Ten Ways to Love the Homeschool Family

In a previous post I recommended ten ways to tangibly love your friends and family, neighbors and church members who have chosen to send their kids to public school.

However, in this article, I simply want to offer ten more ways to serve and extend grace specifically towards the homeschool family as they juggle the unique challenges of school at home.  Homeschool children, too, need to know the great love which God has shown them in Christ, so may we serve our homeschooling neighbors and friends to the glory of God.

1. Bring an afternoon pick-me-up for the homeschool teacher. This may seem like nothing more than a friend bringing another friend a treat, and in a way it isn't; but what you communicate with this gesture is, "I see you and I support you. I might not understand or chose the same methods as you, but I am here to champion your efforts. I love you as Christ loves you." 
2. Purchase school supplies or even parts of a specific curriculum.  One thing you should know about homeschooling is that it can, at times, break the bank. Living usually on a single income with multiple children at different grades, homeschooling comes with a cost.  You can help a family relieve some of that burden by asking what you can purchase for the coming year.  From school supplies to textbooks, I can assure you that even a single item will be met with joy.
3. Invite the children over to your house. One way to support a family that homeschools is to simply open your home.  Invite the children over to your house to play when the school day is over. Make it a point to ask them about their school day and ask what they are learning. Use this as an opportunity to point to the gospel and biblical truths.
4. Attend a child's sporting event or art show. You might not know that homeschool children have entire leagues and clubs dedicated to sports and the arts. Find out when their games and events are, and simply show up. This has the potential to make a lifelong impact on a student's life when an adult other than their parents (whom a homeschooler is around constantly) takes time to make gospel investments in their life.
5. Provide a meal or snack for the family.  Homeschooling isn't simply school at home, but is rather a way of life. It's a 24-hour, never-ending learning environment that happens right in your own home--for better or worse. Which means food must be stocked at all times: breakfast, lunch, and snacks that are usually offered at public school are the responsibility of the homeschool parent. Providing a snack or a meal for the family will be a gasp of gratitude.
6. Recognize the children with your own 'awards' pertaining to character or a job well done.  Surprising a student by recognizing their hard work, applauding a job well done, or championing their growth in character development would be a special way to honor a homeschool student. Awards days and student recognition tends to be forgotten in homeschool circles, but this can be very formative and motivating for a child. Again, showing the ways you value a person can lead to opportunities to speak about Christ both now and (most notably) in the future.
7. Send a letter of encouragement to the homeschooling parents.   Sometimes the progress in the "classroom" is hard to see. At times a homeschooling family will wonder if their child is really soaking in anything at all.  There are many joyful days in homeschooling, but there are plenty of discouraging moments as well.  Send a note to the homeschooling parents vocalizing your support and that you are rallying their efforts. But do maybe include a tissue in the card though, the homeschooling mom will need it after reading your words if it comes on one of those particularly challenging days.
8. Pray for the homeschooler's day as you wait at the bus stop or drop off at carpool. When you are dropping your own children off at school, use this as a moment to pray for your children's friends who will learn at home today. Ask that God would give the homeschooling parent a passion for teaching with patience. Pray that the students would love the art of learning and would respect their parents throughout the day. Ask God to meet the homeschooling family in their greatest need for the day. And if your homeschooling friends are not believers, pray that God would open their eyes to the truth of the gospel.
9. Complete tasks in the home. The thing about your home being the central location for school is that is also the central location for everything else in life.  Those who don't homeschool can naively believe that being "home" means you'll have more time for chores.  You can physically serve the homeschooling family by extending a compassionate hand in folding laundry, cleaning toilets, wiping windows, or even caring for younger siblings if it is during the school day. It doesn't have to be an all day endeavor. By sending a text that says "I'm coming over to unload and reload your dishwasher" you might have just taken the first step to start a gospel conversations and demonstrate your love through Christ.
10. Create dialogue with the homeschooling parents at your church. Homeschooling parents aren't as scary (or weird) as you might think.  People are usually afraid of what they don't know, and tend to put up walls in defense (This is true on nearly everything in life). But don't keep the homeschooling family at arms length because they have chosen a different mode of education. Talk to them. Ask them about their experience. Ask them why they have chosen to homeschool. Ask them about their challenges. Take a moment to pray with them, and if they aren't believers, have the hope of the gospel on your lips seasoned with salt.

I hope these ten ways give you plenty of ways to start serving and loving the homeschool families in your church and neighborhood. Don't stop with these though!  As you develop a relationship and seek to demonstrate God's kindness to them, you will know how to best minister to the growing needs around you. 

"Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free [homeschooler or public schooler]; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."

Colossians 3:11-15

Ten Ways to Love the Public School

There are many ways to extend care, compassion, grace, and proclaim gospel hope to the members of your community. Here are ten ways to love the public school to the glory of God.

1. Prayer walk your neighborhood.  As you walk around the block, ask God to strengthen the believing children in your neighborhood. Pray for the neighborhood children you see at the bus stop by name. Pray that the parents would love their children well after a long day at work and school.  Ask God to give you opportunities to share the gospel as you are on your walk.
2. Make your home available for before/after school care.  Hop on your neighborhood Facebook page or Nextdoor app and just let your neighbors know you're home is available for children before they get on the bus and that they can hang out at your house after school.
3. Bring class treats for a neighborhood kid or a child from church.  There are few things more exciting than having someone you know bring in treats for class snack.  There is a sense of belonging when a child knows they are provided for by a loving and caring adult that is not their parents.
4. Think of the bus drivers. You see the big yellow buses throughout your neighborhood.  You know where the bus stops are. Give thought to the bus drivers by writing them a handwritten note of encouragement and gospel hope packed with some kind of treat or or goodie. I promise it will blow their mind.
5. Donate Christ-centered books to the public school library.  You will be surprised what school public libraries will accept. There is a great need for new and age appropriate material. If you need some recommendations, I would be thrilled to point you in the right direction depending on the age you need. 
6. Attend sporting and creative arts events. Take your family to a Friday night football game or a Saturday morning tennis match. Your children will love watching a track meet or cheering for a basketball team, laughing at a drama or being wowed at an art show. This is a great way to start and maintain relationships you make in the community for the purpose of sharing the gospel.
7. Show up with breakfast for your local public school's office staff. When I was a teacher, there were few things that better set the tone of my day than when we were provided breakfast by members in the community.  Write a note. Sign it from your self, or if possible, sign from your church to let that school know that there are people from said church that are willing to champion the efforts of caring for the school-aged children.
8. Assemble teacher packs.  These don't have to be much, but let me tell you, teachers spend hundreds of dollars of their own money to make sure students have the supplies they need and to make learning more effective.  Grab some pens, paper clips, sticky notes, tape, and K-cup.  Tie it in a baggie with some ribbon and deliver these to your local school.  Add a note for follow up and get ready to start making gospel investments.
9. Send a letter to the superintendent or principal.  The saying is "Bad press is good press." Well, superintendents get ripped into every single day by disgruntled parents and upset community members.  Why not break the cycle and send him or her an encouraging note? You don't have to agree with them or their policies to encourage him to work diligently and to remind him of the children he is impacting. Let her know there is one Christian in the community that isn't blasting her on social media; because I can assure you there are plenty of Christians throwing stones at her without thought, grace, compassion, or humility.
10. Talk to the public school teachers at your church. Ask them how they can be served best. Ask them how they need support in the classroom. Ask them how you can relieve any of their burdens.  It might be a late night to help grade papers, or purchasing a bookshelf for a class set of Bunnicula or Where the Red Fern Grows. It could be picking up their own children from school or being asked to faithfully pray for boldness in the classroom.  I promise you your believing public school teacher friends wish you could see what they see: for better and for worse.  They wish you would take time to really understand how much they love their mission field, what these little image-bearers mean to them, and how they really do get opportunities to share the gospel within the four walls of their classroom.

I hope these ten ways serve as a good start for homeschooling families to pour out a fragrant offering of love, support, compassion, grace to the public schools. This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure I could make this list 25 things very easily.  That's another list for another day.  

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Colossians 3:17

Next article posted will be: Ten Ways to Love the Homeschooler. I hope you continue to follow along.