Mission Statments for Your Homeschool

“Why did you decide to homeschool?” Someone is bound to ask you that. Why did you?  What is your reason?  Do you have more than one?

People homeschool for many different reasons, and while some others who do not homeschool may not share your exact sentiments, your decision is life changing for you and for your family.  When it comes to actually putting that decision you into practice it will mean a lot to you if later you sit down now with your spouse and maybe your kids and write down some of the reasons  you are choosing to home educate and then list the things you would like to do as a family in your homeschool.  After this, prepare to write a mission statement for your home school.

It's easy.  Begin by thinking about:

• Your reasons for homeschooling.  What are your main goals and objectives in choosing to home school? 
• How you plan to do it?  List some key ideas that you have and possible ways to accomplish your goals.  (Activities, co operatives, classes, sports, )
• Why you are homeschooling and whom you do it for.
• What your family values most.

Writing a mission statement will help remind you in the future of what and why you are doing what you do and keep you on track should things ever get rough or discourging.  Keep in  miind that you can always rewrite your mission statment should things change dramatically, but having even a simple mission statement  for your homeschooling will help you in choosing how you want to begin homeschooling, in making corriculum choices, selecting activities for your family to participate in and besically help define a framework for your to work within.

Be inspired!  A couple of good websites you might want to look at on this topic to inspire you to write you own can be found at Managing Your Blessings and at The Unlikely Homeschool and also The Hmmmmschooling mom.   Knowledge House offers some more advice in this area from Terri Ann Berg Olsen, and she give sample mission statements too.

Public schools write mission statements too.  Here are some from Spokane area regular public schools. (The names of the schools have been omitted.)  Write your mission statment  for your homeschool with confidence knowing that your personal statement for your family will no doubt be as good or better than any of these.  Best of all, it is your own.

"Our vision for School name is to be outstanding and academic, to ready every learner for high school and beyond, and to promote citizenship in a democratic society."

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"Staff, students, parents and community will strive to provide a safe and challenging environment which creates an atmosphere of mutual respect and a strong foundation for life-long learning. Through excellence in academics and the use of technology, students will become responsible citizens and complex thinkers."

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" School name  is founded on the belief that the education of children is the shared responsibility of families, schools and communities.  We strive to provide a high quality, student-centered education program designed around compelling topics emphasizing the integration of the arts, science and technology.  Our learning environment will provide for multi-age grouping in a collaborative community that celebrates children’s natural curiosity in their quest for knowledge, wellness and service opportunities on their journey to the summit."

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"School name will inspire all students to achieve academic success and become responsible citizens."