bbcovert@juno.com

Having a mission statement for your homeschool sounds very businesslike, doesn’t it? That’s something that companies have. Churches and schools have mission statements too. So why not have one for your homeschool? A mission statement will remind you why you are working so hard on those days when everything goes wrong and you begin to imagine packing the kids off to traditional school so that you can have a break! A mission statement may also help your children understand why you are a homeschooling family. A mission statement can guide your decision-making process when you need to limit the amount of activities and projects you are involved in. A mission statement is like a lighthouse. It’s built on a firm foundation, and it can guide you during the dark times when you’re not sure of the way.

Simply put, your homeschool mission statement (HMS) tells your purpose for homeschooling in written form. It will be something you can post on the bulletin board or tack to the wall to remind everyone in your family why you opted for home education.

To come up with your HMS, make a list of reasons why you homeschool. This may make a fun family project! You probably had more than one reason for choosing to homeschool; I know I did. I can think of four reasons off the top of my head: to protect my kids from danger, to protect them from ungodly words, ideas, and behavior, to give them a Christian education, and to strengthen a close-knit family relationship. Certainly, God calling me to something that I wouldn’t normally have considered was a big reason!

Your reasons for homeschooling may not work as your purpose. If that were the case, then my HMS might state that our purpose is to keep the kids safe at home, learning Christian principles. Do you see why that doesn’t work? There’s no goal to work towards. That is a statement of what I am doing and have been doing for many years, but it doesn’t tell where we’re going with this way of life.

So, using your reasons for homeschooling, think about the end results. What is it that you hope to see in your children or family at the end of these years? When you “turn them loose” on the world, what do you hope they will be? What do you hope they will do?

You probably want them to have academic success. You want them to develop their talents and use them for the Lord. You want them to be respectful of laws – at least, the ones that don’t go against God’s Word. You want them to make right choices regarding work, further education, finances, friendships, ministry, recreational activities, and marriage. That’s a lot to work into one HMS! You can do it. Spend time on it. Discuss it with your spouse and children.

Be as creative as you want with your mission statement. Place it within a fancy border. Base it on a Bible verse. Make a numbered list of goals. Make it rhyme if you want! Perhaps your children would like to turn it into a work of art. Just make sure that it’s easy to understand, whether you use a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire page to express it.

Here are a few examples of generic homeschool mission statements. Don’t choose one of these as your own HMS! Creating your own will make it personal to you and your family!

~ Preparing my child to live in the world with an eye toward heaven ~

Our goal is to mold and encourage our children to become responsible and courageous adults with a heart for others and a strong faith in Jesus Christ.

Once you have a mission statement, you will begin to see where your time and attention should be. You will stop “sweating the small stuff.” You’ll have a beacon to guide you through each day. On those stormy, I-give-up days, that lighthouse will remind you of your purpose and help you keep going!

Happy Homeschooling!

Copyright 2006 By Brenda B. Covert