Someone brought up the idea of having big and little goals for your homeschool. Can I ask what some of yours are, if you have them? And if you don't, why not? It ties into another discussion I was reading that sparked the question in my mind as to what the purpose of an education really is or ought to be. I'm still working all this out in my brain and I really appreciate the information that I've gleaned from this forum.
When I started homeschooling, I didn't really have goals in mind. Well I kind of did, but it had nothing to do with what it eventually evolved into. I started homeschooling when my oldest was going into 2nd grade. His first 2 years in PS were a nightmare to say the least. He was academically advanced and they refused to work with us on meeting him where he was. We offered to purchase extra things and send them in and we were told that was not allowed compements of the no child left behind act. I shared my goals in the other thread, but in short, I just want my kids to be able to learn anything they want.
My goal is to teach my daughter how to learn and not simply regurgitate information. I strive to help her focus on her God given gifts and strengths.
Ditto... love of learning, knowing how to self-teach, and most importantly, keeping God at the top of the priority list. Test taking skills are useless if a person can't carry on an intelligent conversation or figure out multiple ways to tackle a problem to see which is the best. Those are things colleges and/or employers will be looking for. I've said it before... the jobs our children will have probably haven't even been invented yet.
These are some of our biggest goals Provide a personalized education for each child considering their abilities, interests, and learning styles. Build strong relationships (parent/child, siblings). Provide a challenging and thorough education that will well-prepare my children for future studies. Cultivate a love of learning. Teach through a Christian worldview that sees people without borders. To go along with that we are also teaching our children to see the world through a non-western perspective and cultivating a heart of compassion for people. Teach my children to think critically.
The goal of our homeschool is for our kids to learn discernment and discipleship through a Biblical foundation. We like to say that the Bible is our "prep" school!
For my child to be able to learn at her pace rather than one predetermined by the state or school. For her to be able to interact well with other people of all ages, really in the real world we aren't seperated by age and you may work for someone younger than you and with people older than you. For my child to learn to be financially responsible with money and learn the value of waiting until you can afford something. To learn to love herself for who she is and to appreciate who God has made her.
Our long term goals are: A. Discipleship/Character training Teachings of Proverbs: The principle of the tongue and the truth The principle of hard work The principle of self-control and avoiding temptation The principle of conflict resolution and getting along with others The principle of fearing God The principle of receiving reproof and respecting authority The principle of trusting God The principle of humility The principle of a virtuous spouse B. Biblical/Christian worldview C. Instill a love of reading D. Teach them HOW to learn E. Help them discover and develop their spiritual gifts (my boys are currently young so this isn't a huge focus as of yet, but will move up in priority as they grow and mature and get closer to adulthood) Our yearly goals: I pick a character trait or two to focus on with each child in an area where they struggle. Academically I don't set specific goals for the year but rather have a goal of making progress, good steady progress. I do set weekly or monthly goals for them. ________________________________________________ My theory is, if my kids make a perfect score on their SAT and lack faith, virtue and valor, then I have done no better than public school could have.... My goal is not to fill them with information, because, as John Holt said, the world is changing so fast we don't know WHAT they will need to know in the future (paraphrase). It's much better to teach them how to find answers to their questions, how to think critically and to instill a love of reading and nurture their natural curiosity and love of learning instead of squashing it with 'school'.
I love those answers! Thank you! Many of you mentioned wanting to instill a love of learning. I definitely agree, but in practical terms how, exactly, do you go about that?
Well each family is different. Our story is my oldest went to 2 years of PS (for prek and k) He was no where near ready to read in K, but that's the goal of K so he was forced and hated it! It took forever before he wanted to see another book! Being forced to try to learn to read killed his love of book. He used to enjoy our read alouds...until K. Then he'd cry if I even got out a book to read to him... So for us, the key is no pressure. Making lessons fun and engaging. Hands-on projects. Math manipulatives. Letting them choose their subjects or topics to study. Asking them questions and answering theirs. Making 'school' flow seamlessly with life, so learning isn't a separate part of life, it is life. Seriously, my oldest is 8 1/2 and he thinks if we don't go into the classroom today, we haven't done school, despite doing devotionals, Bible study, doing worksheets, reading books together, watching a documentary, using math manipulatives, playing a story telling game, doing an art project or science experiment, discussing a painting, counting money at the store, discussing health/nutrition when I told him if he didn't want to eat lunch he had to drink a glass of superfood juice...he'll tell you, if asked, we didn't 'do school' today. LOL Because school and learning are two different things to him. To him, learning is just part of life, 'school' is something that happens in a classroom....
My goals...I think mine were far less realistic and practical than those offered here. So, if I were to expose the absolute honest truth, I probably began with the goal of having a brilliant, well-educated daughter, who would love God and go to college, have a bit of a career to get financially stable, marry a wonderful husband who loves her parents as his own, and she could later stay at home and homeschool all her own children with my help. Yeah, I can be really idealistic at times, but in honesty...these where my secret goals that I dare not expect to happen, but still secret that hope in my heart anyway. I had prayed for a child who would be advanced, and very talented in music and art, who would take piano lessons and ride horses, and so far I have gotten the child for which I prayed--because it never occurred to me to add that she would love math too! And, because God gave me the child I had prayed to have, I think I have surrendered my secret goals to Him. I simply want her to be everything God had planned for her to be and He is by far better the better Planner than I.
I can tell you what I do. I haven't always achieved success, but I will continue to work towards it. Always talk positively about school as something interesting and exciting. Approach subjects in a way that suits the child. For my kids this means I often put together my own things rather than just purchase a curriculum. It also means I cannot combine my kids much since they are very different learners. Have longer school days so we have plenty of time for electives, in depth study, and a smaller percentage of the day focused on undesirable parts of school. I don't allow whining to continue and I try to refocus my children on how privileged they are to be able to get an education. Get a child's input before I decide on curriculum or books. As a teacher I need to be excited about the subject or the curriculum so I can pass that on to my child. I rarely use anything I find dull or boring. I enjoy learning so I avoid approaching a subject in any manner I find uninteresting. And most of all - I seek to engage my children in the subject matter. There is no love of learning without engagement.
For me it means no pressure. If we are enjoying a topic we work more on it and if we dislike a subject we work through it a little slower to figure out why we dislike it. Is it the presentation that is disliked, is it not fitting the learning style, or is it something we just don't see as important. If it's somethig we just don't like we get through it but be sure to add other things that are liked with some extra time. Dd isn't real thrilled with learning about history and social studies however it has to be done so we make sure on days we work on those things we also do extra science and art or sign language lessons since she loves those. I reward jobs well done with special activities like playing outside or a special movie or something along those lines. She has a natural love for certain things, as I believe all children do, and it's up to me to help develop those areas without lacking in other areas.
My goals are pretty basic, by the time they live home I want them to love learning, be functionally literate, be able to work a budget, run a household, and have what it takes to be a competent parent and spouse. Everything else is icing on the cake
