With Election Day coming up, this seems like the fitting time to encourage you to use your homeschooling as an opportunity to teach your children about our government . . . and about prayer. The Bible exhorts us to pray for those in authority over us, that we might "lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence." (I Timothy 2:2) Being free to live peaceable lives and to worship God is indeed a rare and wonderful privilege. Almost daily I thank God for another day of peace; it may not always be this way—it certainly isn't in many other countries around the world.
Blend your schooling and the Bible together by learning about our government and praying for the various aspects of government that you study. Let your social studies drive your prayer time. Explain the various branches of government; look up online who your elected officials are and pray for them. I have to confess, to my shame, that I've been very poor at doing this, very negligent. But God is teaching me the importance and necessity of praying for our governing officials. They are just men and women like us who desperately need the wisdom and discernment of God.
These upcoming elections are important ones. This is an ideal time to help your children understand the importance of our responsibility as citizens. You can use the voting process to explain how our system works and that the three branches of government were based on our founding fathers' study of the Bible. Isaiah 33:22 says, "The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, and the Lord is our King." From this were derived the judiciary, legislative, and executive branches of government.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this is a great time to discuss the history of our nation, to consider the value of religious freedoms, and to read some historic documents. All of these have a tremendous bearing on our current national news and the issues surrounding the elections.
Discuss the daily news with your children. I've subscribed to World magazine's "Daily Sift," which sends the news highlights for the day to my inbox. It's great fodder for prayer. I pass on those news items to my daughters who are still living at home, and we pray around at night, using some of those things as our subject matter for prayer. That daily email keeps me informed of what's at the forefront of both world and national events.
Informing your children of world and national news broadens their view, gives you opportunities to explain differing worldviews, and has the potential to deepen your prayer life and theirs. This is the beauty and value of homeschooling. Make good use of it!
Here are a couple online articles that you might want to look up: