Do you ever head into the kitchen to get something out of the freezer for tomorrow night’s dinner and stop off at the laundry room to put a load in the washer and notice that the dryer has stopped and run upstairs to get some hangers and notice that you forgot to the make the bed and then hear your phone ding and then read a text and then respond to the text and then notice at the bottom of the stairs that a plant needs watering and then go get a pitcher and then . . . . Well, you know what I mean. Do you ever begin with an end in mind but then get sidetracked before you finish the job you started?
Kitchen, c. 1930. Courtesy Library of Congress.
Parents make the decision to homeschool for a variety of reasons. Two common reasons are to protect the hearts, souls, and minds of their children and to mold those hearts, souls, and minds in the ways of God. Once parents make the decision to homeschool, the challenge of following through on their original goals gets underway. It is easy to get sidetracked.
Parents get sidetracked when they start to look around at how other people homeschool and then they get scared if their homeschool doesn’t look the same. They get sidetracked as their children get close to high school and they begin to worry more about credits and college applications and less about reaching those hearts, souls, and minds that they started out to protect and mold.
You can accomplish the goals of having a quality academic experience. You can make sure your child earns the necessary credits. You can do those things without abandoning your primary goals.
Don’t get sidetracked. Keep your eyes on Jesus and your original purpose. Make sure your homeschool ends with what you set out to do in the beginning. Be sure that your original goals are still in your own heart, soul, and mind. End with the beginning in mind.
And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.’
This is the great and foremost commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38, NASB
I love this. Thank you!