Step 1: Pray
If the Lord has called you to this new season of homeschooling, please know that He will equip you for the task. He made you uniquely to parent your kids and no one else. We can trust Him to help guide us for teaching & discipling our children as well.
Be in prayer over the Lord’s direction of your child’s education and let the Holy Spirit do His work. This is one area I believe is too often overlooked. We never fail to go to the Lord for our own grown-up daily needs but forget to ask for His direction for our kiddos, their education, and their future. Before you begin planning the new school year, this should be where you start first and continuously be in prayer over. Pray for his help in the decision making process - from schedules, curriculum, lesson planning, community groups, etc., may the Lord take the reigns and may they reflect what the Lord desires for that unique child. Ask the Lord to help you learn more about the needs of your children and how they individually learn best. Ask Him if the educational environment where your child is currently in, is in fact where He wants them to be. Ask the Lord to unite you and your spouse in regard to the educational direction you choose for your child. It’s is vital that you both are on the same page. If you’re still uncertain about what lead you to choose homeschooling, ask the Lord to make it abundantly clear that, that is where He has called you. Likewise, if you’re being called out of homeschooling, pray over where He is leading your family into. Pray specifically, pray boldly, & pray continuously over your children. 1 John 5:14–15
Step 2: Why?
Before choosing curriculum, it is important to evaluate, reflect upon, and align the heart of your homeschool.
What is your why?
Understanding what your reason & motivation is for homeschooling is key to establishing your purpose. What lead you to choose homeschooling as an option in the first place? What are the pros and cons for home educating vs. public school or other forms of education both for your family as a whole and for each individual child?
Knowing your why gives you purpose for your home educating endeavor. It is the heart and pulse of your homeschool. It will be what you turn back to in those hard seasons and the push you need to keep going.
My “why” goes back to college when I was in the trenches of completing my elementary education degree. I was seeing the light bulbs go off with my students and the connections they were making. I chuckle now at the mischievous nature of some. The “troublemakers” forever hold a special place in my heart. I saw the joy they were having and loved every minute of their brilliant conversations and knew I wanted the same for my children, only I wanted to be the one. I wanted to experience every minute of their education. I wanted to witness them learning to read. I wanted to put in their pathways experiences that they could connect with. I knew it was a journey that I wanted to go on with them. I knew I didn’t want to miss a moment and that included education. That is my why.
What is your why?
Step 3: Mission & Vision
After honing in on your why, it’s important to create a mission and vision for your homeschool as this will direct your future.
To begin creating your mission, think of your homeschool’s purpose. Go back to your why that we talked about earlier. Think about the heart of your homeschool. Think about the values for your family and your homeschool. What do you hope to accomplish at the end of your homeschool journey? What kind of people do you hope your children become? How do your children want to view their homeschool experience? Answer these questions, write them down, and begin to form your mission statement for your homeschool. Your mission statement showcases your purpose and heart for your homeschool.
Next create, a vision statement. This consists of the how. How will you carry out your mission for your homeschool? What are your long term and short term goals that will get you to where you want to go - both for you as the educator and each of your children? What plans do you have for your homeschool? Answer these questions, write everything down, and begin to shape your vision for your homeschool.
Your mission & vision for your homeschool gives you direction for the future. It helps you plan with the end goal in mind. It’ll be what you turn back to at the close of your school year as well as at the beginning of a new one. Your why gives your mission it’s heart & purpose while your why gives your vision it’s direction.
Step 4: Philosophy
I think when we consider educational philosophy, our approach is often wrong. We approach it like we do curriculum: we pick one off the shelf hoping it’ll meet our every need instead of approaching it as a tool to serve us.
Philosophy has more to do with what you believe about education and your children and less to do with how many facts you can recall about a particular philosopher and her method.
It’s about taking the time to consider what you believe and how applying the philosophy will look in your unique home, with your individual children, through life’s circumstances, and in modern times.
When determining your philosophy, sure a test online can help but more important than that is answering these questions for yourself, writing them down, and keeping it front and center in your homeschool planner:
•What do you believe about education and its purpose? •What do you believe about children and how they learn? How do your individual children learn? •How do you learn? How might you have to change the way you teach to better meet the needs of your kids? •What kind of environment do your kids thrive in? Does your home environment reflect that?
Answering these questions will begin the formation of your own personal philosophy. The philosophers you resonate with should always support what you believe.
It’s okay for your philosophy to grow, change, and deepen over time. It’s also okay for your philosophy to change completely.
Your philosophy should give you purpose, direction, clarity, and most of all…freedom. It should never be a checklist that you’re burdened by. It should never become void of anything that characterizes your thoughts on the matter, your personal flare and spice.
While you might be drawn to one philosopher only - focus on the core principles that may surround that philosophy instead of getting hung up on the particulars. Instead focus on how you’ll apply those core principles in your home, as the parent/teacher, and with your own children. How you apply the philosophy will look different from family to family and it should.
Your philosophy, whatever that might be, should always be unique to you and your family.
Step 5: Curricula
After you’ve determined your purpose, mission/vision, and philosophy over your homeschool the next step is determining which curricula you’ll be using.
Every curriculum follows a philosophy, so once you know what your philosophy is, it should make the decision making process a little easier.
Choose what is best for your family: maybe that’s a bundle, piecing it together, or writing your own. Whatever you end up choosing should adhere to your philosophy, family’s purpose, and goals for your children. It should serve as a tool and a guide for you but it should never become burdensome. If it becomes a checklist or something you have to white knuckle to grin and bear it then there is a disconnect that needs addressing.
A wise woman once said (I can’t remember if it was Pam Barnhill or Sarah Mackenzie, “You’re the master of the curriculum, not a slave to it.”
As the teacher, you’re in charge of the curriculum. Period. You get to choose the book lists, pacing, and whether or not to let something go. You even get to choose the subjects and when/if you’ll introduce them at all. Let this be an encouragement to you that’s it’s okay if you don’t do Plutarch and if you allow your child to have a treat of twaddle every now and then. Curriculum is designed to meet the needs of your kids and not something your kids should be molded into.
Curriculum is something that should look different from person to person. Each child is different, unique, and has individual needs that will look different from home to home. What one family is doing in their home, may not work for you and your family. And rightfully so, for every family’s mission, capacity, and philosophy will be different. Don’t spend your time trying to replicate what another homeschool mom is doing in her home. Own your unique vision, philosophy, and part of the world that God has you in.
Curriculum at the end of the day should foster freedom in your homeschool, be unique to you & your family, and meet the individual needs of your children.
Step 6: Community
The last step I’ve found is often overlooked or put on the back burner and that is finding a homeschool community to connect with. However, it’s my opinion that it is an important aspect of homeschooling - connecting with other families of shared AND different philosophies than yours. I’ve had the pleasure of leading several groups over the years: larger umbrella style groups like CHESF that serve to connect families into community groups and smaller ones that focus on a particular philosophy like CHARM our Charlotte Mason group. The community you find, like your curriculum & philosophy should align with your “why,” mission/vision, and family values. Many groups may follow a particular philosophy too, so knowing what your philosophy is can help determine whether or not to join a particular group. Your homeschool group should be a place of support, encouragement, accountability, and growth, not only for your children but for you as the parent. Community doesn’t have to have a price tag. Believe me I understand the reasoning for a traditional, formal co-op structure but also know that “real, authentic community” can happen in smaller groups. Our homeschool group CHARM has become our non-negotiable for us each week. Fridays we meet for nature study, lessons , playtime, and mother culture time for the parents. The mothers meet biweekly on Monday nights over Zoom to discuss the A Delectable Education podcast or other material we want to read/listen to and discuss together. We go to conferences together and field trips, but we have them at home too just to share life together - the highs and the lows. This group has become so dear to me and the relationships will last forever. I pray if joining a homeschool community aligns with your homeschool this season, that it becomes a place of authentic community for you and your children.