5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials- Purpose

Why

are you doing

what you are doing?

One of the Essentials of Homeschooling is knowing why you are doing what you are doing- what is your purpose. Let's face it- schools do teach, there are some great teachers out there, government schools are already paid for and we live in a dual income world. Really, reality doesn't recommend homeschooling. So, why are you Homeschooling? Having a sense of  PURPOSE is every bit as important as choosing curriculum, setting a schedule and other essentials we'll be talking about all week. Without one, it is very easy to lose your way.

Without a vision the people will perish.

You knew that, right?

Some common reasons for homeschooling:
Academics in local school lacking - kids are advanced or behind or lost or don't care.
Kids have  hard time sitting still for long hours every day and you don't want to drug them into submission.
Kids have medical issues
Kids don't fit in, are teased, bullied or have other social stresses
Common Core is confusing, concerning, etc.
Religious instruction in government schools is not congruent with your belief system.
Sex Ed in government schools is not congruent with your belief system.
LD or Gifted child not given adequate instruction, challenge, interaction, guidance or time.
Family has opportunity to travel extensively or are expats
Family lives off grid
Child identity is not integrated into family identity when publicly educated
Child identity is not connected into a culture, ethnicity or religious base when publicly educated
Personal and faith values are corroded in public education
Child's personhood (their individual identity) is devalued by peers in public setting in order for them to maintain standards of the group.

Here's the deal:
you can homeshcool in reaction to the system:  by homeschooling we are protecting our child from x, y or z.
Or

you can homeschool proactively towards something great than the average - we homeschool in order to instill in our kid a, b and c.

It's kind of like the whole milk issue. You can say,"We avoid grocery bought milk because we are protecting our kids from ingesting the Bovine Growth Hormone."
Or you can say, "We buy alternative milk in order to build our children's strength and immune system."

Both statements might be true, but one is about avoidance behavior and  fear while the second is reaching towards a level of health that is challenging and responsive. The first reflects fear, the second reflects faith.

Why be clear on your purpose?

Why make sure that it is pro-active vs.reactive?

Because when you step off the beaten, wide and well-traveled path you become trail breaker. Trail breakers get exhausted, fight wild animals or legal battles, stumble around in treacherous terrain and sometimes lose their way. A Purpose is your guide, your map and your compass. It will remind you, when the going gets tough- because it will- that you, or someone bigger than you,  knows what you are doing and where you are going.

Here's ours to get you started.
We homeschool in order to give our children a firm foundation-

academically, emotionally, socially, spiritually,

 so that they can be carefree during childhood,

pointed True North all of their earthly days and

 in the presence of the One True Living God for all eternity.

I'll be posting all week long on Homeschooling Essentials- come back every day this week for posts about Planning, People, Places and more!

It's so much easier to trail blaze with a tribe. Please visit my tribe of wild and wonderful Crewbies and read what they have to read about Homeschooling Essentials:

Marcy @ Ben and Me
Lisa @ Golden Grasses
Tess @ Circling Through This Life
Victoria @ Homemaking with Heart
Kayla @ The Arrowood Zoo
Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Deanna @ His Treasure Seekers
Melissa @ Grace Christian Homeschool
Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
Rebecca @ Raventhreads

In truth, there are 89 of us writing all week long about Homeschooling Essentials. The complete list is here!

@Golden Grasses 2008-2013. All photographs, artwork and text are the property of the owner unless otherwise stated. Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to Golden Grasses and get our articles right to your inbox!