Homeschooling is now a part of our household fabric after over 9 years of teaching. As a family, we are finally in tune with our daily homeschool life and rarely have meltdowns or frustrating moments.
Yet, that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t easy getting my kids to cooperate when they were younger. To be honest with you, I wasn’t a good role model. I’d get impatient, frustrated and wonder if I could get through one more day.
But, with God’s strength using life’s teachable moments, He gave me the wisdom to change my behavior first before trying to change theirs. He taught me how to be more Christ-like in my homeschool.
And, it continues to be a process. We do have frustrating moments when we’re learning Algebra concepts together or fixing multiplication mishaps, but life is a bit smoother when Christ is the center of your homeschool!
The three Christ-like traits I have learned through Jesus’ example is summed up in three words: Patience, Practice, and Perseverance.
Three Christ-Like Attributes
Let me tell you how much I have matured spiritually since the beginning of my homeschool journey! God gives me SO much grace and patience EVERY SINGLE DAY, yet, for years I failed to give these same standards to MY OWN FAMILY whom I love and care about!
My biggest failure as a homeschool mom was revealed when my daughter took her first standardized test in 3rd grade. She was a “struggling reader” at the time and started to panic when she saw the large volume of reading material she had to read AND understand for the comprehension section.
I lost my cool. I was tired and weary of teaching her the phonics rules and it wasn’t sticking. It was her fault. She was being lazy. She was doing it on purpose. I was convincing myself of a lie.
Instead of showing calmness and patience, as her meltdown began, so did mine. I ran into my room, slammed the door, and told her not to bother me. She had to figure it out herself.
What a disgrace I was as her primary teacher! I was acting like a child myself! After the emotions subsided, I was embarrassed by my actions and knew it was time for me to change, not her!
Patience
Patience is NECESSARY for teaching. You will not get a perfect student, just like they won’t get a perfect teacher. We should be striving every day to be more Christ-like in our homeschool.
Since then, I’ve learned with God’s own teaching through His son, that I should also extend these same wonderful attributes the Lord has with ME! His son Jesus Christ is the perfect example for patience and restraint all throughout the New Testament.
Jesus showed patience so many times in scripture. He was persecuted, rejected by his own siblings and people, and constantly harassed by the religious leaders. Yet, when he was on the cross, he asked God to forgive them.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up…1 Corinthians 13:4-7
If Jesus can show patience in these situations, I can certainly show patience with my children when they are struggling with learning.
I’m still a work in progress and fail him every day! But, my goal is to get better with each new day and focusing on Jesus’ testimony makes me such a better role model for my children!
Practice
My kids sometimes struggle with why they have to memorize ANOTHER bible verse or write out the SAME type of math problem. This becomes a teachable moment. I’ll remind them if they don’t practice every day, they will eventually forget.
We also talk about how the brain has a temporary storage area called “short-term memory” that keeps ideas for a short period of time. For example, we must remember our doctor’s appointment today but once we reach the doctor’s office, we can forget about that appointment date.
However, there are the important facts and skills we MUST learn and keep permanently for life. There’s a special part of the brain we need to continuously feed for “long-term memory” and life-long retrieval. This is why memorizing bible verses, writing words on paper, and performing math equations prepares us to grow spiritually, academically and mathematically.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11-11
When we are practicing to learn bible verses, we are becoming more like Jesus. When Jesus was tempted by Satan three times, he had memorized scripture and used it to defeat Satan!
Remember, when we practice good habits such as reading the bible, memorizing bible verses, and praying effectively, it will be tough at first. Our flesh doesn’t want to do it. However, if you practice these three things every day, they will get easier and eventually become a permanent life-long spiritual habit!
Perseverance
This leads me to our next Christ-like attribute. Perseverance. We will all fall, fail and get frustrated. However, when Jesus was fasting for 40 days, he was hungry and tired. Yet, when he was tempted by Satan, he could have quit and told Satan he was hungry and done with serving God. He’ll just turn that stone to bread and eat it!
Instead, he persevered and responded with Holy Scripture he read and practiced memorizing as a child. And, guess what, he got off that mountain and kept going preaching and teaching to anyone who would listen.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:4
Final Thoughts
We must be persistent as homeschool moms to teach our children what’s important. And, that includes reading the Word, memorizing and meditating on scripture along with critical academics required for long-lasting learning.
But, the good news is — if we do stumble, we have another day to get back up! Today is a new day and God is FULL of grace! And, you can have a Christ-centered homeschool as well. If I can do it, YOU can too. It takes one step at a time, but it begins with you.
I’ll leave my fellow homeschool moms with these simple, yet powerful words of wisdom. These wonderful scripture words have carried me through this short-term life and will guide you through yours as well!
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13
7 Weeks of Memorizing Thankful Bible Verses FREE Printable
Memorizing and meditating on bible verses is the best way to get your child into the Word. In honor of Thanksgiving coming up in 7 weeks, I’ve created an exclusive set of bible verses just for YOU to prepare your child’s hearts to be thankful.
Each week until Thanksgiving, your child can work on his/her bible verse and surprise their family by reciting all of their bible verses. Maybe there can be a fun reward in the end like a field trip or ice cream shop selling pumpkin flavors! The possibilities are endless…
Simply enter your name and email below to download this awesome 7-week Thankful Bible Verses Printable immediately to begin this week!
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Tiffany
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