Summer Missionary Study
For anyone who is interested...
I've written a small study for our
children titled "Missionaries, Martyrs, and the Persecuted Church" in
a kid-friendly way. Why? you might ask. Doesn't seem like the most fun
way to spend the summer. However, there are a few reasons:
1. I want my kids to keep
learning in the summer.
2. International missions is
becoming a big part of our life and our purpose.
3. I can't stand the thought
of the children watching SpongeBob all day long and eating like locusts.
4. I don't want to regret the
way we spend our time together when they ALL go to school in the fall. (I've
only cried about this about a half dozen times in the past couple of days)
Here's a few details....
First, I have designed it to be a
different study for each of our four oldest kids. (They are ages 8, 10,
11 and 13). They begin their new assignment each Monday, and have until
the weekend to complete it. For our teenager who is needing help with his
work ethic, I gave them specific deadlines (and will TRY to stick to them!)
While a few of the assignments are done together, most of it is
independent work. They will each research a different historical figure,
and then complete some sort of assignment to reflect what they have
learned...anything from a cartoon strip to a mock interview, and even a field
trip! At the end of each week, they will share with our family what they
have learned. The idea is that we all learn from each other---and
practice listening with respect. I printed each of them their own
book, but have combined it together into one file that I'm sharing with you.
To increase the fun-factor (and
learn some geography without them even realizing it), we purchased a scratch
off world map. As we learn about missionaries and martyrs in different
regions of the world, we will find that country on the map and scratch it off.
You can see it here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221330761854?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
The kids think it's super cool!
Finally, as a celebration at the end
of the summer, I'm planning to play a game of Jeopardy! Each week, I'll
write a couple questions on 3x5 note cards from the presentations that the kids
give, and at the end of the summer, we will use these cards as questions in our
Jeopardy game. I plan to have some pretty sweet prizes to reward them for
all their hard work.
The idea of this whole study is to
help our children see that real people, past and present, in all parts of the
world, have put their faith in Jesus into action. That's our greatest
desire for our kids! I pray that they learn at least one little
"nugget" of wisdom through it.
I know that research projects and
reports aren't exactly a kid's dream way to spend the summer. And I'm not
out to torture my kids with tedious work. However, I believe that a
little bit of structure and learning in the summer will keep their brains
engaged--and I'll make sure to supplement with lots of other fun activities!
Here's to a productive, fun summer!
Missionaries, Martyrs,
and The Persecuted Church
Summer 2014
Your instructions: Each Monday you
will receive your assignment. You will have until the weekend to
complete it. Each person has a different topic, and we will all
learn from each other when you present your assignment to the whole family
sometime over the weekend. Together, we will look at the world map
and identify the country that is represented by the person you have learned
about Let’s have a great attitude about doing a little bit of
research over the summer, and make it FUN!
“No man has caused the worldwide stir
that Jesus Christ did 2,000 years ago. People are still being
imprisoned, tortured, and killed every day, because
they refuse to deny the name of Jesus.” Throughout history, men
and women have proven their love for God by doing extraordinary things, and
we can learn a lot by their example.
Do your best work and be rewarded in
the end!
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