How To Teach Character Education in Your Homeschool Without A Curriculum (Part 2) – Teaching Tools and Resources

Posted On September 26, 2022

In part 1 of our series “How to Teach Character Education in Your Homeschool Without a Curriculum,” we discussed the importance of Laying the Foundation of faith.

Today, in Part 2 of our series, we share with you some great reads and demonstrate the steps we use to foster good citizenship in our homeschool.

Read on to learn about how we use YouTube Schooling as a Teaching Tool and discover ways to involve your family in service opportunities, such as extracurricular activities and groups, that promote good character.

Read All About It

In Part 1 of this series. Laying the Foundation, I shared how my husband and I planted the first seeds of kindness, empathy, gratitude, generosity, service, and altruism through bedtime stories. Bible stories and parables are also regular reads in our home. Below are a few of our favorites:

As our son got older, we branched out into biographies about missionaries, and nonfiction books about volunteering, service, and poverty.

Lately, we have been indulging in chapter books bold enough to tackle the tough lessons of hunger, homelessness, poverty, and grief.

Many of these books have been featured in my son’s pet project, Books N Bricks: A Hands-on Book Club for Kids.

These lists are by no means exhaustive but they give you an idea of where to start.

Play Follow the Leader

Part of laying a firm foundation of faith includes modeling Godly character to your child(ren). Children may not always listen to what we say, but I can guarantee you they pay attention to what we do. If you don’t believe me, try sneaking into the pantry for a cookie at 9:00 pm when you think they are in bed. 🍪Stealth mode, ninja-style, activated. 🥷🏻

Below are some ways we model a servant’s heart in our home:

Be a Role Model. The best way to instill a passion in your child for helping others is to first lead by example. Before venturing outside your front door, consider your actions within your home. Do you and your spouse help one another?

Performing simple acts of service without being asked, and with a happy heart, demonstrates your love for others. Especially, your love for the ones closest to you. Kernels of kindness like putting your partner’s plate in the dishwasher or filling your spouse’s car up with fuel when you notice the glaring orange “E” blinking back at you can go a long way.

Embody Grace. How do you handle yourself when someone lets you down? Do you give grace when in a moment of humanness the other person falls short of expectations? Maybe you judge. Or retaliate.

What about when you are the one who makes a misstep? Do you beat yourself up? Condemn yourself when a gentle conviction is far more appropriate. (Sheepishly shrugs shoulders and sinks deeper into her chair as she types these words).

There is a sign in our classroom that reads, “We live by grace, not perfection.” I hung it there for myself years ago and I read it daily. While I am not quite where I want to be, with each recitation of this manta, I feel my character expand a tiny bit more. Always learning, always growing.

Active Teaching. As your child gets older, give them age-appropriate tasks to perform alongside you. Much like assigning chores, even the littlest of helpers can make an impact.

Some kids are self-starters. As I write this article, I am thinking of my eight-year-old niece, B. When B. gets an idea in her head, you have two choices: get on board or get out of her way. With her servant’s heart, I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for her! That kid is going to change the world!

Perhaps your child is like mine, a bit timider when starting something new. Our son has a natural empathy and a passion for helping others, but benefits from brainstorming sessions to organize his global ideas into achievable action steps. He’s also a kinesthetic learner. For him, on-the-job training is the way to go.

Here are the steps we follow in our house to help our son put his ideas into action:

• Observe: As often as we can, we provide our child with opportunities to observe (us or other people) serving, either through our church or in the community. If we cannot provide an in-person experience, YouTube is a great stand-in. (To learn more about how we use YouTube safely in our homeschool, check out our blog.)
• Brainstorm: We talk with our son about his “big ideas” and imagine individually what this task might look like. Next, we share out loud what each of us thinks is the best way to make his fantasy a reality. Finally, we brainstorm together a list of tasks we think might be needed to accomplish our goal.
• Make a Plan: Together, we formulate a plan of action. Then we break down the plan into manageable steps. Finally, we write down the specific action steps. When glitches occur, we talk through any possible roadblocks and brainstorm ideas for how to navigate around or through them.
• Put the Plan Into Action: We do the task together and modify our original plan as needed.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

You do not have to be as formal as we do with the above steps. We use this approach as our son struggles with motor planning due to Developmental Coordination Disorder. Breaking down assignments into smaller more specific steps is simply how he learns best. We have used this method for so long that it is pretty much second nature to us.

Not only that, it is incredibly empowering and confidence-building to a child to have an adult listen very closely to your ideas, take those ideas seriously, and work with you to help you make your dream a reality For us, it’s worth the extra time and effort.

Whatever your child’s helper type, with gentle guidance and encouragement they can feel confident in their abilities to serve.

Finding Opportunities

Church Serve Teams. If you belong to a church, consider joining the Serve Team, a group of worshippers committed to volunteering in the community. Grow in your faith, develop close friendships, and help those in need all while bonding with brethren.

Experience the Great Outdoors. Have a taste for adventure? Love nature? Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls are both mentor-led, faith-based, scouting-style programs that promote faith, character-building, community, and service. Trail Life USA is for boys from kindergarten through 12th grade, while American Heritage Girls is for girls of the same age range. Outreach is integral to both of these programs.

Get More Social With Your Social Media. Ok, I will be the first to admit, the algorithm knows me well. You think I would be tired of funny dog videos by now but apparently, I’m not. In an effort to make better use of the time I spend on social media, I decided to search for community outreach events in my area. This led me to groups of like-minded individuals seeking to offer acts of service, such as Random Acts of Kindness Volunteer Opportunities in the DFW Area.

JustServe. Overwhelmed with the steps of trying to research all of the different possible service opportunities in your area? No problem. JustServe has just what you need to get you started. JustServe acts as a sort of “middleman,” aligning volunteers with community agencies in need of assistance. There are even opportunities you can take part in from the comfort of your own home! Sign up to volunteer and let them help match you with an organization near you.

Coming Up

Feeling more confident about teaching good citizenship in your homeschool without a curriculum so far? Great! Check back in with us for our next blog post to learn why and how we keep a record of our volunteer activities in our homeschool with Part 3 of our series.

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Blessings,

Kimberly

IOH Mom

This website is not a professional counseling website and nothing here should be construed as professional counseling advice. Although Kimberly Bennett, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, she is not your counselor, and no counselor-client relationship is established unless she has signed an agreement with you. All information provided through this website is for informational and educational purposes only. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement. Thank you for visiting!