Back to School With Compassion

If you've spent much time around these parts, you probably know that I'm pretty passionate about child sponsorship. Personally I've been sponsoring children through Compassion International for the past 20 years and I'm very intentional about including my own girls in the sponsorship experience. 

Both my husband and I have traveled to see Compassion's ministry in action (me to Peru, him to Nicaragua) and this past March we took our daughters with us to Thailand where we met our sponsored child, Orm.

As a homeschooler, I love all the opportunities Compassion sponsorship provides us in our education. It throws open the doors to a global world view and serves as a very practical way to put our faith into action.

Homeschooler or not, you can also incorporate sponsorship into your child's educational experience.

Here are a few very practical ways to combine sponsorship and education:

• Geography - locate your sponsored child's country on a map and know where it is in relation to where you live
• Writing - teach how your child how to write letters to your sponsored child (the art of letter writing seems to be dying in this world of emails, tweets and texts)
• Reading - check out books and stories about your child's country from the library to read (you can check out my country expert posts for book ideas)
• History - learn the history of your sponsored child's country
• Language - learn how to say a few words or phrases in your sponsored child's native language
• Cultural  - learn about the customs and traditions of your sponsored child's country. (holidays, lost teeth, art, music, religion, dress and so much more)
• Culinary - if possible, try eating food from your child's country. Better yet, learn how to cook a traditional meal from that country and let your kids help.
• Spritual - memorize Scripture, pray for your sponsored child, encourage your children and teach them to "love their neighbor"

As an advocate, I usually have child packets on hand and right now I have packets for two children who are waiting for sponsors.

Griselda lives in Bolivia and was born April 6, 2009. She lives in an area that is considered high risk for child rights violations. Sponsoring her will help her get the education and opportunities she needs to remain protected from such violations.

Daniel lives in Ethiopia...a country that has been highly affected by AIDS. He was born November 11, 2009.

If you are interested in sponsoring either of these children, please let me know - either through a comment or through email (fiddlejill(at)outlook(dot)com). I would love to get you connected and help you being your sponsorship journey.