Our homeschooling vision

I come from a business background, where there was much work done to build vision and mission statements, goals and objectives, balanced scorecards, all of which was neatly packaged in a strategic plan.  It felt like play when I was involved in a meaningful way in developing these things.  I loved the utopian nature of such work...it seemed the best way to build them was to kick back and simply daydream of what the future could look like.

So, I'd like to officially share, in writing, my vision of our homeschooling family.  Yes, it is only my vision and not my husband's, as writing a vision statement is just too fluffy for practical, feet-on-the-ground, live-in-the-present-moment him.  It may give experienced homeschoolers a laugh at my naivity, and it will likely give us a laugh too in a few years.  Nevertheless, I think it will be nice to look at where we wanted to get to, and how we wanted to get there, and see if we stayed true to the path or took a bit of a detour.  And, I'll never remember my utopian vision of homeschooling in a couple of years unless it's written down.  So, let's see...

  ~ I want my children to experience a balanced education, where their heads, hands, and hearts are called upon daily.
  ~ I want my children to take ownership of their education.
  ~ I want my children to be confident that they can tackle any problem because they know how to learn and be creative.
  ~ I want my children to love learning.
  ~ I want my children to believe they have a significant role to play in the world.
  ~ I want my children to know how to take care of themselves and their families.
  ~ I want my children to be risk-takers, who are not afraid to make mistakes, who are confident that these mistakes will lead to enhanced understanding of how the world works.

Now the challenge is to boil my wishes down to a single vision statement.  This wordsmithing takes an agonizing amount of time to come up with the final product - time I don't have by the way - so we'll just call it a draft statement and drive on:

Our homeschool will provide a haven for our children to safely and enjoyably explore the vast world around them in the way that suits them best, thereby giving them the freedom to grow their talents, be confident in themselves, and leave a positive legacy for those who follow them.

Does it sound daunting?  A bit.  Does it sound worth it?  Absolutely.