What even is a homeschool mission statement and why should you commit your precious time to writing one?
Long story short, a mission statement is a document that contains a combination of your goals and your why’s as they pertain to a certain area of your life. They are a guiding light, a north star if you will. Mission statements also declare your vision and values to others. In this case, your children.
I’m going to focus on a homeschool mission statements, but you could follow these same steps and create one for your;
- Family
- Work
- Employees
- Yourself
- A facebook page you manage
- A non profit
- Any group that gathers for a common purpose
I highly recommend doing this before choosing your curriculum, but anytime is is better than never doing it at all.
My first homeschool mission statement came about when I was in the midst of year two burn out. I was one of those classic first time homeschool moms that thought I needed to do all of the things ALL at the same time. When it came time to plan year three and add a second child to the official program plan, I felt a wee bit lost, overwhelmed, and unfocused. Which tends to happen when you don’t set up clearly defined goals.
Imagine, if you will, that you’re in a race, headed toward a finish line but someone forgot to mark where it is, only you don’t know that. There are two likely outcomes here.
#1 Keep running until you physically can’t anymore.
#2 Give up because there is nothing there to motivate you to finish.
Your mission statement is your finish line. Not having one is why many people throw their hand up in the air after a year or two.
Here’s the official list of how a mission statement will help your homeschool/life
- It’s like your North star, it keeps you headed in the right direction
- Helps you set goals and feel passionate about them
- Keeps you focused on what’s important
- Motivates you when your feeling burned out
- Keeps you focused on the future instead of getting lost behind a bad day or bad curriculum
- Provides clarity when choosing curriculum and activities
- It helps you stay in a state of flow
- If it’s on display, everyone will see it regularly creating a common positive mindset.
- When you fulfill it you will feel fabulous!
Let’s Get Started!
Step One – What is your why?
This is THE most important step. If you do nothing else, know your why. Not just here, but in everything you do.
A why like, “To keep our kids at grade level and reintegrate into the public system when we feel it’s safe” Is much different than,
“To raise our children to have a love of learning and provide them with the ability to freely pursue their passions”
The first why is probably going to send you down the path of aligned, blended, or distance learning. On the other hand, the second why is definitely going to send you down the traditional path and there will very likely be some unschooling involved.
Do you feel called to homeschool because of your faith?
Are you protecting your child from bullying and trying to create a safe space?
Does your child not learn well in the public system and you’re hoping to create an engaging learning environment that caters to their personal learning style?
Do you want to be able to spend more time together as a family?
Write down as many why’s as you have there is no limit.
Step 2 – What values and characteristics do you hope to instill?
What values and characteristics matter in your house? Write them ALL down.
If you’re feeling stuck here’s a great cheat sheet.
In our home I hope to raise children who are able to be compassionate towards others, to have a clear vision of who they are and what they stand for, and to have room for the ideas and opinions of others.
Write them ALL down.
Step 3 – Mark Your Finish Line
What is the end goal? Your ultimate vision?
Do you expect your children to go to college? Do you want them to get an Alberta Highschool Diploma, or are you going to create a parent diploma and portfolio?
Or do you want them to follow their passions and pursue apprenticeships and volunteer in environments that will give them hands-on experience that they can put on a resume?
Step 4 – Review, Summarise, Group
Look at everything you’ve written so far. Are there things that overlap? What can be grouped together?
Narrow it down to your top 5 and either create a bullet point list, or wrap it all up in an eloquent paragraph.
That’s it! Your all done. I’ve created a free download which you can access below. Use the worksheet to write out your thoughts and ideas, and use the images to write out and frame your brand spanking new mission statement for all to see.
Are you feeling lost? Let me help. Check out my homeschool coaching packages.
