Introduction
After establishing your Core, you can now move forward to craft a homeschool mission statement. You may have chosen this educational route for practical reasons based on your transient lifestyle, religion, and faith or for the safety and well-being of your child.
This level focuses on answering a fundamental question: “Why am I homeschooling?” Making known your reasons for homeschooling will reveal your true intentions for your children and their education.
If you have older children, include them in this process to showcase that you value their input and incorporate their own personal reasons (if they have any) for homeschooling.
This statement may change over time based on family needs and seasons but should be generalized enough to guide families over a long time horizon.
WHY Craft a Homeschool Mission Statement
Whatever your reason(s) might be, crafting a homeschool mission statement:
- Provides your family with purpose, and general vision to help stay focused on your goal to homeschool.
- Articulates the big-picture objectives.
- Drastically narrows academic and extracurricular choices that may not align with long-term goals.
STEPS to Developing Your Mission Statement
1. List all the reasons why you want to homeschool.
Here are some questions to consider:
- Why do I want to educate my own children?
- Is there a specific worldview I want them to have?
- What can I offer them with this experience?
- What are educational and life experiences I want for my children?
- What are specific goals we can achieve with homeschooling?
- What do I want the end result to be after homeschooling?
- How will I define homeschool success (short and long term)?
2. NEXT, REDUCE YOUR LIST TO 3-5 TOP OBJECTIVES.
Choose which are the important to you. However, you can also consolidate your answers based on themes.
3. Translate these reasons into paragraphs or bullet form to complete your homeschool mission statement.
You can begin your mission statement in various ways:
- The mission of the Onuska family is….
- The Onuska Family homeschool mission is…
4. Finally, post your list in a place where the entire family can be reminded of it daily.
Print, laminate, and or frame your statement! Place it in a location where everyone can see it to help remind you of your goals for homeschooling. If you ever get off track, having a visual reminder of your family goals can redirect your steps to getting back in the right direction. Hopefully, this will encourage and motivate you on both the most pleasant or challenging of days where you know what you’re doing is with purpose.
CONCLUSION for Level 2
All successful organizations use mission statements to guide every aspect of what they do so that everyone involved knows what they are working towards and why. Creating a homeschool mission statement creates a team environment in the home where both parents and children work together to accomplish clear goals with purpose and direction. Once you’ve crafted your statement, you can now choose the various elements needed to accomplish your mission! Click here to move on to Level 3: The Elements.
CLICK the following links to review or go to the next level of the C.M.E. Homeschool Planning Framework:
IN-DEPTH C.M.E. PDF Guide Available for purchase {APRIL 2022!}
The information above is a condensed version of the full C.M.E. Homeschool Planning Framework and Family Guide that comes in an easy-to-read eHandbook version. It offers more research-based strategies, resources, and practical advice to implement in your home. It will be available for purchase by April 2022. Subscribe and stay updated. Visit the C.M.E. Framework page for more information.