For the first couple of months of homeschooling, I didn’t have a mission statement. I bought everything going and figured a mission statement was relatively redundant.
I mean I knew of the concept but didn’t see how it would change the way I taught my children from home.
Of course, I was wrong. Learning about a homeschool mission statement and the impact it can have on a homeschooling family is just one of the things I’ve learnt over the many years of being a homeschooling mom.
A homeschool missions statement is a concise way of writing down the why behind your homeschooling decisions. As a result, a homeschool mission statement will influence the curriculums you purchase, what you teach, how often you teach and the way you teach.
If you’re like most homeschool moms (me included) we usually start our yearly planning by flipping through a few curriculum catalogs or researching our choices on our favorite homeschool message boards or Facebook groups.
We spend hours looking for that perfect curriculum – the one thing that will magically make our homeschool a wonderful place.
It’s a complete waste of your valuable and limited time.
Instead of immediately diving into those curriculum catalogs, you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Think about WHY you homeschool, what’s most important to you in the long run. That’s your starting place.
Don’t start flipping through catalogs until you know where you are headed. The only way you’re going to know where you’re heading is with a solid homeschool mission statement.
Contents
Benefits Of A Homeschool Mission Statement
A well-crafted mission statement for your homeschool can do a lot of things for you:
- Helps you focus on what’s most important
- Help you when you’re feeling burned out
- Helps you set realistic goals
- Helps you focus on YOUR homeschool instead of what your best friend is doing
- Helps you narrow down your curriculum choices
How To Write An Awesome Homeschool Mission Statement
Now that you are (hopefully!) convinced that a mission statement is important – how do you go about writing one?
Well, unsurprisingly everyone’s mission statement is different.
However, I’ve found to get to the WHY of your homeschooling decisions (required to curate your mission statement) you should do the following;
- Begin by writing down what’s most important to you about your homeschool.
- Once you’ve written out your list, highlight the most important things.
- Combine that narrowed down the list into a few short sentences.
Edit your mission statement so it’s clear and focused.
Rewrite your final draft and hang it where you’ll see it – it’s a helpful reminder when you’re starting to feel a little frazzled. That’s really all there is to it.
Homeschool Mission Statement Examples
I debated as to whether or not to include homeschool mission statement examples within this post.
After all, I wholeheartedly believe that each homeschool mission statement should be unique, and providing examples can sometimes limit creativity and depth of thought in that sense.
However, I realise that curating a mission statement is incredibly important moving forward, and while a homeschooling mission statement is often adapted overtime.
I find that the reflection of the why you homeschool will make homeschooling as a whole much, much easier. So, here are some examples of homeschool mission statements.
To enjoy time together as a family, teaching our children the values of Jesus and cultivate a lifelong love for learning.
To provide support to my children throughout their education and allow them to spend additional time on subjects that they are either struggling with or are important to them personally.
To create an independent, well-mannered child, who see’s the value in god and has good family values.
To create an independent, well-mannered child, who sees the value in god and has good family values.
To lead our children to Jesus, and lead a Godly life. Ensure our children are happy above all else while also understanding the value in education and the importance of family.
What To Do When You’ve Written A Homeschool Mission Statement
Once you have a personalized mission statement, consider it your homeschool filter.
Every time you see a new curriculum mentioned on your favorite homeschool message board and you are tempted to take a look – it’s okay to look.
Just filter it through your mission statement and you’ll know fairly quickly if it’s right for your homeschool or not.
Excited by a new planning method?
Filter it through your mission statement to decide if it will work for you or if it will just be an expensive fad.
Interested in that new co-op group that just opened in your neighborhood?
Same thing… filter it through your mission statement!
That new book you just read about that tried-and-true homeschool method?
Ditto… filter it through your mission statement.
That homeschool conference vendor hall with all those shiny, new books?…
I’ll stop now – I think you get the idea.
If you don’t take the time to clarify what’s important to you in regards to homeschooling, you are like a ship without a rudder. You’ll have no clear direction or purpose.
Homeschooling isn’t just a matter of buying a few books and working through them. You need to know what subjects to cover and when to cover them.
You need a purpose that will sustain you when things get difficult. You need a vision for your homeschool.
Leave a Comment