Creating a

H o m e s c h o o l Fa m i l y

Mission Statement
As homeschoolers, you probably have a good sense of purpose and direction for your family. You may even have a main theme for how your household operates. The homeschool mission statement goes a step further and expands upon your familys core values by applying them to your childrens education. If you are new to homeschooling, the reasons for homeschooling are likely fresh in your mind. You can solidify these reasons by putting your educational plan in writing, to emphasize its importance and reinforce commitment. This will ensure that your homeschool starts out on a strong foundation. If you have been homeschooling for a while, you may have noticed that the busyness of daily life seems to distract you from the things that matter most. Your family can get back on track by sitting down together and compiling a homeschool missions statement to guide you from now on.
I've heard it a million times since we started this journey back in 2007: You need a mission statement for your homeschool.
Homeschool blog excerpt

Almost every successful institution (businesses, churches, schools, non-profits) have a mission statement. If you do a poll of successful individuals you will likely find they have some form of written vision or mission statement that has been a guide for their actions, basis for their goals and a foundation for their decisions. Developing a mission statement for homeschooling can also be useful. The homeschool mission statement is a declaration that proclaims the mission and purpose of your homeschool. It is a clear and concise explanation of your familys big-picture homeschool goals. It clarifies the reasons for homeschooling and describes the desired outcomes. As with any mission statement, it is like a compass that guides your course, or a blueprint upon which and organized structure is built. A homeschool missions statement incorporates values, principles and philosophies. It should be positive, uplifting and empowering. While your homeschool plan may be crystal clear and exciting right now, ask any homeschool parent and you will discover that the road is not always so smooth. The mission statement is a great reminder of the big picture. A written down goal, in some way no one yet understands, tends to attract every ingredient it needs to realize it.

Yeah, whatever. said I. We know what we're doing and we know why we're doing it. We're fine. And most the time we are fine. But things change and life changes and school changes and doubt creeps in and there's a thousand reasons you might start questioning your decision to teach your kids at home. OR you might start speeding full blast down a homeschooling path that totally goes against why you decided to homeschool in the first place. So yeah. You need a mission statement for your homeschool.

What is our philosophy on education?

Following are a series of questions to start thinking about why you homeschool and what your goals are. You can jot down some initial ideas and go back to it to fill in details as you give it more thought over the next several days and weeks. You will start to see themes emerge that will help you articulate your family homeschool missions statement. Keep your responses big-picture focused. Some questions may be repetitive or not relevant to you. Dont worry about answering them all. They are just starter questions to get you thinking. Why did we decide to homeschool? (some ideas are on page 5)

What are your learning goals for your kids and for you?

What are your spiritual goals?

What life skills do we want our kids to have? What nonacademic areas are important to us?

What type of environment do you want to create for your homeschooling?

What is our ultimate purpose in life?

Why does homeschooling provide the better environment for our family?

What is your definition of success?

What is the purpose for the skills you want your children to learn? How will they use them in life?

What do we want our family to achieve or accomplish together?

What do you want to accomplish through homeschooling that you couldnt (or couldnt do as well) through traditional schooling?

What historical or current people do you admire and what traits do you admire about them?

What are the guiding principles, values and priorities on which we want our family to focus?

What abilities do we want our children to develop Physically? How do we want others to describe our family?

Academically?

Emotionally?

Socially?

Spiritually?

Areas to Consider
Here are some areas to consider as you think through the reasons for homeschooling Spiritual conviction / family values homeschooling provides a great opportunity to continually reinforce family values. God commands us to bring our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Family togetherness homeschooling enables families to spend more time together, which nurtures family relationships. Children can develop strong bonds with siblings and parents as they spend lots of quality time together learning, playing, working and helping each other. Parental involvement Homeschooling allows parents to limit the influences of bad temptations, false teachings and negative peer pressure. Parents can be sure children have a firm foundation of morals, values, and knowledge before sending them into the world. Parents, rather than strangers, get to spend the better part of each day with their children. Academics homeschooling allows children to learn at their own pace, at a level appropriate to their developmental stage. Learning is more efficient since methods can be used that suit a childs particular learning style, personality and interests. Research has shown that one-on-one tutoring is the most successful method of learning. Personal Safety & Emotional Well-Being Homeschooling enables you to more closely monitor the overall safety and well-being of your children. Socialization - Homeschool children can learn about the real world by being part of it, without needing artificial settings to provide exposure. Social interactions of homeschoolers are more varied among people of all ages, races and situations in life.

Reduced Peer Pressure Children are young and innocent for such a short time, but in a school setting they are often forced to grow up too fast. Children can learn to value morality and good taste rather than materialism and fitting in with the crowd. Freedom from peer pressure encourages self-confidence and independent thinking. Less Stress Being nurtured within a close-knit, loving, stable family environment and not getting thrown out in the world at too early an age, homeschooled children are able to develop naturally at their own pace to their fullest intellectual potential and emotional maturity. Flexibility homeschooling allows both parents and children to take advantage of flexible scheduling for work, travel and leisure. You can create your own timetable and do not have to follow a traditional school calendar. Days can be arranged around personal needs and what works best for your family. Environment School settings are not the optimal learning environment. They are too institutionalized and crowded, taking away the childs private life and not giving children any time to just be themselves. Homeschoolers are nurtured in a relaxed, positive atmosphere surrounded by family and friends who naturally love and care about them. Home learning is integrated into daily living and allows plenty of time for free play and fresh air, rather than being cooped up most of the day. Life Skills homeschooled children can obtain valuable practical knowledge and gain important life skills by participating in their parents daily lives. Homeschooling provides an opportunity to get out into the community, encouraging wholesome activities such as volunteer work and other character-building skills. Time home education makes additional time available for personal pursuits, hobbies, and extracurricular enrichment activities. Homeschoolers tend to lead a less hectic lifestyle with long, uninterrupted blocks of time for writing, reading, thinking, dreaming, playing or working. This encourages concentration, focus, creative thinking and independence. 5

What are some of the key words and themes you notice from the answers to the previous questions?

What are some of the key words and themes you notice from the answers to the previous questions?

Ask the Kids

You may want to get the kids involved as well and incorporate their feedback. Here are some questions you can ask your kids. They may be too young to understand some of them, but their answers should prove insightful. What do you like about being homeschooled?

How can you become a better person?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

How can you go about reaching your goals? What abilities do you want to develop? How do you want others to describe you and your family?

What does it mean to be a good student?

What things are most important to you? What is your purpose in life?

What do you want your family to achieve or accomplish together? Other comments or thoughts about homeschooling? 7

Who is your favorite person? Why do you like him or her?

Draft mission statement.

(some samples are on pages 9-10)

Draft mission statement.


In our homeschool we believe that learning is a lifelong adventure. We believe in facing each day with minds open to knowledge and hearts open to love. We believe in the freedom to wonder, to ask, to explore, to imagine, to create. We believe that every one of us has special talents, and that the talents of each of us help all of us. We believe that success means doing our best, being our best, and feeling proud of our effort. An unspoiled child who is bright-eyed from encouragement as well as secure in love and discipline has a joyous freedom to worship, to wonder, to explore and to learn. May we be zealous in every way to nurture this ability in our children, and jealous in every way to protect them from destructive peers, purposes, and habits that would dampen their spirit. Our purpose in homeschooling is to raise children who are godly and spiritually wise as well as skillful and knowledgeable in every area that will be useful to them as they serve and glorify the Lord in their future lives, families and ministries to others. We will continually challenge ourselves to maintain biblical standards, instill Christian character, preserve traditional family values, and strive for academic excellence so that our children can become the godly leaders of tomorrow. We homeschool to provide an educational experience that is both fun and family oriented. While we realize we must master basic skills (which include but are not limited to "the three Rs") we seek to spend a considerable amount of time on topics that excite us as individuals. We value learning at our own pace and in our own way, as well as a flexible calendar which allows for harvest, hunting, and other activities.

To create a learning environment that is engaging and interesting, inspiring inquisitiveness and a love of learning. To provide our children with a high-quality and interesting literature based, classical education that seeks to impart knowledge while also piquing curiosity, leaving room for delight directed study and developing critical thinking skills. To give our children time to explore their interests, develop their creativity and discover their unique giftings and callings from God. To give us more time with our children to sharpen them as iron sharpens iron, to encourage them and to support and guide them as they discover the path God has planned for them.

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Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9

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