Why Start with World History?

When you think about your goals for educating your child(ren), what are your priorities? What are your goals, and how do you hope to accomplish them?

My top priority and goal is that my daughters know and love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbors as themselves {see Matthew 22:37-40}.

For me, knowing & loving God includes loving the people He created and knowing His story - from the very beginning {...a very good place to start!}. So when I was searching for a homeschool curriculum years ago, I was looking for something that would help my girls learn about other people, culture, and times.

Here are a couple of the reasons why I felt it was best for our family to go with a curriculum that begins teaching world history & culture at around age 5 (kindergarten):

It is not "me"-centric.
God's story starts long before my daughters were born - and should He tarry, it will continue after their days here are done. Their lives are but an infinitesimally small blip on the timeline of history; they take up so little space on the vastness of our planet! And even though they are precious and unique and loved dearly, I want them to see from the get-go that life does not revolve around them, or this house, or our way of doing things, or this town, county, state...we are part of something much, much grander. The everlasting and infinitely awesome story of what God is doing everywhere, all the time.

My children are bombarded with the message almost everywhere I take them and in every DVD they watch and any toy they own that life is all about them and what they want and that they should follow their heart and do whatever they want. I want to show them that joy is not found in a selfish, self-centered existence but in the wonder of how amazing God is and what He has done, is doing, and will do. Learning about history while they are young helps plant the seeds of awe and wonder in their hearts.

It cultivates an appreciation (not just tolerance) for differences.
We live in an area of the country that is not culturally or racially diverse in many ways. I feel like I'd be doing my daughters a big disservice if I allowed them to begin their lives thinking most people lived just like them. Teaching world history & world cultures allows the girls & I to explore how things have changed over time and just how many definitions of 'normal' there are all over the earth - and how God made each culture beautiful as it is.

My daughter Abby (6) loves the old Viking/Nordic/Germanic tribe ways of life. When a well-meaning cashier asked her one day why she wasn't in school, she responded (politely, and excitedly) that she learns at home and that she wanted to build a longhouse like the Vikings some day, and have a fire inside her house! She still thinks that is the best. And she'd have missed that if we'd started social studies with her and her community.

And here are a few of the unforeseen but delightful outcomes of teaching world history at such a young age:

My daughters have learned that they can be world-changers.
God says many times in His word that when we pray in faith according to His will, and intercede in Jesus' name - He will do what we ask of Him. When my daughters stop to pray for people half a world away - He moves. They may never see what He does in response to their prayer, but we are assured He moves. By teaching them about history (and the effects that decisions through history have on current situations), they can pray with wisdom and power, knowing they are partnering with the God of the universe to change hearts and lives around the world.

For example, we have been learning about Abraham, Ishmael, & Isaac during Bible time and also about the beginning of Islam during history, and we are studying the geography of the Middle East as well. My daughters now understand that there is an important connection between Israel and the Arab people, and the land they occupy - and both nations have Abraham as their father with a common claim to the land. You should hear them pray for the dear people there!

They have been encouraged to dream bigger dreams for God.
When my oldest daughter was just barely 5 years old, she decided that she wants to be a 'missionary ballerina to India' someday (her own words). And she has not yet changed her mind. I cannot explain how drawn she is to the Indian people. At age 7, Indian woman are precious to her. She likes to look up YouTube videos of the different dances they do, and what they mean - and she wants to learn to dance so she can go there and tell them a story by dancing. The story of God.

All this, because we studied the Harrapan civilization and did a brief overview of India and Hinduism when she was five. And I take her dream seriously, because I want her to know that it is a good thing to dream big. Our God gives big dreams and is able to fulfill them in His time, in His way. (We see that often while studying world history, too!)
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I realize that this method won't work for every child - and that's okay! I just want to share our experience. We use Sonlight for the core of our homeschooling and have found it to be a perfect fit for us in almost every single way. {this is not an affiliate link.}

How about you? Do you teach your little ones history - and what resources have you found work well for you?

Raising world-changers & big dreamers,
for His story & His glory!
~Lisha

I may be sharing this at these Link-up parties!
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