Why Mission?

I meet so many new or prospective home educators and I've noticed some patterns:

First, they are eager, excited, and sometimes freaked out.

Second, in their eagerness, they jump right into the curriculum choice. Who wouldn't want an excuse to buy new books?

Third, I always tell them the same thing. Don't buy your curriculum, join your co-op, or pay those tutorial fees quite yet.

The most important place to start with homeschooling is to create a mission or vision plan for your homeschool. Take some time, step back from life-as-you-know-it, think, and dream. What would a perfect day with your children look like?

As you can imagine the answer to this question requires thinking and time. What better time to spend daydreaming about your ideal homeschool day than Spring? The birds are singing, the trees are blossoming, and your kids are outside enjoying their new dose of vitamin D. 

We have a free homeschool vision plan to help you in our toolbox. To access this along with all of our other great tools, simple register for a free membership at scioacademy.com/register

Once you've created a vision, you can assemble a mission. A mission plan is how you fulfill the vision. It's the boots on the ground, but don't jump to curriculum yet, the mission is the what, not the how. What are you doing this year to fulfill the vision? What topics are you covering in history this year? What math concepts do you need to cover?  

Why is this important? Without a mission,  you don't know how what you're working on fulfills your higher calling. A mission keeps us grounded in our plan and gives us confidence when we start to struggle, and we will struggle. Our vision and mission statements keep us anchored and focused on what is ultimately more important. They keep us from drowning in worksheets and help us to fight off the chaos that claws at us each day. 

Once you've planned your vision and mission, then you figure out the how. This is the curriculum. Did you notice that curriculum purchases are the third step in this list? 

Three steps to a Homeschool Plan:

1. Vision - The values and end goals of your homeschool journey - think "long term"
2. Mission - What you are doing to develop skills that will accomplish the vision - think "shorter term"
3. Curriculum - How you are developing the skills to accomplish the vision - think "short term" 

Our vision at Scio Academy is to equip families with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to provide a God-Centered, Home-Based, and Parent-Directed education. 

Our Mission at Scio Academy is to implement classical christian education through independent study and community support.

Visit us on our facebook page and share your vision and mission with us!