An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

One of my favorite poems is The Ambulance in the Valley. 

If you have not read it, here is John Denver reciting the poem:



Prevention is typically a better solution, than reacting after a problem pops up, but it take effort and initiative.  Now!

I was reminded of this today.  We planted a garden two weeks ago.  We often have a problem with weeds.  Someone told Janine a couple years ago that two layers of newspaper will stop most weeds.  It seems to work well, but it takes effort, now, rather than reacting through the summer.  I found that over the long run it takes less time to put down the newspaper and scatter some dirt to hold it down, but any given Saturday it is easy to be distracted by things that seem more important.

Homeschooling is the fence on the hill.  It is the newspaper in the garden.  As parents we are taking action before problems have a chance to grow.  We nurture our children's intellect, protect them from corrupting habits and provide better socialization.  It does take effort up front, but I would much rather build a fence now than to take one of my children to a hospital (physical, spiritual, etc..) later in life.