Every now and then I stumble upon a homeschool bulletin board and find questions about using The Weaver Curriculum. Recently, I found a post that really saddened me. The woman said she could not use Weaver because of the time involved to prepare the lessons. At first, I thought she was probably over-organizing things and trying to memorize the lesson plans. But then I read how long she is taking to prepare: 45 minutes.

Forty-five minutes! This mom felt that 45 minutes was too long to spend to prepare for the day of educating her children. I started thinking about activities that take 45 minutes to complete…

• Cleaning the pool
• Quiet Time
• Making supper
• Preparing for church (includes washing my hair)
• Washing a load of laundry

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the first that come to mind. Is 45 minutes too much time when it comes to my children? Obviously not since I spend about that much time cooking for them each night.

How much time does a pastor spend preparing Sunday’s sermon? Or the Sunday school teacher; how much time is spent preparing to teach one day a week? What if a hairdresser didn’t take time to talk to the client, but just started cutting and curling her hair. The client would not get what she needs from that hairdresser! Doctors, plumbers, police officers–they all spend time learning their trade so they can do their best to serve their clients. Your children are your clients. Have you spent any time preparing for their education?

How much prep time is too much? For each family it will be different. Perhaps 45 minutes is too much, but if it is then I suggest the family check into another form of educating their children. Where are you spending your time? Is that activity more important than your child’s education? Is your child worth your time? Only you can answer that.