For those of us who home educate because our faith is important, we have concerns that God’s word has been removed from the school setting and value the Bible becoming a key factor in the lives of our children. As Martin Luther has been credited with saying,
“I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.”
Studying, Modeling, and Journaling Quiet Times
In our home school planning, we have tried a variety of things, but we return to AWANA, an international program that is comprehensive and spans toddler to high school, building precept upon precept. I also believe that our children (and ourselves) need two types of Bible time – a study time that involves learning, memorizing and digging, and also a personal time for reading, praying, and listening to what the Lord wants to tell us.
It is, however, totally unrealistic to think that our children know how to conduct their own personal devotional and prayer time, so for a period of mentoring, let them invade your own personal devotion time. Let them observe how you approach the Lord. Invite them to find a pattern or tool to help them stay on-track in praying for others.
For younger ones, you might create a photo album or DIY prayer journal with pictures of people to pray for and the appropriate scripture. It could include a photo of the President and other civic leaders, with Daddy and Mommy with the 5th commandment from Exodus chapter 20. Siblings, grandparents, and anyone you think they would pray for could be included. They can pray for missionaries they meet by adding the photo cards to their photo book. As they get older, if they are like one of my children whose focus can easily wander, they might find it helpful to write out prayers in a journal. I also enjoy writing out my prayers, being about to revisit them and note in the margin how the Lord answered.
