Ten Steps to Cultivating a Servant’s Heart in Your Homeschool (It’s YOUR Serve, Part 3)
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In Part 1 of our “It’s YOUR Serve” series, we examined some of the attitudes, barriers, and beliefs that hinder Christians from serving.
In Part 2, we discussed ten reasons why you should teach about serving others in your homeschool.
Today, we have a special post just in time for Valentine’s Day. In Part 3 of our “It’s YOUR Serve” series we outline “Ten Steps To Cultivating a Servant’s Heart in Your Homeschool.”
How Does Your Garden Grow?
I love metaphors. When I first shared with my husband that I was choosing to use the planting of a garden to illustrate teaching service, he raised a curious eyebrow. You see, anyone who knows me well will tell you plants commit hari kari in my presence.
No, really. Other than one tiny human (who was born prematurely mind you so I didn’t even go the distance on THAT one), I have not yet been able to successfully grow anything other than mold.
A generous friend once gifted me a bag of marigold seeds from her garden. Apparently, these are the “simplest and easiest” flowers to grow.
They didn’t make it. My deepest apologies, Angela. I tried.
However, I understand the process even if I cannot quite translate it into action. For plants, anyway. The tiny human? Oh no worries, he’s thriving!
Step 1. Consider the Climate
The climate is like your personal environment or your family background.
In Part 1, “Ten Barriers that Block Christians From Serving,” we talked about how our families of origin lay the foundation for our expectations.
Whether it is serving, tithing, or the proper way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (yes, my husband and I have very different opinions on technique here), we all come into our marriages with preset notions of how things should be done.
We all carry over remnants of our past which in turn impacts how we behave in the present.
What did service look like in your family of origin?
Communication is key.
Talk with your spouse about your personal service goals and expectations. Consider making service a family affair. Model for your kids what service to others looks like.
Step 2. Gather Your Supplies
What will you need to teach service in your homeschool?
While I advocate for many things, Developmental Coordination Disorder awareness, Sensory Processing Disorder, mental health, and homeschooling in general, I also believe you cannot own too many books.
We are voracious readers in our house. Our first seeds of stewardship were planted through bedtime stories.
Here are a few of our favorite books:
Here are also some study guides and curriculums:
Step 3. Prepare the Soil
Just like with work or hobbies, consider your interests when choosing a service project or outreach opportunity. We are ALL more likely to participate in something we are interested in.
Aligning your service goals with your areas of interest is a recipe for success. As your comfort level grows, you will be more apt to step out in faith (and outside of your comfort zone) to other areas where you may be needed.
Step 4. Be Sure To Give Plenty of Space
Don’t try to do it all at once. Balance is key. Your goal is consistency.
It may take a bit of trial and error, and arranging and rearranging your schedule to get service hours in, but unless you need a signature on a log, there is no need to aim for a specific set of hours. Think of service time as more of a general goal, one day a month for however long the activity takes.
Also, be sure to be clear with the agencies you are volunteering with about how much time you have to contribute. Miscommunication can lead to unnecessary hurt feelings and gaps in service.
Step 5. Plant the Seed
Long before we chose curriculum, joined co-ops, or signed up for extracurricular activities, we encouraged three things: gratitude, generosity, and empathy. We are voracious readers in our house so the first seeds we planted were through bedtime stories. Here were some of our favorites.
Step 6. Water The Garden (Just Enough)
Start when your kids are small. Find serve opportunities that allow you to take your kids along with you.
We started with small projects, such as collecting cans for food drives, culling items of gently used clothing or toys for donation, and adopting families in need from our annual holiday tree.
We sprinkled various service opportunities throughout the year. Often enough to keep the activity fresh in our son’s mind, but not so frequent until he burned out.
He thought these activities were fun (one local food bank let him stack the cans on the shelves). We saw his seed watered.
As he grew in age, so did our expectations for him and his responsibilities. Soon, he was coming up with ideas for projects on his very own. Projects which inspired our current Salt & Light Spotlight series.
Step 7. Deadhead (As Needed)
Boredom and routine are the killers of so many things.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of opportunities to volunteer.
Spread your service around. Try out a new organization each month. You can always rotate back to favorites.
Looking for new ideas or new suggestions for ways or places to serve? Look no further than social media. I am a member of a local Random Acts of Kindness Group.
Check out your church’s bulletin or inquire about joining the Serve Team.
Still not sure where to go next? Check out JustServe.org. JustServe acts as a “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.
Step 8. Pest Control
Distractions happen to all of us. Failing to deal with them effectively can impede our ability to volunteer.
We all get sick. We all have sleepless nights now and then. Sometimes we just have bad days.
There are deadlines at work. Soccer practice. Unexpected bills.
Unforeseen inconveniences at best or catastrophes at worst, life happens.
Whatever your obstacle, name it. Own it. Feel what you feel about it.
But don’t stay in it.
While service can certainly help bring us closer to God, it really is not about us.
It’s all about Him.
No matter what storm we are going through, we can still help someone else “weather” theirs.
Step 9. Harvest
Now that you have laid the foundation with books and gathered your teaching materials, it’s time to harvest the seeds you have sown. Hand the reins over to your child and see what service projects they come up with. Support them with the following steps:
- 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, and repeat your way to cultivating a servant’s heart.
Step 10. Share the Bounty
When something feels this good, please don’t keep it to yourself! Invite others along to join you on your service adventures! Encourage your kiddos to ask their friends. Host serve parties!
I have a friend who gathers groups of parents from her kiddo’s elementary school class each holiday season to work collaboratively in support of Operation Christmas Child. The group “adopts” anywhere from 10-20 children for the season to send filled shoeboxes full of goodies.
The parents meet as a group and divvy up sets of items for each separate family to buy. Once all needed items have been purchased, the families and kids gather together for a holiday party. They organize items by type and then form an assembly line. Working together, they fill the shoeboxes to get them ready for shipping.
It’s a fun alternative in lieu of exchanging gifts.
More to Explore
We have a lot of celebrations going on here at It’s Only Homeschooling in the month of February. Join us as we celebrate Black History Month with IOH Kid J over at Books N Bricks: A Hands-on Book Club for Kids. Check out our building block creation videos over at our YouTube channel. A new video is posted for each day of February, each day celebrating a different moment in Black History that changed the world.
Listen to our Podcast as we honor Random Act of Kindness Day (February 17th) and Random Act of Kindness Week (February 13th-17th) by shining our Salt & Light Spotlight on Under My Umbrella, a 501 (c) 3 community service organization founded by a mom, Christina Cheng, and her two young sons, Ishaan and Avinash, in the DFW area.
Feeling the stress from a challenging homeschool day? Celebrate International Play Therapy Week with us as we share some of our favorite card games. Learn how the power of playing with your child can help you teach emotional regulation skills.
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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. Thanks for visiting!
