What is your overall goal for home educating your children? I've been thinking about goals here lately and would like to hear goals from others
My number one Goal is that I want my kids to be Godly people. Living their lives to the fullest, following God's will for them. Walking the path that He has set before them. So my first task is to not screw that up! I don't want to push them in direction they are not meant to be headed. I want to encourage spiritual growth so they can find their way early in life. I want my kids to be productive adults. Not only in secular, but also in furthering Gods work. That sounds a little more churchy then I want it to, but it is late. : ) To attain that I think that they need a well rounded education. That doesn't have to be dependent on test scores, or memorized dates. But I do make them memorize things, because I feel it will help them to be productive, and happier adults. I make them take test, because they will do things similar through out their lives and need to be prepared for it. I try to pull from all the different types of teaching styles ( CM, SWB, Classical, School at home etc) so that they can experience it all. I also feel like most of the important learning happens in the family. How to deal with people, money, etc. So we spend time working to those goals as well. I also want them to be wise. Not just book knowledge but in life, and in the ways of God. I think of King Solomon and his Godly wisdom. I think wisdom comes from God, so I try to teach them as much about HIM as I can. I also pray for it daily for each of my children.
My overall goal is to prepare my boys to be Godly men with jobs that pay well enough for their wives to be Godly wives at home. I don't want their wives to be forced to work and have to neglect my grandchildren. I'm not saying homeschooling is the only answer or that women can't work. I'm saying, from the Biblical perspective, I want my boys to be leaders in their family, both spiritually and financially (which also means not workaholics). I don't care how smart they are or what type of degree they get or what type of job they get. As long as they're serving God first, family second, and everyone else third, I've done my job as a parent and teacher.
I have 1 goal.. that is it. I want them to be able to find any information that they may need or want for anything that comes up in life, and to be able to take that information into their brain and process it so that it is useful to them. ETA.. I also want them to know that they are individuals and no matter how they are raised or who is in their lives, they have to do and believe in what ever makes them happy and whole. I guess that too is part of my goal.
Thanks for sharing your goals. I'm still thinking mine through, but it should be something like this: Love God Love family Love their career/job of choice Love the people of the world Be well prepared for college academically, spiritually, and emotionally. The first 2 I believe can be accomplished without homeschooling, although I do believe homeschooling enhances them. I feel the last three goals require homeschooling in order to be met. Feeding their loves and instilling the passion for learning requires time and an approach to education that can't be found in a typical school. When my kids are grown I want them to wake up on Monday morning and be happy about another week of work. I aim to raise globally minded kids who realize they are citizens of heaven and people of all nations are equal in God's sight. That vastly influences our study of history and geography. I don't teach them that any nation is better than another. I also believe homeschooling gives advantages academically, spiritually, and socially and I seek to give my kids that advantage as they head off into adulthood.
My number one goal is to raise Godly children who become Godly adults. I'm still working on myself but at least they have a foundation I never had. My childhood was great but no church. I want my kids to know how to learn. Like if I miss something they wanted to learn about then they can learn about it on their own at any age. I guess being able to read is an important factor in that! I want them to have a firm understanding of the basics of life:reading,writing,spelling,& math. I hate the "teach to the test" mentality. If they don't take a liking to history now, I figure they can learn about it when they are ready if I have done my job in teaching them how to find information. That's just an example. Am I making any sense?
I like these posts. I started homeschooling with one goal, and that was to get him up to speed with the public school. That goal is abandoned. Not to say that he is behind, we have probably accomplished it, but that I don't care about it anymore. Homeschooling this year has caused me to think about bigger goals for my son. First, I want him to have a strong foundation in the reading, writing, math, and life skills such as managing his money, cooking, cleaning, and decision making. Second, I want him to know and love God. And third, I want him to explore careers he might like to follow so that when he's done here with me, he'll know what to do next and be able to support himself and hopefully love his career.
I love what you said. It really does apply. I started this to acchieve what the PS was not doing. Now I see homeschooling as a whole lifestyle choice that will hopefully have a better outcome then the PS would have. What I mean is PS wasn't working toward our ultimate goals but rather sabotaging them. I want my kids to have strong morals, be able to think outside the box, and make goals for themselves that will lead to their happiness as competent members of society.
My number one goal is to raise children who can think for themselves, gather information, question, gather knowledge and make informed decisions. Children who can see the plight of others and have a sense of community. It sounds like a bunch of goals, but really it is only one - raising them to be the wonderful INDIVIDUALS that God created them to be.
