As homeschooling families, many of us are drawn to the beauty, rhythm, and connection that come from intentional learning at home.
Whether you're cultivating curiosity through nature walks, nurturing character through virtuous read-alouds, or building literacy through gentle phonics lessons, you value connection over curriculum, and thoughtful lesson plans instead of mass produced twaddle.
That's why many parents choose The Peaceful Press, which emphasizes holistic, literature-rich, and developmentally gentle learning rooted in Christian values. You can trust our book lists, knowing that we promote the virtues that have rooted families through the ages, and your family will grow closer through the thoughtful projects, poetry, and art we include.
With that kind of vision, it's fair to wonder: Where does technology fit in? And more specifically, what do we do with AI, and does it have a place in our homes?
In the Restoration Home Community, we have been having a lively discussion about this. AI presents many concerns, from privacy issues, environmental concerns, and world takeover.
❌ What AI Can't Replace
Relational Learning
The Peaceful Press thrives on togetherness—reading side by side, baking bread while practicing math, or talking about virtues over morning tea. No AI can simulate the warmth of your child snuggling next to you during a story. That kind of connection is irreplaceable.
Spiritual Formation & Intentional Living
The Peaceful Press weaves in Scripture, reflection, and habits of grace. AI can't guide your child's heart with prayer or gently lead them through a conversation about kindness rooted in faith. AI can't pass on virtue to children through example, nor can it teach them to love what is good.
Tactile, Sensory-Rich Experiences
AI can't collect leaves, press flowers, or stir soup alongside your toddler. It can't take walks through wildflower meadows with your children, collecting nature items for your journal. It doesn't offer the sensory depth that The Peaceful Press encourages through hands-on, nature-connected learning.
Virtuous Stories
AI can't create lesson plans based on virtuous books that will engage the whole family while still offering meaningful learning opportunities for multiple ages and stages. It doesn't have years of homeschooling experience to help guide peaceful days with your family. It might even subtly undermine a biblical worldview with its promise of neutrality.
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✅ Where AI Can Help in a Homeschool Day
That said, AI can lighten the mental load, spark ideas, and even bring unexpected joy into the learning process. Here are some real examples:
1. Gathering Information
If you are reading about the Industrial Revolution as you finish up your year with the Playful Pioneers, AI could generate a timeline for you, quickly gather information about when the final track was laid in the transcontinental railroad, or tell you about the prominent historical figures of the time. You can do a research overview for new lessons with AI, while keeping in mind that the worldview, who was good and who was not so good, and the implications of events, are not going to be interpreted soundly by AI (and not by Google either for that matter, which is why we need to read good books)
2. Generating Limericks
I've used AI a time or two, and it's now able to give me back a poem based on what it knows about me. This is a little disconcerting, but if you are teaching your children about American rivers as you work your way through Playful Pioneers Volume 2, or you want your children to write a poem about themselves, AI can create some handy poems.
Rivers of the Land
From glacier peaks and forest deep,
Through canyons wide and fields that sleep,
The rivers run, both wild and free,
A silver thread from hill to sea.
The Mississippi, bold and wide,
Carries dreams along her tide.
Through bayous, farms, and Southern song,
She hums a tune both old and strong.
The Colorado, carved in stone,
Wears down mountains, bone by bone.
Through canyon walls of red and gold,
She tells a tale that's fierce and old.
The Hudson, quiet in her grace,
Mirrors sky and city's face.
She whispers through the autumn trees,
A northern hymn upon the breeze.
The Yukon, cold and wild with snow,
Sees moose and bear come down below.
She runs through silence, grand and wide,
A frozen queen in winter's pride.
The Rio Grande, in desert lands,
Marks borders drawn by shifting sands.
Yet still she flows, a thread of life,
Through cactus bloom and ancient strife.
The Columbia, swift and strong,
With salmon's leap and eagle's song,
She feeds the pines, the hills, the shore,
And carries rain forevermore.
Oh rivers born from mountain breast,
Who sing the song of east and west,
Your waters speak of time and grace—
A flowing tale of every place.
So may we walk beside your stream,
And learn to listen, live, and dream.
For in your bends and currents wide,
We find the soul of Earth inside.
3. Encouraging Picture Study
AI can transform your photographs into a particular artist's style, making a fun picture study activity. You can ask it to show you an image in the style of Beatrix Potter or Mary Cassatt, or whatever artist you are studying at the moment. This could be a way of engaging your children more deeply with an artist as they engage with transforming modern images into that style.
4. Meals and Fitness
AI can help you make meal plans with what's on hand, calculate calories and protein, or come up with a fitness plan. It's not going to be personalized, but it can kick out some information quickly that could help you get started.
5. Content Learning
As we enter the summer months, using AI to generate quick practice sheets can be a perfect way to prevent the summer slide. You could also have your children practice for placement tests such as the ASVAB or SAT, or learn science vocabulary words.
AI is a mystery for sure.
My special needs daughter, whose verbal processing is quite a struggle, has found it immensely helpful in coming up with ideas for responses, art projects, and more for her college art classes. She can't use it directly, but it can help her develop ideas.
Even my crunchy homeschool mom group sends poetry back and forth that AI generated for them, finding humor in turning their home photos into Beatrix Potter art, and reading poems about themselves.
However, we don't know how it will impact us in the future, and what jobs it will eliminate. We can hardly know what careers to encourage our children into because the world is rapidly changing.
Still, one thing that is true is that the world needs people who have a deep foundation in beauty and goodness more than ever.
More than ever, we need people who know God's word, who know history (from primary sources), and who know the hopeful stories of others who have gone through turbulent times. We definitely need to turn off technology, AI or otherwise, each day so we can take time to think, dream, and listen to God.
The future still belongs to God. He can turn off all the tech in a moment if He chooses, so use it wisely.
Keep going on hikes and listening to the birds. Keep growing gardens and reading sacred poetry and scripture. Keep looking your children in the eyes and cooking meals at home.
AI may change the world, but God still has the whole world in His hands.