“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12
The Gift of Time in Classical Education
As classical, Christian homeschooling parents, we understand that education is not merely the transfer of information but the cultivation of wisdom through the disciplines of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. Yet how often do we pause to consider the most fundamental resource we’ve been given in this noble endeavor—time itself?
The psalmist’s prayer in Psalm 90:12 invites us into a sobering reality: our days are numbered, and wisdom comes from acknowledging this truth. This isn’t a morbid meditation but a liberating one. When we grasp the finite nature of our time with our children, we’re awakened to the eternal significance of each day spent together in learning, growing, and pursuing wisdom.
Why This Matters for Homeschooling Families
In Classical Conversations, we embrace a model that honors the way children naturally learn while pursuing the ultimate goal: to know God and to make Him known. But amid memory work, presentations, and community days, we can lose sight of the broader perspective.
Consider these questions:
- How many days do we actually have with our children under our roof?
- Are we treating our homeschool years as an unlimited resource, or are we stewarding them with intentionality?
- What would change if we truly understood that these formative years are both precious and fleeting?
The danger is believing we can postpone what matters most—deep discipleship, character formation, cultivating a love of learning—assuming we can pay attention to these things later without consequence. But as Proverbs 6: 10-11 warns,
“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber.”
The Classical Premortem: Looking Back from Eternity
Ron Shaich, founder of Panera Bread, has a yearly practice of envisioning himself at life’s end and asking: “What can I do in the next few years that I will respect looking back from my deathbed?” This “premortem” practice began after his parents’ deaths taught him not to wait until the end to evaluate his life.
As Christian parents, we can adapt this practice with an eternal perspective. Instead of waiting until our children have left home to wonder if we stewarded these years well, we can ask now:
- Looking back from eternity, what decisions in our homeschool journey will we be grateful we made?
- What priorities will we wish we had pursued more intentionally?
- What distractions will we regret allowing to steal our focus from what truly mattered?
- What would evoke a “Well done, good and faithful servant” from Jesus regarding how we discipled our children?
Read Advice for Foundations Parents: Welcome to a Life of Hide and Seek
A Sobering Reality
For us as homeschooling parents, this isn’t a far-off, theoretical concern. The window we have to shape our children’s hearts, minds, and souls is limited. Foundations gives way to Challenge. Challenge gives way to commencement. And before we know it, our students are young adults, and our direct influence has largely passed.
This urgency should drive us not to anxiety but to intentionality.
Numbering Our Homeschool Days: A Practical Exercise
Let’s make this concrete. I’ve created a downloadable worksheet to help you and your children calculate and reflect on the time you have together.
Step 1: Calculate Days Already Invested
For each child, multiply their current age by 365 to determine how many days they’ve already lived.
Example: If your child is 8 years old: 8 × 365 = 2,920 days already lived.
Step 2: Estimate Days Remaining Under Your Roof
Using age 18 as a general milestone when children typically leave home, subtract your child’s current age from 18, then multiply by 365.
Example: If your child is 8 years old: (18 – 8) × 365 = 3,650 days remaining.
Step 3: Reflect on What These Numbers Mean
- What does it mean to “number our days” in the context of classical, Christian education?
- How does this exercise differ from simply being aware that your children will grow up?
- What priorities shift when you realize your days with your children are numbered?
Download your free Family Worksheet.
The Augustine Perspective: Time as Gift and Stewardship
Augustine wrote in his Confessions:
“What, then, is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.”
Time is mysterious, yet we all experience its passage. For Augustine, time was not merely a sequence of moments but a gift from God to be received with gratitude and stewarded with wisdom.
In classical education, we teach our children to think deeply about the great ideas and to engage with the wisdom of the ages. Yet one of the greatest lessons we can impart is this: Your time is a gift from God, and how you spend it reveals what you truly value.
As parents, we model this truth. When we prioritize family worship, rich conversation at the dinner table, memory work recited with joy, and nature walks filled with wonder, we teach our children that these things matter, not because they’re easy or convenient, but because they’re worthy of our limited time.
Plato’s Cave and the Homeschool Journey
Plato’s allegory of the cave reminds us that most people live in shadows, mistaking illusions for reality. The philosopher’s task is to ascend from the cave into the light of truth and then return to help others make the same journey.
As classical educators, we’re called to lead our children out of the cave of ignorance and into the light of truth, goodness, and beauty. But this journey takes time. Classical Conversations curriculum and community are designed to help you as you guide them down this journey.
- How are we using our numbered days to guide our children toward the light?
- Are we prioritizing what is ultimately real—God, truth, virtue—or are we distracted by the shadows on the cave wall?
Read a Graduate’s Testimony in Thank You, Parents, for Homeschooling
Practical Application: Stewarding Your Numbered Days
Here are some practical ways to apply this “numbering of days” mindset to your Classical Conversations homeschool journey:
1. Create a Family Mission Statement
What is your family’s purpose? What legacy do you want to leave? Write it down and revisit it annually.
2. Establish Keystone Habits
Identify 2-3 daily or weekly rhythms that reflect your highest priorities (family worship, read-alouds, nature study, memory work review). Protect these fiercely.
3. Conduct an Annual “Homeschool Audit.”
Each year, evaluate:
- What went well this year?
- What would we like to improve?
- Are we prioritizing what matters most, or are we distracted by lesser things?
4. Teach Your Children to Number Their Days.
Use the downloadable worksheet to help your children understand that their time is a gift. Teach them to steward it wisely.
5. Embrace the “One Thing” Mentality
Each term or year, identify one primary goal for your homeschool. Let everything else serve that goal. Classical Conversations uses our Challenge themes as guides for the primary goals of each program each year, with a capstone event to help celebrate.
Listen to Morning Time: Developing Our Family Rhythms on the Everyday Educator podcast
Download the “Numbering Our Homeschool Days” Worksheet
I’ve created a printable, reusable worksheet to help you and your children engage with this biblical practice. It includes:
- Calculation tools for each child
- Reflection prompts for parents and students
- Scripture meditation sections
- Annual goal-setting space aligned with classical education values
FAQs for Psalm 90:12 Parenting
1. What does it mean to ‘number our days’ in Psalm 90:12?
To number our days means acknowledging the finite nature of our time and living with intentional awareness. In Psalm 90:12, Moses prays for wisdom through recognizing life’s brevity. For homeschooling parents, this means understanding that years with our children are fleeting, driving us toward intentionality rather than anxiety in stewarding our homeschool journey.
2. How do I calculate the remaining days with my children at home?
Subtract your child’s current age from 18, then multiply by 365. For example, an 8-year-old: (18 – 8) × 365 = 3,650 days remaining. Calculate days already lived by multiplying their current age by 365. This transforms abstract time into a tangible reality that shapes priorities.
3. What is a homeschool family mission statement, and why do I need one?
A homeschool family mission statement is a written declaration of your family’s purpose, values, and educational goals. It provides clarity for decision-making, prevents drift toward cultural pressures, and creates unity around shared priorities. Review it annually to ensure daily practices align with stated commitments.
4. How many years do I have with my children at home?
Most families have approximately 18 years (6,570 days) with children at home. While your relationship continues throughout life, this concentrated season represents your primary window of direct influence for discipleship and character formation. These years are fleeting, making intentional stewardship of this time essential for shaping hearts and minds.
A Prayer for Homeschooling Parents
Father, teach us to number our days, that we may gain hearts of wisdom. Help us steward the precious time we have with our children—not with anxiety, but with faith. Give us eyes to see what truly matters, courage to prioritize it, and grace to walk faithfully each day. May our homeschool be a place where Your truth is loved, Your beauty is celebrated, and Your goodness is pursued. In Christ’s name, Amen.
Closing Thought: Today Could Be the Inflection Point
The time, resources, and relationships God has entrusted to us are gifts. The way we steward them declares what we truly believe is most important.
As followers of Jesus committed to classical, Christian education, we are writing a living testimony. Our daily choices preach louder than any words. If our current storyline needs editing, now is the time.
May we number our days with wisdom and align our homeschool with what really matters—for the glory of God and the flourishing of the next generation.
Learn more about classical Christian education with these resources:
- What is the Trivium and How Does it Apply to Homeschooling?
- Mastering the 15 Classical Skills: A Parent’s Guide to the Trivium
- Screen vs. Community: Why Classical Education Thrives on Real Relationships
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