work at a food pantry
• Volunteer at an orphanage
• Help at an abortion prevention center
• Help with a MOPS program or, even better, a TeenMOPS program
• Volunteer at a place like the Ronald McDonald House or Hope Lodge
• Make meals for personal contacts who are in need
• Use your talents to brighten someone’s day – cooking, sewing, raking, painting, etc.
• Fill up the seats of your family van with extra kids each week on your way to church
• Help with a political campaign
• Volunteer with an organization that strives to make a political difference like The Family Foundation or American Family Association
• Visit a nursing home
• Babysit for a family in need
• Volunteer with Special Olympics events
• Volunteer at a ministry like Riding for Hope
• Send encouraging cards or make encouraging phone calls
• Help at church funeral dinners, etc.
• The ideas are really endless!

Share your ideas!

As a homeschooling family, you have such a unique opportunity to “be available” when needs arise.  You can’t say yes to everything, but try to say yes at least once in awhile.  Better yet, make specific plans for serving occasionally (to make sure it happens.)  You will be blessed.  Others will be blessed.  God will be glorified.  Who knows, you might even have a chance to share His gospel message while you’re at it!

This post has been linked up to Homeschool High School!

The Peace Place

A peace place.  A place for my children (or myself) to go when we are not being peaceful.  A time-out of sorts, but focused on God and His desires for us.  A quiet and comfortable place for us to reflect on why we haven’t been peaceful and to ask forgiveness.  A place to rid ourselves of frustration, focus on the Word and work through forgiveness towards the person or people who have offended us.

In this place, you’ll find a Bible, a peace notebook, paper, pens and a servant jar.  The peace notebook includes everything included on Holy Experience’s post about making a peace place (above).  As the kids read through the pages in the notebook, my prayer is that their hearts begin to soften.  That they grow closer to the Lord and learn to walk in His ways more readily.  That they learn how to better handle the frustrations of life (especially life with brothers and sisters.)

The servant jar.  When one of my children gets angry and offends someone else in the house with ugly words or ugly actions, not only do they get to spend a little time in the Peace Place, but they get to choose a slip of paper from the servant jar.  On the little slips are jobs that person can do to serve the person they’ve offended.  What better way to ask forgiveness of someone than to serve them.

We’ve only just begun our Peace Place, but I’m praying that God will reveal Himself to us when we visit.  I’m praying that our walk will grow closer to His as we learn better to ask forgiveness and to forgive others.  I’m praying that, eventually, we won’t need the Peace Place anymore because our hearts will have turned towards Him in such a way that our actions and reactions are generally peaceful.  Ah, peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  Matthew 5:9

(The original idea for our peace place and servant jar came from a mixture of posts on the same topic from A Holy Experience and Preschoolers and Peace.  Love those ladies!)

Miller Stories

My children pulled all the Miller’s books out again the other day.  I can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed these books!

From the time they were preschoolers and we started reading Storytime With the Millers, my children have intently listened to and learned from the stories.  I think they’re so good, in fact, that they were read during devotion time usually.

Even though the books come from a very conservative Amish-Mennonite perspective, I found them to be very useful in teaching topics like trusting God, manners, friendship, obedience, respect, forgiveness, self-sacrifice and much, much more!  Each story centers around a Bible verse and that verse is used at some point within the story.  Many of the stories are full of some excitement, too.  That helps to keep my son’s attention!

Choosing a favorite is hard, but I would probably choose Missionary Stories with the Millers as my personal favorite.  This book is just full of the true adventure stories of actual missionaries.  Some I had heard of, some I  hadn’t.  I have read other reviews that said the stories in this book were a little too much for their younger children, but mine had no problems it.  Be warned, though, that the real stories of missionaries aren’t always smily, joyful stories.  But in each, God’s faithfulness and care shine through!!