We know that many of you are already homeschooling your kids for the foreseeable future, so we wanted to offer some faith-building resources and ideas for you and your family that you can choose to use depending on what you feel would work best for your specific situation.
1. Family Devotionals
Concordia Publishing House is offering several free family devotionals for different ages that can be used on a computer or tablet, or you can print them out. You can find them here: Resources for Teaching the Faith at Home
We also have all the past Take-Home Sheets from ChristKidz that you can review with your kids here: ChristKidz Review Sheets
2. Meal Time
It sounds simple, but there is something special about sitting down for a family meal. Try not to use technology at the table. Rather, use the time to see how everyone is doing, pray together, and perhaps read a passage of Scripture.
Also, Parent Cue is offering free age-specific conversation guides (preschool through high school), including ones on crisis and anxiety. You can find those here: Parent Cue Resources
3. Weekly Movie Night
Choose a movie or TV show that uplifts the whole family and then talk about how it made you feel. We have really been enjoying Little House on the Prairie (but Amazon took it off Prime...). Pixar movies can work as well. For example:
Finding Nemo: Talk about how God loves us like Marlin loves Nemo.
Inside Out: Talk about how God gave us feelings and it's ok to have each feeling, but we should be careful about what we do with our feelings.
The Incredibles: Talk about how God gave your family each other and the importance of working together.
We also really enjoyed a newer TV show called The Chosen, which is about the ministry of Jesus. It's very good.
4. Bedtime Prayers
Maybe you already do this, but it's a good way to end the day. You can also ask about the best and worst parts of the day during this time and then pray about them.
You can also sing the Lord's Prayer Song that we sing in Children's Church: Children's Church Songs
5. Story Time
My dad read the entire The Chronicles of Narnia to me and my siblings when I was in my early teens. Find a book series your children enjoy and spend some time during the evening to read to them. I'm sure it will remain a special memory for them for many years to come.
6. Play Together
Here is one website that is coming up with 30 Days of creative ways to play (it's good for adults to be active as well). Keeping the bodies God gave us healthy is very important! 30 Days of Play
7. Reach Out
Have your kids write a letter to someone or give some family members a video call (or regular phone call). Letting the people you love know you care about them is a wonderful way to share the love of Christ.