Creating A Homeschool Mission Statement: The Best Way To Guide Your Learning

Every year, at about this time, homeschool families start thinking about the coming year. We begin to think about what has worked, what hasn’t, and what we want to do going forward.

For our family, this is the time of year when we think a lot about our homeschool mission statement. Following a homeschool mission statement is the best way for us to stay on track, maintain our commitment, and prioritize connection as we learn and grow together. 

Are you curious about how to create a homeschool mission statement? If so, you’ll definitely want to follow along as I share how and why we made our homeschool mission statement. Plus, the steps you can take to create your own homeschool mission statement to guide your learning.

Why We Created Our First Family Homeschool Mission Statement

We didn’t have a homeschool mission statement when we started our homeschooling journey. When we started to think about a mission statement, it was out of a desire to stay focused on what was really important to us and what things we wanted Emily to remember about the experience of being homeschooled.

It was imperative to us that no matter what we build strong connections with Emily and foster a close relationship. We also wanted to ensure that Emily fell in love with learning. When she looks back on these years as an adult, we hope she remembers the time we spent together and the experiences we shared.

As a family, we wanted to cultivate a culture of learning that would grow stronger through the years. Creating our first family homeschool mission statement was all about making sure we could maintain our connection and grow as we continued learning together through the years.

Our homeschool mission statement is all about putting our family first. Gaps are inevitable  instead, we choose to focus on maintaining a connection and prioritizing our relationship while fostering a culture of learning together as a family.

The Value Of Creating A Homeschool Mission Statement

It makes everything easier. We can hold everything up against it. Curriculum & Experiences. I can fall back on it during tough times or when I feel like I need to finish the worksheets. 

There are lots of advantages to adopting a homeschool mission statement. Our family’s mission statement has helped us to stay on track throughout the year and maintain our commitment to homeschooling and to our goals. 

There’s a lot of information out there for homeschooling families. All of it looks enticing and it’s easy to feel like you want or need to do everything. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and confused about where to begin or what’s really important. 

Crafting a homeschool mission statement about what’s important to your family can help you to stay on track when you’re choosing books and resources. It’s also a great way to help yourself drown out all those extra voices that might not line up with what’s really important to you and your family. Plus, you can use your family’s homeschool mission statement to choose goals for the future and work together to make them happen.

Our Homeschool Mission Statement

So what’s our homeschool mission statement? Here at The Waldock Way, we desire to instill a love of lifelong learning while prioritizing connection and relationships. 

It has always been our goal to learn together as a family. We make it a point to answer every question and this has led to some really interesting lessons! Check out how we got sucked into a fun lesson all about vultures and the incredible power of following your child’s interests to learn more.

Learning together as a family has led us to so many fun experiences and opportunities to build a stronger connection too. We love taking field trips together and exploring fun subscription boxes like Universal Yums as a family. We’re also big fans of family game nights and watching movies together to learn new things.

We spend a lot of time together and we have both made a commitment to be involved in Emily’s homeschooling lessons. This gives us an opportunity to spend more time together and develop a closer relationship too. 

Kevin and Emily love working on STEAM projects together and art activities are a passion they both share. I enjoy reading with Emily and journaling together has become one of our favorite activities! 

How To Create Your Own Homeschool Mission Statement

So what steps can you take to create your own homeschool mission statement? First, think about what you want your homeschool experience to be like. Talk about it with your spouse and your children. Here are some simple steps you can follow to build your own family homeschool mission statement:

What’s Your Why?

Why have you chosen to homeschool? Knowing the reasons why you’re homeschooling will have a big effect on your goals, priorities, and the mission statement you ultimately craft for your family.

What Do You Want Long Term?

What are you hoping will be the end result of this homeschooling journey? What are you most concerned about? What do you want to get out of this adventure in the end? 

Think carefully about what you want to have achieved when all the years of homeschooling are at an end. Keeping your long-term goals in mind as you create your mission statement will ensure you can work towards them together each year.

What Do You Hope Your Kids Say In the Future?

When you’re sitting around the Thanksgiving table with your adult children, what do you hope they have to say about homeschooling? If you’re hoping they talk about learning the art of debate or completing workbooks from start to finish, you’ll definitely want to make sure those goals are reflected in your mission statement.

For us, it was really important that Emily remembered this time as a time filled with togetherness and learning experiences for the whole family. That’s why we choose to play lots of games and go on field trips together over finishing our workbooks from cover to cover or sticking to a certain curriculum.

What Gaps Are You Okay With?

Gaps are inevitable. We all have gaps in education. One of the great benefits of homeschooling is that we get to choose the gaps. We can ensure that our children learn the things that are really important to us and choose to be okay with not teaching certain things too. 

What Gaps Are You Not Okay With?

Ultimately, we decided that the one area we’re not okay with gaps is in our relationship. That’s why we emphasize spending time together and building up a strong connection first. 

If there’s a subject or topic you’re not okay with having gaps in, you can prioritize that topic in your mission statement. Then, you’ll be able to look back at your mission statement as you choose books, curriculum, and activities to be sure you’re meeting your priorities.

What Do You Want Your Homeschool Experience to Feel Like?

Another important question to ask yourself as you prepare your own homeschool mission statement is “What do I want this experience to feel like?” This is a really important one for me to think about before purchasing books, games, or planning activities. There might be a certain workbook I think is really great, but if it’s a book I know Emily will hate, I’m going to skip it.

Since I know choosing books and activities Emily won’t enjoy will lead to her crying, me yelling, and the opposite of a strong healthy relationship, I’ll do my best to look for something we can both enjoy learning together instead.

Have you crafted a homeschool mission statement for your family? What did you decide to focus on? I’d love to read about your family’s mission statement and the goals you’ve chosen to focus on this school year. Share your homeschool mission statement in the comments for everyone to read!