Reformation Day Homeschool Celebration
Reformation Day often gets overlooked, sharing the calendar with Halloween. And despite my best intentions, it sneaks up on me every year, and I find myself unprepared. I have a few homeschool mom friends who excel at planning for every holiday and seasonal study—but this year, I finally remembered Reformation Day (albeit just the night before, ha!).
Although I grew up in a Christian home and regularly attended church, I don’t think I actually learned about Reformation Day until later in life. I remember briefly learning about the reformation in public school history class. I also vaguely recall my Christian high school sharing about it—though that was paired with a sermon condemning Halloween, so I dismissed it all. It wasn’t until years later, at a church where Reformation history wasn’t confined to a single day but was woven into sermons, that I began to appreciate it. As I learned about the doctrines of grace, I also learned about the reformers, the men who bravely stood for truth to reform the church. The more I studied, the more I admired their conviction, courage, and dedication to God’s word. It’s a legacy I want my kids to know and cherish, too.
If Reformation history feels a little hazy, here’s a quick refresher from an article Ethan wrote on why the Reformation matters:
The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when a German lawyer-turned-monk, Martin Luther, wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” or as we know it, the “95 Theses,” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These 95 questions and propositions that Luther wrote were in direct contradiction to the Catholic church’s teaching and practices. Luther’s statements can be compacted into what we call today the Five Solas;
1. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone): The Bible alone is our highest authority.
2. Sola Fide (Faith alone): We are saved only through faith in Christ Jesus.
3. Sola Gratia (Grace alone): Only the grace of God alone can save us.
4. Solus Christus (Christ alone): Only Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.
5. Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone): We live only for the glory of God.
These five points were of utmost importance when Luther began this Reformation, and the importance continues into our modern day as each of these five points are being questioned, attacked, and convoluted by those who do not understand what Christ did for us on the cross.
These principles were vital in Luther’s time, and they remain essential as modern culture continues to challenge and dilute the core truths of what Christ did for us.
Though Martin Luther is often credited with sparking the Reformation, many other figures helped steer the church back to the doctrines taught by the apostles. Since this was our family’s first homeschool celebration of Reformation Day, we decided to focus on Luther’s story. Here’s a peek into how we marked the occasion.
I downloaded these free coloring sheets and kept these out for the kids to color as we read a story about Luther together.
Since Luther was from Germany, I decided to bring some German heritage into the home by having the kids help me making sourdough discard pretzels. Everyone was an obsessed with these. They are a bit time consuming to make but sooooo worth the process. They are amazing even if reheated with an air fryer.
I got these free printables from here.
And this free printable of the 95 theses from here.
We watched the 2003 dramatization of Luther’s life via an Amazon Prime rental. This movie was so well done and I highly recommend for upper elementary aged kids through adults.
I’m not crazy about tea but I’ve been sipping on Good Earth’s sweet and spicy tea which is absolutely delicious. It’s a great midday treat for homeschool moms.
Their favorite part of the pretzel making process was creating the pretzel shape. Each person brought their own flare.
All in all, our Reformation Day celebration proved to be a fruitful and fun day. We will definitely do this again next year. Now it’s time to plan our Thanksgiving study.