Homeschooling Around the World: India

By Jenny Stephenson
Homeschooling around the world is here again and I can hardly believe how the month has flown by! Last month we explored the continent of Asia and, specifically, China. This month we will continue to explore Asia and learn about India. There is much to learn as a family about the beautiful country of India, and I’d love to give you a few ideas to get your family started on the journey this month!
Country: India
India is a country rich in culture, food, traditions, and spices. I always recommend heading to the library to check out books about the countries we are studying in Homeschooling Around the World, and this month I can’t recommend it enough. Just borrow books with beautiful pictures of India for your family to look through. The sights, animals, and colors of India are breathtaking
A fun thing I haven’t recommended doing with your family yet is learning about each country’s national flag. India’s flag is simple, but has a lot of history representing its independence. It has only been the nation’s flag since 1950. For more information and a coloring page of the flag of India check out this website.
Family Fun

• Indian restaurants are packed full of delicious food, culture, and a whole lot of spice. Taking the family to an authentic Indian restaurant is a great way to submerge yourself in Indian culture!
• Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated in India each year. Not only is this a fun holiday to learn about, but there are tons of great candle and lamp crafts your family can make based on this holiday. Though this holiday is not a Christian holiday, there are many ties you can make with your family about how we as Christians are to be a city on a hill and that Christ is the true light in this dark world. Take time to pray for India—a country that needs to know our Savior!
• Animals of India. Did you know that India has the largest population of wild tigers in the world? Take time as a family to study some of the amazing tigers that live in India. Not only are there tigers, but India is packed full of other amazing animals. You could spend an entire month doing a unit study on the animals of India. While at the library this month, check out some books on the Indian Elephant, Bengal Tigers, Asian Black bear, Indian leopards, and Water Buffalos. Coloring pages and crafts on any of these animals would be a lot of fun to do as a family too.

Ministry and Missionaries
India is a country that is a lost nation and is desperate to know Jesus Christ. There have been and are some amazing missionaries and ministries in India. One well-known missionary to India is William Carey who lived from 1793 to 1834. If you haven’t read the story of William Carey to your children, I highly recommend it. A great book on the life of William Carey is William Carey: Obliged to God.
Another amazing ministry that your family should know about is Gospel for Asia. And an excellent book I recommend to you is No Longer a Slumdog by the founder of Gospel for Asia, K.P. Yohannan. Gospel for Asia offers this book for FREE from their website and shipping is free too! If you have an older teenager this book would be a great book to read together. It is a hard book to read that talks all about children living in the slums. It will open your eyes to ministry that is happening and the huge needs that your family can be praying for.
One final thing I would share with you is a company called Noonday Collection. This company finds jewelry artists in Third World countries and partners with them to sell their jewelry here in the States. Noonday supports artists in ten different countries, including India. I love shopping with purpose. If I’m going to buy a birthday present for a friend or family member, Noonday is where I start looking. Being intentional with the money I spend is important and knowing I can make a difference in the lives of women around the world is amazing. Besides, you get some beautiful pieces of jewelry too! It’s a win/win and a great way to shop, so check them out!
India is packed with fun learning for our family this month so have fun being creative while exploring all that you can learn together. I hope your family enjoys the sites, tastes, and smells of India and is inspired by some of the ministries that have and are continuing to happen there.
 
Jenny Stephenson lives in Texas, with her husband, Ben, and five children ages 12, 9, 8, 6, and 5. Ben and Jenny adopted two of their children and have a heart for missions and adoption. Jenny enjoys blogging about adoption, homeschooling, and family life. Check out Jenny’s blog at vintageburlapbarn.blogspot.com.