I am so excited! I spent most of Sunday afternoon and evening planning out our 2017 school year. I stumbled into some wonderful Christian home schooling sites, and I stole some ideas from them. My favorite site suggested naming the school terms after things that will point us to Christ. I stole the names and themes of her first four terms straight out, and then I tweaked the remaining terms to conform to the restored gospel.
Our terms are: Epiphany Term: Jan 2-February 10. During this term we will focus our devotionals on the manifest divinity of Jesus Christ. We will celebrate the coming of the Magi and also focus on the baptism of Jesus, the wedding at Cana, and Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ.
Lent Term: February 20-March 31. During this term we will focus on our need for repentance and the atonement of Christ. We will discuss the cross of Christ.
Ascension Term: April 10-May 19. During this term we will focus on the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. We will focus on the omnipotence of God.
Apostolic Age Term: June 21-July 21. During this term we will focus on the establishment of the early Christian church. We will read the writings of Paul.
Restoration Term: July 31-September 1. During this term we will focus on the restoration of the original church of Christ through the prophet, Joseph Smith. We will focus on early church history.
Fulness of Times Term: September 11-October 19. During this term we will study the teachings of modern prophets. We will discuss what constitutes the blood and sins of our generation, and we will talk about how the gospel illuminates the way in our day and age.
Millenium Term: November 1-December 8. During this term we will study the second coming of Jesus Christ. We will discuss the need for preparation and why we look hopefully toward this great event.
Obviously, we will do additional things during our homeschool time besides having gospel conversations and scripture study. But I love the idea of naming our terms after Christian themes that will point us toward Christ. I am going to quote Melodie Adams, who (as far as I can tell) came up with this wonderful idea. This is what she says about her school Epiphany school term:
“I want my children to see that Jesus Christ is our greatest treasure, and that in adoration of who He is and thankfulness for what He has done, we need to use our time, energy, money, and talents for His glory. In response to His grace, we take dominion of the realm He has given to us and make it a more beautiful place. This includes both our physical surroundings (household chores) and in our relationships with others (etiquette or manners).”
I’m so excited. But for this to work, I need to get to bed so I have some energy for tomorrow!