Getting started in Home Schooling Part 2

Before you get too far into deciding just which methods work best for you, it is wise to write out your mission statement for your home school.
A mission statement will help you in deciding which method are best for you.
A mission statement will contain just what you envision for your home school.
When you are preparing your mission statement, please try to think only of what YOU want to see in your home school. Don't let others opinions effect your home school.
Included in your mission statement may be things like...What you want your children's character to be like when they graduate, what you think is most important for them to learn in the short and long run, how you would like to see your children learn, what you want to develop in your children.
A sample mission statement may go something like this.

In our home school, I see my children laughing and joyfully learning as we do our studies.
I see lot's of read alouds on the couch together, lot's of hands on experiments and free time to explore and learn on their own.
I want my children to have a good solid knowlegde of our history and how we have gotten here today. I want to emphasise Christianity in history.
I want my kids to have a basic knowledge of science, but more importantly,I want them to have fun with science.
I want my children to have a really good grasp on math and stay fairly close to grade level in math.
I want my children to be able to write well to express their thoughts and make their own books and notebooks, not just to be able to write for the sake of writing.
I want my children to be able to read well, so that they can enjoy learning, and be able to learn on their own. I do not want to push them to learn to read too young if they are not ready. This should be fun and something they enjoy. I do not want to squelch their enthusiasm for reading or learning.
All in all, I want my children to have a good education tailored to their specific talents and bents and not just what everyone else is learning.
I want to remember that God created them differently than other children and that they do not need to learn everything that everyone else is because God has a purpose for them and he instilled in them what they need to succeed. I want to help them develop their God given talents and abilities.
I want my children to have fun learning.
I want my children to be able to have real life experiences that will help them as adults. I want them to have real skills, not just degrees.
I want my daughters to learn how to keep a home and to love being a mom. I want my sons to know how to tke care of a family on a single income and to be a Godly husband and father.
I want my children to have enjoyed home schooling so much that they want to home school their own children.
Above all, I want my children to see God in everything we do. I want all of our learning to be Christ centered and I want them to build a strong faith in God and have a solid faith before they step out into the world.

Your mission statement may be similar to this one or not even close. Either way, once you write out your mission statement, you can use that to help you decide which methods of home schooling fit best in your hoe school.
If your mission statement has a lot of emphasis on education and college or degrees, than you may want to consider a more textbook approach.
If, on the other hand, you have more emphasis on having fun and enjoying time with your kids, you may enjoy the Charlotte Mason approach or learning with living Books.
We will get into this more later. For now, take a while to really think about what you want to see in your home school.
Talk to your husband about it also and see what he wants to see in your home school. Make sure to implement what he wants to see.
If you would like to share your mission statement with others, let me know and I will post it on my blog!
Have fun making your mission statement and I will be back soon with Part 3.