Walking into Target and Walmart this time of year makes my heart happy. Rows upon rows of organized, colorful back-to-school supplies. I think buying new school supplies is my Love Language (take note, Hubby). Unsharpened pencils, blank notebooks, big pink erasers. Ohhh. I’m getting all tingly just typing this!
There is one thing that I suggest every homeschooling parent do before they even crack open that new curriculum manual or go school supply shopping at Target. The numero uno thing is…formulate a vision for your school year. After homeschooling for 4 years, I finally figured out that before I planned my school year and all the subjects that I wanted to cover, I needed to first clarify my goal for my year. Now, two years later, I still have the same vision statement hung in our school room. My vision has not changed, but the way we “do school” has changed to better fit my vision.
So, how do you go about formulating a vision for your school year? Here are some simple steps that I took that helped me clarify my main goals in my homeschooling:
- In her book, Teaching From Rest, Sarah Mackenzie states, ‘I like to picture my children about twenty years down the road. I imagine they are enjoying a meal with friends and are asked about their growing-up years. “You were homeschooled,” a friend says. Then she asks, “What was that like?” Which words, phrases, or sentences do I want my child to use when describing his or her homeschooled childhood? Without contemplating too deeply on this, jot a few things down that are your own gut reactions to this question.’
So, start here. Grab a notebook, and literally just write down a list of any words that come to mind that you hope your child uses when they look back on these homeschooled days. Not sure where to start? Here are some words and phrases that were on my brainstormed list: curl up with a good book, fun, unhurried, playful, perseverance, the Gospel. Now this list will look different for everyone, and it should! Your goals aren’t my goals, and my goals should not be your goals. Why? Because, simply, your kids aren’t my kids, and my kids aren’t your kids. The bottom line is, you do YOU!
- After you have your messy list of random words, use those words and phrases to formulate goals. After looking over my list of words, I noticed similarities in some of them, so I was able to combine those together into one goal.
- Type or write out these goals and hang them up where you do school in your home so that you will see them often.
- Now, when you are planning your school year and trying to decide what curriculums to buy, what field trips to go on, what books to read, what projects to do…consult your goals first and see if the things you are considering putting into your day actually help you accomplish these goals.
Think of it this way, if you’re as blind as a bat (as I am), everything looks fuzzy when I have my glasses off. Things are unclear and hard to decipher. This is similar to planning for your school year without a vision statement. Lists upon lists of curriculums are available to you to choose from. Co-op groups, extra classes, extracurriculars, field trips, projects, book lists, etc. It can be hard to choose what to put on your school to-do list or, maybe more importantly, what to keep off. Looking at all the hundreds of possibilities that are available to us as homeschoolers can make us feel over-whelmed and make it unclear what our plans should be. But, just like having glasses is helpful for me to see what’s in front of me, having clear set goals that you want to accomplish each day will help you to see more clearly, too. Ask yourself, “Will this (curriculum, project, co-op, etc.) help support my vision for my children this year?” It might just help make all the fuzzy decisions a lot more clearer.
Chit-Chat: If you choose to sit down and formulate a vision for your homeschool year (and I hope you do!), I’d love to hear what goals you come up with. Email me or leave a comment below if you are willing to share.
More about my vision statement next time…
