“Every homeschooler should study logic.” “If you don’t study Latin you won’t be prepared for learning foreign languages or taking advanced science classes.” “Be sure to join a co-op or your kids won’t be prepared for the real world.” All of these are things I have personally been told as a homeschooler, most of it by other homeschoolers! Spoiler alert, NONE of it is automatically true for all homeschoolers! The only thing you truly NEED to do (other than follow your local laws) is to homeschool with a purpose. Create a meaningful education for your kids by doing school in a way that matches your family’s needs and values.
How to Identify Your Values
What kind of person do you want your kid to grow up to be? What’s truly important to you? Is it that your child is financially stable, or involved in community service, or married with children, or some combination of things. The first and most important step when you decide to homeschool with a purpose is to figure out what is most important to you. There are a few places you should look when you’re trying to figure that out.
Look to the Bible
Part of creating a meaningful education for our kids is choosing curriculum and activities that teach our kids these values. As Christians we should look to the Bible first and foremost to determine our values. What are the top values we learn from the bible? Matthew 12 tells us that our two more important values should be to love God and love others. So when you’re figuring out you’re figuring out how to structure your time, spending time with God and serving others should be high on your list of priorities.
The Bible also makes it very clear that we are supposed to be good stewards of the gifts and blessings God has given us, as well as of the earth. How does that apply to homeschooling? That could mean leaning to take care of the house. It could mean that you choose a curriculum that helps your kids figure out their spiritual gifts and how to use those to serve others. It might also mean spending time picking up trash or doing special activities on holidays like Earth Day.
Looking to our Kids
When we homeschool with purpose we need to be considering the actual children we have. Sometimes we can let our dreams and aspirations for our kids future take on a life of their own and forget about the gifts and passions of the kids in front of us. I know I’ve certainly been guilty of that a time or two!
What are your kids interested in? What is important to them? Are they passionate about saving the environment? Are they a gifted at art? Observe your child. Listen to hear when he gets really excited about something. Try ti figure out what makes him tick and use that to determine how your school should look. What your kids value matters immensely.
Looking to the Future
When you picture your kids’ future, what do you imagine? Who do you want them to be? If I had to guess you probably want your kids to grow up to be adults who are kind, compassionate, loving, and seek to honor the Lord. That doesn’t happen by accident, though. We have to be intentional about instilling these values in our kids.
One of the best parts about homeschooling is we have a lot more time with our kids to work on that! We can shape our school day around instilling the values and skills that matter the most to our kids’ futures. Take a few minutes right now and decide what your family’s values are so that you can use that to take the next step of choosing curriculum that aligns with those values.
How to Choose Your Curriculum
If you want to open up a real can of worms, ask a bunch of homeschoolers what the best curriculum is. Oh boy do people have strong opinions about it! The thing is, there is no curriculum that is the best choice for everyone, but there are ones that are the best choice for your family. There are a few things you’re going to want to consider when choosing a curriculum that aligns with your family’s values.
Faith-Based vs. Secular Curriculum
I’m going to be very clear on this. There is no *right* answer when you are choosing whether to use faith-based or secular curriculum. I’m sure that may ruffle some feathers, but I said what I said and I fully stand behind it. Each family has unique needs, values, and desires. Both faith-based and secular curriculums have pros and cons.
Some faith-based curriculum options focus on being well-rounded, interesting, quality curriculums that simultaneously help our kids to learn about God and his plan for the world. That was my goal with my US geography and world geography curriculums. Others are little more than a very boring sermon with just enough subject-specific information to get by.
Some secular curriculums take a fairly faith-neutral stance and work to avoid promoting or degrading any specific religion. Others are outwardly hostile towards some (or all) faiths under the guise of being ‘fact based’. Homeschooling with purpose means that you take the time consider what values are most important to your family and which curriculums will best support those values.
Differing Perspectives
Whether you go with faith-based or secular curriculum, another important consideration is to find curriculums that offer different perspectives. Remember, the Bible clearly tells us that the second greatest commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. Can we really love others if we don’t try to understand them? If we don’t try to see the world and its events from their perspective? Even within the church we can see things differently depending on our family background, where we grew up, whether we were rich, poor, or somewhere in between.
So, how can you make sure yours isn’t the only perspective you’re learning about? Choose a curriculum that has multiple perspectives. That might mean a literature curriculum that features books from authors that are both men and women and are from various cultures. When you’re looking for a history curriculum it means finding one that isn’t just focused on one area (unless you are doing a history course specifically on one country such as US history).
I know it can feel daunting because sometimes differing perspectives can bring up difficult topics, but I promise its worth it. Those things that are hard to talk about are usually the most important things to talk about!
Adapting & Supplementing
Let’s say you’ve found a curriculum that you like, but it isn’t *everything* you want it to be. What do you do then? Maybe it’s got great books from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds, but it doesn’t show your kids God’s fingerprints on the world. What if you’ve found a great curriculum that’s interesting and teaches amazing things, but it’s a bit one-sided in how it presents those things? That’s not a problem. The beauty of homeschooling is that we have a ton of freedom in how we do things. We can adapt and supplement whatever curriculum we choose to fit our family’s needs and values! You can add in books, worksheets, or projects, take them out, or whatever works best for you.
Even the best curriculums may not be the perfect fit for your kid’s needs. Just adapt things to make them fit. If your curriculum calls for journaling but your kid struggles to write, let them type it or turn it into a conversation. A kid with dyscalculia is probably going to struggle with memorizing math facts and taking timed fact tests. If your curriculum tells you to do them, you can say no. You’re the boss! You can adjust, ignore, or add to your curriculum in whatever way works best for you.
How to Choose Your Activities
As soon as you even contemplate homeschooling it’s as though the entire universe is ready to tell you everything you need to be doing. Friends and family tell you all of the things that other homeschoolers do. Social media will send you video after video and post after post about all of the activities you *should* be doing in order to homeschool right. Ignore them. All of them. Don’t choose activities because someone else tells you that you should. Choose activities that fit the need and the purpose of your homeschooling!
Serving Your Family
When you’re considering an activity, the first question you should ask yourself is, “would this activity serve our family?” What I mean is, would it meet your family’s needs? Does it work in your schedule? Does it fit the unique skills, interests, and needs of your kids? There are so many fabulous options out there from sports, to music, to tutoring, to therapies. But, as I always tell people, not every good thing will be good for you. So, pause and seriously consider if an activity will serve your family before you sign up.
Serving Others
The next thing to think about is whether or not an activity is going to allow you to serve others, directly or indirectly. For some activities that answer is obvious. If you’re considering volunteering at your local food bank, obviously that allows you to serve others. Other things might be less obvious. For example, joining a playgroup. No, you’re not serving others in the obvious way, but you might still be serving someone. Another mom there might need the fellowship or advice you have to offer. Another child may need the friendship of one of your kids.
You’ll also want to consider whether the activity could interfere with your ability to serve others. It’s so easy to overload our plates and then something has to give. Will that fun activity force you to give up something you could be doing for someone else? If so, is it worth the sacrifice?
Serving the Future
Like I said earlier, it’s important to take the future into account when you’re trying to homeschool with a purpose. What is it your kids want to do with their lives when they’re grown? Do they want to be an artist, or a doctor, or a builder? Whatever their passions are, wherever their skills lie, think about whether the activities you’re choosing support that. Art lessons may sound fun to you, but if your kid hates doing art, are they a good fit? Team sports may be a great choice for your budding athlete, but they might not be the right fit for every kid. Whatever your kids have in mind for the future, thoughtfully consider whether the activities you’re looking at are the best fit for them.
Homeschool with Purpose
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.” I couldn’t agree more. Our goal with our homeschooling shouldn’t just be to fill our kids heads with important facts. We also need to focus on filling their hearts with the necessary character to make it in this world. That is what we’re doing when we homeschool with a purpose!
