Discipling your kids empowers them to affect and impact the world around them. There are practical ways to disciple your kids while homeschooling.
Disciple simply means: a learner.
Leading and guiding your kids pointing them to Jesus is to disciple them. Kids not only learn by what you say, but the impact of what you say is seen in how you model following Jesus.
Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life. (Proverbs 22:6 TPT)
5 Practical Ways to Disciple Your Kids While Homeschooling
1. Prayer
Your children are listening and watching you while you pray looking to model you.
Modeling behaviour is the beginning of learning anything. If your prayer is shorter, kids can easily catch on especially if there’s repetition. As children grow up, we need to model other ways of praying where repetition is not involved, but rather what’s on our heart. Children will begin to model this, too.
ACTION ITEM: Give your kids an opportunity to pray. Imagine a child praying, how when they speak they believe what they’re saying and trust God that through this moment they have with Him, their prayers are heard. So powerful!
2. Read the Bible
Reading Bible stories with your kids is a great way for them to learn the Bible.
Kids often remember what happens in the Bible through a story. As parents, our duty is important in helping connect the Bible story, that might seem old and dated to a child (yet still interesting), to how it’s applicable to their lives today.
ACTION ITEM: As your children grow older, instead of reading to them, have them read to you. Choose a Bible (such as this one) that’s a little easier for them to read and understand.
3. Speaking the Word
While homeschooling, speak the Word of God.
As we cheer on our children when they’re understanding a concept or doing a great job, we can use words of affirmation, saying “Yes, you CAN do all things through Christ who gives you strength!” or “I can see you’re exercising patience!” (or kindness or any other fruit of the spirit that you’re noticing).
What about when there’s a challenge or difficulty? Such as disobedience or when a child is not understanding a concept and breaking down in anger or tears. We need to take the time to talk about their feelings and why they’re feeling that way and how to overcome those feelings.
ACTION ITEM: Work through your child’s emotions, telling them that you believe IN them, care for them, and that they are not the behaviour they are expressing. The fruit of the spirit is a powerful checklist.
4. Life experiences
Other practical ways to disciple your kids while homeschooling is when your children are interacting with others through play, a co-op class, or sports team, etc.
Stories, words, phrases, attitudes or behaviours can be learned while your kids are with others. They can take these on as their own working to see if their new-found behaviour is acceptable. During these moments, it’s an opportunity to work with your child teaching them about what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Jesus was all about community and bringing people together, so as we teach our children about loving others, we are helping them to see what this looks like – that loving others is about lifting them up, speaking words of kindness and compassion.
ACTION ITEM: Talk with your kids about their time with their friends. What did they talk about? How did they treat each other? Did they say an encouraging word to their friend who was feeling sad? Etc.
5. Conversation
Just having a simple conversation using starters or prompts can spark an enlightening topic about what your kids believe.
As you go about various things at home, such as chores, family games and dinners, etc., these are great moments to chat among an open and relaxed environment where a simple question could lead off into a deep conversation involving teachable moments.
ACTION ITEM: Have a family conversation at dinner using these prompts.
Your Prayer Is The Beginning
Asking the Holy Spirit to help you discern where your children are at, such as any character issues that need addressing or a conversation that’s important to have, takes us drenching our homeschool endeavours in prayer. We cannot disciple our kids on our own; we need the help of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us because every situation is different.
What are some practical ways to disciple your kids while homeschooling? I encourage you to share an experience you’ve had in the comments below. I’d love to hear about it!
Anchored in Jesus,
Melanie
Melanie at Wildly Anchored is offering my readers a FREE Fruit of the Spirit”8×10 wall art printable! Download it and FRAME IT today by entering your information below!
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Melanie is a homeschool mom to 2, living in Alberta, Canada. She is passionate about encouraging homeschool moms who are just like her – unqualified to homeschool, yet called by God to do it. Melanie loves coffee, worship music, and the mountains. You can find resources, printables and more from Melanie at Wildly Anchored, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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