It’s the strangest thing: I’ve been homeschooling since 2009 and recently realized that I’ve never taken time to define my homeschool why.
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Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware of our calling to homeschool and the value of embracing this lifestyle. I’m even aware of the gifts of homeschool, but until recently I had never clearly defined my reasons for homeschooling.
That said, I don’t actually know why this changed. I just grabbed a notebook and pen, started writing, and quickly saw the power of identifying my why.
My Homeschool Why
When my words started flowing, I was reminded of why I choose this every day. I was reminded that there’s purpose in these seemingly small days. One by one and little by little, they add up. They matter.
Here’s my homeschool why:
- I want to teach my kids to be lifelong learners, to give them a passion to pursue learning, to help them understand that there’s always more to learn.
- I want to teach my kids how to learn, how to research, and grow.
- I want to give my kids the very best of me, to use my gifts and abilities to serve my family.
- I want to encourage interest in many subjects, to help them see that purpose is found in all educational and creative disciplines.
- I want to encourage and equip my kids to pursue their God-given talents and dreams.
- I want to model and train my kids to understand that there’s much to be learned through everyday life.
- I want to help my kids see how God is using everyday life and opportunities to mold them and prepare them for their callings.
- I want to give my kids the gift of my time and my influence.
- I want to raise kids who believe they can do hard things, kids who believe that mountains can be moved, and that there’s reward found in faithfulness.
- I want to help them change the world.
My homeschool why now sits in my planner and I see it anytime I need to glance at my calendar. It’s front and center and no longer tucked away.
The Power of Knowing
Your Homeschool Why
I identified my homeschool why by answering three questions:
- Why do you homeschool?
- What do you hope to accomplish through homeschooling?
- Why not choose another educational path?
There’s power in knowing your why. I learned that having my homeschool why in my heart and on my mind helps me homeschool with intention. After responding to those prompts, I noticed that my attitude changed on the harder days. In fact, my attitude was also better on the good days.
Identifying my homeschool why also helped me transition my lesson plans from curriculum-driven to purpose-driven. Our days are no longer built on checking off the boxes on my to-do list. Instead, they’re planned with our why in mind.
Your homeschool why will look different from mine, but I encourage you to grab a notebook and pen and see what comes out as you define your why. You’ll agree that there’s power in identifying your reasons for homeschooling.
Need a little help formulating your why? You’ll want to check out Heart and Soul Homeschooling‘s Purposeful Homeschooling workbook. It will help you cultivate your homeschool vision and put that vision down on paper.
Homeschool Mother’s Journal
March 2017
In my life this month: Our house is still on the market. We’re beyond ready to sell this thing and move.
What’s working for us: We finally found a poetry book that we LOVE! If you haven’t added National Geographic’s Book of Nature Poetry to your homeschool shelves, now is the time to do it! This book is a great blend of poetry and stunning images. We’re completely enamored by the combination.
Until now, we would borrow poetry books from the library, read from them at lunch and go on with our lives. We never minded poetry, but we just weren’t feeling it. This book changed everything and I’m grateful for it.
My favorite thing this month: Books for me! I feel like a greedy monster, but it’s not even fair that four awesome new books released within seven days of each other. There aren’t enough hours in the day to get to them all, but I started Craig Groeschel’s Divine Direction a few days ago.
When that’s finished, I’ve got Seven-Mile Miracle and Swipe Right waiting for me. Lastly, I don’t have this one yet, but I have every intention of adding You Are Free from Rebekah Lyons to my stack of books.
A link to share: The Case Against the Pinterest Preschool from Leah at My Little Robins. I’m all for letting kids have fun and whatnot, but somewhere along the way, we’ve mistaken activities and simulated “experiences” for actual learning. This post is primarily about preschool, but I think the wisdom here applies to homeschooling older kids as well.
On my blog in case you missed it: How to Pull of a Mid-Year Homeschool Reboot, Six Reasons to Add Spring Mixed Media Art to Your Homeschool, and 10 Nature Study Ideas Nearly Anyone Can Enjoy.
Have you spent time defining your homeschool why? If so, what did the experience show you? How did it help you to have your why clearly stated?