Do you know why you do what you are doing? Proverbs 29:18 tells us, ”Where there is no vision, the people will perish.“ (NIV) Similarly, where there is no vision, the home school will perish. When you first considered home schooling, you had good reasons. When times get tough, it is helpful to have those good reasons fresh in your mind.

With a home schooling vision and commitment to the task, we are saying that we value our children and we value our work as parents. We value it so much that we do not want to delegate their training to someone else. With our commitment, we exercise vigilance in our teaching and we pray we will see the result of that vision, values and vigilance in our children in their adulthood.

How do we lay this foundation?

In the Beginning

When we begin a project, we often start with the end in mind. Would a builder lay the foundation for a house without having studied blueprints of the finished product? Would a seamstress cut her fabric without knowing what kind of garment she was making?

So too in our home school we must keep that end picture in our minds. What do we want out children to be in maturity? If we really want to simply train an accountant or actuary, that job could be left to professional trainers.

But if we want to raise up adults who hunger for the knowledge and fellowship of God, who have a burden to share that joy with others, and who develop their unique talents and abilities, we must carefully nurture that mind and soul while it is young.

Matthew 8: 24-27 tells the story about the man who built his house on sand. He was focused on the things of the world, just as we are tempted today to leave the training of our children to the experts. Another man built his house on rock. He laid a firm foundation and was able to withstand the inevitable storms.

Second, Peter 1: 5-7 tells us, ”Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.“ Faith and goodness must come first in our goal setting for our children. Only then do we focus on knowledge, then self-control. perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. If we keep these goals in order and our hearts in order, then we will raise up a generation equipped and ready to be effective and productive for our Lord Jesus Christ.