heartofdakota.com

Hi all, hope everyone had a very Merry, Joyful, Meaningful Christmas!
As we have this week off from school (and begin a new calendar year) I plan to take an hour or two to "zoom out" in terms of looking at our homeschool plan for the coming semester, goal setting, tweaking our schedule, etc. We plan to finish BHFHG and LHFHG of course
I've gotten mentally stuck on the issue of whether or not to combine more for certain subjects in our family. I've realized two things...1) It doesn't matter all that much as there are several really good options and it is more important for me to stop being preoccupied, 2) We (dh and I) have never really stepped back and evaluated our overarching goals/mission statement for our homeschool.
Has anyone done this? Can you recommend some questions or resources for working out a vision and goals for your family?
I feel like it would be helpful to do a little bit of big picture thinking before doing any more tweaking this year, and it would also help in a few months as we plan out our school year "10-"11.
Happy New Year!

I'm going to partially answer my own question
Last night dh and i started brainstorming about big picture homeschool goals. Then, I was reading a new book last night (Help for the Harried Homeschooler) and at the end of chapter 4 there is a list of questions for making a family profile. Good stuff!
I'd love to hear other thoughts, too

This discussion is so important and is an ongoing topic in some way, shape, or form in our house all of the time. Here are a few good questions to ponder - they may seem simple at first, but are harder to answer than one would think:
1. Why are we homeschooling?
2. What is most important to teach our dc over the years?
3. What kind of opportunities do we want for our dc to be able to have when we are done homeschooling? (i.e. military, 2 year college, 4 year college, work right out of high school, etc. - we do not completely have this figured out yet and are willing to be flexible somewhat based on the child's preference)
4. How do we want their education to be different from others' education?
5. How can we teach our dc balance in life from a young age?
6. What will we encourage our dc to do with their free time, and can some of these things be good lifelong interests/hobbies?
7. How will we share our faith with our dc though homeschooling so it hopefully becomes a cornerstone in their lives when we are gone?
8. What do we want our homeschooling atmosphere to look like in the day to day?
9. How can we create a more relaxed, joyful experience of schooling than the average child or (homeschool) teacher experiences?
10. What are we willing to do to make homeschooling a priority in our home each day?
11. What "helps" may be necessary to live life joyfully as a homeschooling family? (i.e. a night out for mom with a friend, a date with dh once every few weeks, simpler meals for lunch, a babysitter one afternoon for mom to get groceries/run errands, handicrafts/educational computer games/outdoor play things/small home library of books etc. for dc to be able to entertain themselves happily at home, etc.)
12. How does Dad want to be involved? (my dh sees his role to be the provider and is minimally involved other than to enjoy seeing their work - but every home is different)
13. If dc have siblings, how will we encourage lifelong friendships with siblings and family?
14. How will we approach "activities"?
15. What role do we want "friends" to play, and how will we monitor that so we are in control in what happens? (we've chosen for cousins and brothers to be our dc's friends, so this is a possibility too)
16. What can we do to be able to homeschool for the "long haul" (through high school - if that is a goal for you), and avoid burnout?

I hope some of these questions can help you as you ponder this. Your answers may change over the years some, but it's so important to think of this so we don't get to the end of our homeschooling and realize we didn't do what we wished we'd done most. Blessedly, HOD prioritizes many of these things beautifully already, so just by choosing HOD some of these questions have easier answers. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

threegreatkids wrote:I'm going to partially answer my own question
Last night dh and i started brainstorming about big picture homeschool goals. Then, I was reading a new book last night (Help for the Harried Homeschooler) and at the end of chapter 4 there is a list of questions for making a family profile. Good stuff!
I'd love to hear other thoughts, too

I read "Help for the Harried Homeschooler" last year and it was a life saver for me! My husband and I started discussing these same things that you have talked about and Christine's ideas and questions helped us talk it all through. We came up with some foundations/goals for our family that have covered even more than just homeschooling.These things have affected almost every area of our family's life. It has been such a benefit for us this year as I can look back at those things that we have written down and be encouraged.

Julie, your questions are super helpful- I'm printing them to use this week. Thanks!
Frankesense, thanks for sharing how "Help for the Harried Homeschooler" worked well for your family. I'm encouraged!

I'm usually such a planner (to a fault) that I have no idea how I missed this step! We've been homeschooling most of the past 4 years. Perhaps this is why we've changed curriculums so many times I do anticipate that as we articulate our goals it will confirm our decision to stay with HOD.

threegreatkids wrote:Perhaps this is why we've changed curriculums so many times I do anticipate that as we articulate our goals it will confirm our decision to stay with HOD.

This is exactly one of the reasons why I had found it so helpful. Finally putting on paper our family goals and what was most important to us was how I knew without a doubt that HOD was going to be the best curriculum choice for our family (it's always hard to tell when there are so many to choose from). HOD has been the best year for us so far and I am no longer looking for something else.

I love Julie's list. Just wanted to add one question that really helped me get my priorities on track for our family. What do I think God will ask me to give an account of concerning hsing and raising my kids when we stand face to face? It is a question I ask myself over and over again and new things always come. The truth to that question or what I feel like will be the truth is seldom my focus I find unless I do it purposefully. One huge thing is that our unit study for us needs to be Bible. History can fall where it may we will get it but knowing the Word is top on our list. So if we add to HOD first thing is going to be reading straight from the Bible and having discussion about that. I find that HOD always blends so well with whatever we study in the Bible and I feel like it frees up my mind to not have to focus on what in the end is probably not going to be the most important. The other thing that really helps me is to pray individually about my kids and ask God how he wants me to teach them and what. It's not like I always feel like I get a specific answer right away but sometimes I do and always God is faithful to answer that one.

Sounds like your family has a really great focus and it is wonderful that you and dh are on the same page. Praying your new year is blessed!

Water2wine,
Thanks for a wonderful reminder about the most important thing of all!

Glad it helped. It is all stuff I have to constantly remind myself to focus on really but it has helped me.

my3sons wrote: 11. What "helps" may be necessary to live life joyfully as a homeschooling family? ( handicrafts/educational computer games/outdoor play things/small home library of books etc. for dc to be able to entertain themselves happily at home, etc.)

Julie,

Thanks for a great list.

The above quote is one that I struggle with finding the answer to. I want to figure out how to make being at home a good portion of their young lives an enjoyable time for my children. I remember reading once about a person who was bashing his homeschool education. He said something to the effect of seeing the garbage truck or the mailman was the highlight of his day.

I want my children to enjoy being at home and not feel like they need to "go" somewhere to find fulfillment in their daily lives.

I would love to hear how you and other moms fill this need in your children. I hope to glean some wisdom from the responses !

Since this is not really on topic to the original question, I am going to open up a new post about it.

Thank you all for your advice!