Pursuing the Heritage of Christ In Your Family with Michael and Camilla
Would you like to know more about everyday homeschool life in real families? Every so often on the blog, I love to give you a sneak peek into “our life” collectively as homeschoolers by sharing interviews with everyday homeschoolers just like you!
I am especially excited to share this interview I had with Michael and Camilla from @christsheritagehome, where they share homeschooling inspiration from their Christ-centered home in Denmark, home-educating their 7+ children! Join us as we talk about pursuing the heritage of Christ in your family.
Video Interview: Pursuing the Heritage of Christ In Your Family
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Introduce yourself. What attracted you to homeschooling?
Michael:
We are Michael (33, American) and Camilla (38, Danish), living in Randers, Denmark, with our children: Magnolia (11), Anemone (9), Jack (8), Eleanor (6), Charlie (4), Elliot (3), and Wesley (nearly 1), who has Down Syndrome. We are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little Naomi, due in March.
I have a theological education, but work as a consultant in a Danish unemployment fund, while Camilla is our prized homemaker. Camilla speaks Danish with the kids, and I speak English with them. Since we’re both fluent in both, you can say our household has some serious global flair! (Yes we celebrate Christmas on the 24th in Denmark—though we save some gifts for the 25th, to keep the American tradition going).
We met through a youth ministry in the U.S., and remained friends long distance, thanks to blogging and long chats about some theological questions Camilla wrestled with at the time.
It all started for real though in 2011 when Camilla “just so happened” to have a 3-day layover in my hometown—Virginia Beach, Virginia. Turns out, she wasn’t just passing through. She booked the layover on purpose to see me! At the end of her stay, I walked her to the gate at Norfolk International Airport and sent her back to Denmark with a hand-written letter in her hand: “If ever we were in a place where neither time nor distance could keep us apart, I am convinced we belong together, you and I.” Fast-forward to 2024, and you’ll find that very letter framed in our living room above the couch.
Why did we choose home-education?
At the heart of our decision lies the biblical conviction that family is a God-ordained institution, one in which children flourish best when nurtured by the active presence of their mother and father. In other words, we believe the family is made to be a family, and home education was the best path to that lived family life, with Christ at the center. We have been home-educating from the beginning and enrolled our oldest daughter the year she turned six in 2019, using a family-centered, eclectic approach, inspired by the Charlotte Mason philosophy.
You’ve put some thought into your family’s purpose and plan. Can you share the 3 pillars that are the foundation of your family life?
Michael:
With a vibrant family life, it’s important to have a few touchstones to hold onto. A year ago, when we began considering what values we wanted to shape Christ’s Heritage Home, I found that three simple, enduring pillars make up our family life: first, we are committed to raising children biblically. Second, life in the local Body of Christ—our local church—is our great delight. And third, whole-family, Christ-centered home-education is the beating heart of our home. I’ll break these down.
First
As parents, we are first and foremost servants of Christ, striving to raise children who delight in the King of Kings. So though it may not sound academic (as we traditionally understand academics), our first priority as educators is to instill biblical convictions in our children and to lead them to know and love Jesus Christ. This is the firm foundation of our home education.
How do we do this? By centering our family life on Christ and His Word. Now, we recognize that sincere love for God and his Word cannot be crow-barred into our kids, so we (imperfectly) strive to cultivate a cheerful, natural life of family devotion.
A few ways we do this is through a father-led Sunday family devotional and catechism, our “Sabbath School.” Another way is through daily family worship, where every evening, I open the Bible with the family, and we sing hymns and pray together. Camilla and the children will also start mornings with Bible-reading and scripture memorization. And, of course, much of ordinary discipleship happens in those in-between moments, guiding through conflict resolution, helping sibling relationships, facilitating habit-training, and constructively disciplining. That’s our first pillar in a nutshell.
Two absolute must-reads on family worship are Terry Johnson’s “Understanding Family Worship: Its History, Theology and Practice” and Joel Beeke’s “Family Worship” in the Family Guidance Series from Reformation Heritage Books. Camilla and I are watching Ryan Bush’s excellent video series on Family Worship now from Media Gratiae (available for streaming at G3 plus).
- Hardcover Book
- Joel R Beeke (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 768 Pages – 12/27/2016 (Publication Date) – Reformation Heritage Books (Publisher)
- Johnson, Terry L. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 96 Pages – 01/14/2022 (Publication Date) – Christian Focus (Publisher)
Second
The second pillar is about our family rhythms. Every family has its rhythms — think of it as the family’s regular, repeated events, like sports practice, outings, or homeschool co-ops. These come in many shapes and sizes, and each has its own place. But our most foundational rhythm is life within our spiritual family, the local church. It’s the backbone of our schedule and family life.
How can we raise whole children, children who not only can read and write, but who love Christ, if they don’t see us as parents modeling love for and commitment to His Body, the Church? Much could be said here, but in short, our hope for our children is that active membership in a biblical church family under qualified pastors, would feel as natural as breathing itself. I think if you asked them, they would say it is!
We love to call the Sabbath a delight (Isa. 58:13), gathering with the saints to worship on the Lord’s Day, in the Lord’s house, with the Lord’s people at our church, Kristuskirken in Viborg. In a culture where Sunday parties, sports matches, or family events are common excuses for missing church, we see Sunday worship as our excuse for missing everything else. We long to see faithful churchmanship revived in Denmark, a vital part of what has been called, “family piety.”
Third
Lastly, the third pillar is whole-family home-education. Our home-education takes place as much as possible together, as a family. Inevitably, education will occur at an individual level (my sister cannot attain knowledge for me!), but we believe the family was made to be a family, so we do as much learning as we can in the context of the whole family unit, in the home, or out together on an adventure (see our recent Instagram Reel about a recent micro-adventure to the wind turbine Test Center Østerild!).
Don’t get me wrong, family-based education can get rowdy at “Morning Basket” with so many little ones running around! Read-alouds or narrations are peppered with interruptions. But that’s the good life. We flex, we learn, we grow. Everyone wins, because everyone learns together.
Why is a generational, whole-family approach to education important?
The role of the family is to give a heritage to the next generations. The question isn’t “how do I give a heritage to my children?” but “what kind of heritage am I giving?”
This is primarily a spiritual legacy or treasure—the Gospel of Christ and the Word of Christ—embodied in a vibrantly biblical home, as described above. It’s a strenuous life. It demands everything, and you’ll go to bed exhausted every night.
It will require your all. But your granddaughters and grandsons will reap the abundant harvest. That’s where the name Christ’s Heritage Home comes from, because this very mundane labor of home-educating 7 (soon 8) children, is a long work. It requires grit and determination, and long days. But it’s so worth it! “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
If I do daily family worship for my 8 children (first generation), and each of them carries on this sacred tradition, with each having an average of 5 children (second generation), and those children do the same with their own 5 children (third generation), then I would have 200 great grand-children opening up their bibles with their families every evening. That is lasting wealth, a legacy of simple faithfulness, furnishing the generations to come with sound doctrine, a sincere love for the Savior, and all done in the warmth of the family living room at bedtime.
I repeat: it is not easy. I have had more than a few times of family worship end with me having to ask the children’s forgiveness for sinful impatience. But by God’s grace, the task is more than doable, even for weak men like myself. Christ will reward principled, humble obedience over the long haul.
I long to see a generation of men, taking responsibility for the spiritual legacy they bestow on their children, in the life of the home.
Together we long to see the Heritage of Christ—His Word, His Gospel—bestowed upon the generations in Denmark, our prayer being that our humble efforts can in some way be used as a modest contribution to this end. In Psalm 112, we read of the “generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.” (Psalm 112:2) That’s Christ’s Heritage Home in a nutshell.
What does a typical day look like in your home?
Camilla:
No two days are the same, but they do tend to follow a general rhythm. Michael and I usually get up early before the kids, that means 5-5.30 to sit down and do our individual bible reading. I might also spend some time getting ready for the homeschool day by printing something or ordering books from the library, tweaking plans etc.
Morning Habits and Breakfast
As the kids start to get up they are expected to get ready for the day by working on their morning habits (brush teeth, make bed, get dressed, read bible for oldest kids) and do their chores before sitting down for breakfast and bible reading at 8.30 am. If they finish early they can also have breakfast on their own before then. So for some kids, it’s their second breakfast at that point!
Family Learning
We all gather to read from Catharine Voss’ “The Child’s Story Bible”, which the whole family, even the youngest children, enjoy. We move on from the bible to our memory verse for the week and sometimes (not often, but it’s something I would like to do more!) sing a hymn. Then we get on with other family learning which could be picture study, poetry, world history, Danish history, Shakespeare, a book guide, composer study, mapwork/geography or nature study.
Read Aloud
We don’t do all those things every day, but we alternate. After those “loop”-subjects we have our Family Read Aloud. Some favorites have been “The Railway Children” by Edith Nesbit, “By the Great Horn Spoon!” by Sid Fleischman, and “The Trumpet of the Swan” by E.B. White, and we are currently reading and loving “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” by Elizabeth George Speare.
Independent Work
Really the only thing the children do individually is math, reading and narration/written narration and writing, all other subjects are covered as a family.We try to also squeeze in some time to work on individual skill-based work before lunch.
Afternoons
Afternoons will most of the time mean either free play and outdoor time, visiting with friends, appointments, errands, quiet time with audiobook, piano lessons on Facetime with their grandmother in Virginia, a library trip or a nature walk.
Afternoons might also be spent on more crafty projects like sewing, baking or watercoloring. Sometimes we do have some kind of shared learning activity in the afternoon, either relating to our family read-aloud or some other more elaborate project, that didn’t fit into our morning.
At some point in the afternoon we have a snack time, and ideally a pick up around the house, but we are not in a consistent routine with that, sometimes it just has to wait until Papa is home from work and can help direct children.
Most of the time we have a “chef of the day”, who is either in charge of or helping out with lunch and dinner for the day, so depending on their age and skill level, we get started on that in the late afternoon as well.
Can you give practical ways that other families can educate as a family?
Michael:
I mention this briefly in the podcast, but especially for dads, one way you can educate as a family, is simply by taking your kiddos under your arm, and going on a learning adventure to a forest, museum, activity park. Be cheerful. Be calm. Be godly. They will love it! Anything goes. We call them “micro-adventures,” oftentimes wild and wonderful, where the whole family learns and loves together, each at their own level.
If a father or mother takes action in a cheerful way, then a whole family can get swept up. Sarah Wallace (author of “Created to Care”) wrote, “when my kids see a peaceful mommy, chaos doesn’t feel like chaos. It feels like an adventure.” That’s it right there.
- Wallace, Sara (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 160 Pages – 07/05/2019 (Publication Date) – P&R Publishing (Publisher)
Camilla:
Create a culture of reading together. Whether your child is 3 or 9 or 15, they can all be part of a family reading time. The stories we share become treasured memories and shared adventures, that we remember long after we finish the book. It builds relationships like nothing else.
As Michael mentioned, adventuring together is such an important part of learning and living life together. It is also something everyone no matter their age can participate in on each their level. Whether it is going for a long drive to the seaside, or just the local forest—so much learning takes place as we are out, seeing things and talking about what we see.
What is one important thing you do in your home?
Camilla:
Books. Reading. Living ideas. Everyone chips in on chores. I’m not sure I can choose just one. Get the kids involved.
The first time it really hit me—like, this matters—was about two and a half years ago. We had read before, of course, but this time felt different. We were reading The Railway Children, and that book holds a special place in my heart.
It was about six months after my dad passed away from lung cancer. I was in a really dark place—grieving, exhausted. Within the span of 4 months we lost him, welcomed a new baby, moved, and changed churches. It was just… a lot.
But something happened when we read that book. I feel like I gave my children their mother back through it. That was the moment I realized—this matters more than almost anything else.
Since then, when life feels stressful, or doubts creep in and I start thinking, “we’re not doing enough, we need to do more math,” I remember The Railway Children. And I remember why we’re doing this. I remember that I am more interested in what kind of people we are sending out in the world on the other side, than how many facts they know about x y z.
I have personally really benefited from reading “Modern Miss Mason” by Leah Boden and “For the Children’s Sake” by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and “The Read-Aloud Family” by Sarah Mackenzie. They have all helped me find more peace as a home educator and as a mother really.
- Boden, Leah (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 224 Pages – 01/10/2023 (Publication Date) – Tyndale Momentum (Publisher)
- Macaulay, Susan Schaeffer (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 208 Pages – 06/28/2022 (Publication Date) – Crossway (Publisher)
- Mackenzie, Sarah (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages – 03/27/2018 (Publication Date) – Zondervan (Publisher)
Can you tell readers more about pioneering home education in Denmark. Are there other families in your church who homeschool? Are there any co-ops/support?
Michael:
Although homeschooling is a burgeoning movement in Denmark, especially since the Corona-lockdown when some families were forced to “take the leap” (some never went back), there are very few co-ops in the American sense of “homeschoolers homeschooling together.” Most groups we know of are primarily for building relationships with other homeschoolers, with a minor educational element.
There is a national association for home-educators, Fri Læring, with a host of resources and guidance for those seeking to get started.
Our family has a weekly nature group with another homeschool family and we love it! We also are a part of a language club with 3 other families about once a month. We love fellowship with other home educators, but it is important that we are not in any way dependent on others to give our children a wonderful education.
A friend of mine once asked me, “Michael, if you lived on an island with nobody else around, could you homeschool your children?” He was making a point about education in its purest form being a family affair and not dependent on the government or others.
Ultimately, God has given children to a mother and father, to raise, educate, and escort them into manhood and womanhood. That sacred task is not on the church, schools, or other families. I agree wholeheartedly!—with the caveat that a family’s home education is greatly enriched by a wealth of relationships, especially with other homeschooling families.
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Want to know more about Michael and Camilla? Here’s where you can find them.
Website: Christ’s Heritage Home
To read more encouraging interviews with homeschoolers just like you, check out the Gallery of Homeschool Interviews!
