Summer Short Shots: The Back-to-School Edition

By Shane Bennett

In my world, it’s back to school time. The three intrepid humans I’ve been riding herd on this summer vacillate between fired up and frantic about returning to the classroom. Excited to see friends, concerned about new teachers, happy that masks are “strongly suggested,” but “not required,” and perhaps secretly glad to be ridden herd on by someone else for a change! 
 
To celebrate the season this is the first-ever back-to-school edition of Practical Mobilization. No back-to-school buzz at your house? No worries. These ideas, for the most part, travel beyond that sphere. Though I’d also humbly invite you to forward this to your friends with school-aged kiddos.

1. Surviving the “Meet and Greet” 

Depending on how tight the COVID clampdown is where you live, you may have a “meet and greet” at your kids’ school in the next few days. Does that several parts of your body to involuntarily clench? Does mine! Then here’s some help for you: Treat it like a challenge to do what Jesus would. For starters, he’d bless your kid’s teacher. Ask how you could pray for them this week. (If you’re feeling super feisty, pray right then and there!) And, he’d probably talk to the people no one is talking to!

The handy acronym FORKS shows you one way to give that a go. 

2. This Girl Had It Harder Than You!

Need a little pre-first-day pep talk? Try sharing the story of Nadia Nadim with your kids. Here are the bullet points: 

• Born in Afghanistan in 1988.
• When she was ten years old, her family fled for their lives after her father’s execution.
• As a refugee in Denmark, she began to excel at soccer.
• Nadim now plays for the Danish national team and for Racing Louisville Football Club.
• She speaks nine languages.
• Oh, and one more thing, she’s one semester away from completing med school!

Watching her TEDX talk might give you a little boost as well!

3. A Challenge on Another Level

Gospel workers around the world face brain-bending and heart-rending decisions when it comes to schooling their kids. For some, boarding school several time zones away is still the best choice. For others, it’s local school or home-schooling. 
 
One of the most poignant photos of any of my kids is that of wee Anna sitting in her Dutch kindergarten on her first day ever of school. New classroom, new teacher, new language!  
 
Since this challenge is real, I’m wondering if as a community we can take a moment and share some prayer and encouragement for cross-cultural workers facing school decisions and the implications of the choices they’ve made. I set up a Google doc where you can share a brief prayer or blessing for our family members around the planet. It won’t take you long, but it might be the thing that gets them through a rough day.

4. Homeschool with Global Purpose

Once you’ve chosen to home school your kids, and some of you have, the question looms large: What curriculum do you use? I’m the last person qualified to answer that for you! But here are a couple of options that have God’s global purposes at their core: Sonlight Curriculum and Unveiling Glory. 

5. Middle School Survival Training

If you’re a dad of middle school girls, you might suspect there’s no way to navigate those years without tears, heartache, and seasons of moodiness. I agree and have observed that both girls and boys are their rawest, most sin-ridden selves during this time. Even so, I want kids to grow up to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and take the gospel to the most challenging and under-served parts of the world. This one-page survival training might help in a small way.

6. Life Inventory 

Finally, if on that first day of school, having dropped the kids at the bus or building, you sink into the sofa and go into some sort of human hibernation until pick-up time you’ll get no judgment from me. 
 
Assuming your nap need will ease up eventually, though, here’s something to consider that is just tough to do with kids writhing around you like a sack full of snakes: A life inventory.
 
Not an “everything bad I’ve ever done” list, but more like you and the Holy Spirit asking, “Where’s this ol’ train headed?” 
 
I like the approach Ximena Vengoechea outlines, starting with writing 100 wishes on 100 post-it notes. How fun might that be? Don’t panic. Most people don’t get past 30 or 40. (Ximena, overachiever that she is, was at 121 when she ran out of post-it notes!) 
 
A life inventory is probably not going to solve all our issues, but it might just be a fun and helpful way to put to use some of the time that theoretically will be freed up when the kiddos go back to school. 
 
Thanks for reading the Summer Short Shots. Before you head off to your next priority, please take a moment and share a prayer or blessing for missionaries and the kids going off to school. Thank you.