How do you give children a wellrounded education in a context where there are no formal activities available?
For us this means putting down roots, for however short a time, whether in remote African towns or bustling cities. God has us there and he wants all of us engaged in living out our lives for him. Instead of worrying about what your children are missing, go looking and you will find rich treasure.
Music
Every culture has a rich heritage of music and movement. We play the great composers at home, then go and take local drumming classes and learn to play gourd balaphones. Musicians love to share and teach you their songs and stories of long ago and far away. You can learn songs and stories that have formed nations, with tones and languages new to you, while forging relationships with real people who have had the joy of sharing, and you, the blessing of receiving.
Home economics
Join the women in their kitchens. Learn how to make local foods – you will be welcomed. Eat these dishes, caterpillars and locusts included. Visit the local restaurants; have them explain the wonders of different plants and what they are used for.
Then there are the tailors and shoemakers. Take an interest and ask if they are willing to teach! Enjoy the brightly patterned, extravagant fabrics. Sew clothes without pinned patterns – gloriously lavish outfits you could never wear in your home country! Greet the lady throwing the shuttle at her loom. Put your hands into the cotton balls straight from the field and learn how to spin it.
Sciences
These are everywhere! Join the soapmaking ladies around their big bowls of oils, palm, karite, and cotton seed oil. Learn Chemistry making cold pressed soaps and skin products.
Everyone keeps animals where we are. Learn small scale farming, vegetable gardening, and at the same time responsibility and perseverance. Poke peanuts into the soil, dig holes for maize seeds and wonder at their fast growth. In Biology make your education truly living (pun intended)! Order some chicks; your kids will love you for it.
Look after them, learn about them, draw them, feed them, and rejoice and be thankful when someone finds that first egg.
Art
A wealth of culture is enshrined in the clay pots, the baskets, the sculptures in the artisan markets. What are the stories, the symbols, the ‘why’? Are the artists willing to teach their skill? These things will pay dividends beyond the learning: new skills, a deeper appreciation of your host culture and languages, new relationships, and gospel opportunities. You are acquiring transferable skills as a tool kit for your children that will go with them and help form them for a lifetime – not just skills, but deep empathy, discipline and character traits that run so much deeper than the skill itself.
Being an educator is often about being a facilitator. You don’t need to have skills in every area! The world truly is the classroom. You’ll create memories and opportunities that your children will never forget as you explore together, laugh, and learn. There is no school bell to say that lessons are over for the day. Education is life and life is education, the lines blur beautifully. That is how we as a family have learned to love this journey of lifelong education.
David and Liz are involved in Bible teaching, training, helping needy mothers and homeschooling in West Africa