Crafting a Homeschool Vision Statement
How is your summer going? Have you been able to get out and enjoy the sunshine?
With a busy baseball spring over and ocean temps back to within reason for this spoiled Hawai’i girl, the beauty of God’s creation calls. Once again, this summer I’ve made it a personal goal to get myself to the beach at least once a week. Something about the steady crashing of the waves blows away the chaff of my mind and helps me surrender my thoughts more fully to the Lord.
Yet, embarrassingly, this is not the first year I’ve attempted a weekly trek to Kailua’s white sands. Sure, we go to the beach, but with all the extra sports camps, church camps, VBS, etc., it’s sadly far less than it should be for anyone within a fifteen-minute drive.
But different from the past couple years, this summer I’ve made it every week!
What changed? A clear and precise mission. I will go to the beach once a week, in the morning, taking as little with me as possible. I will hustle my kids out the door, beach toys fiercely limited and good attitudes expected (the occasional reward of malasadas or shave ice is possible). Defining my goal has helped me accomplish it. 😊
We all know how this works, but let’s apply it to homeschooling. A dear mentor recently challenged me with making a Homeschool Vision Statement. My husband and I have talked over our goals throughout the years, but we’ve never made it official in writing. As homeschoolers, we constantly face a myriad of curriculum, classes, and clubs, to choose from as many of you saw at our recent Resource Fair. A vision statement (with prayer!) can help guide us in the endless weighing out of options. This summer, I’m going to take the time to make one, and I’m challenging you to do the same.
Whatever your reasons for homeschooling, discuss with your family what your endgame is. Successful businesses all have a mission statement, and you will see others flail in the wind without one. Do you hope to develop your children’s communication skills? How about their advocacy for important issues? Are you a sports family or do you value STEM learning? As Christian homeschoolers, we want our children to have a biblical foundation and be able to defend their faith. You can make it as broad or specific as you like and adjust it as the years pass by. Ask the Lord to direct you and lay your hopes and dreams for your family at His feet.
Then share it! I’d love to hear what you come up with! Hit reply and label it with CHOH Community Connects. We’d love to share it in next month’s newsletter.
Until next time, happy homeschooling!