Goal- Setting

This weekend I'm working on setting specific goals for our homeschool. In "The Organized Homeschooler" by Vicki Caruana (mentioned in my previous post), she has a diagram of a target. In the center of the target it says, "Goals." There are four arrows aiming at the target. Each arrow is labeled, "Activities," "Curriculum, "Evaluation," and "Field Trips." It has really gotten me to think! It seems so simple! The ideas of goal-setting and mission statements are discussed in many homeschool resources that I've read over the years. I've sort of nodded my head and highlighted those sections of books, and while I've had a general idea of what I want our homeschool to accomplish, I've mainly just claimed those wonderful verses in Deuteronomy as my overarching goal or purpose in homeschooling. There's a quote that says, "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" Caruana turns it around to say, "If you know where you're going, you'll know when you get there." I love that!

As I look at the target diagram in the book, I can imagine some general goals that I do have in the center of my target. I can see my "curriculum" arrow pointing at the target. However, as I imagine it, some of my "activity" and "field trip" arrows are either not pointing at the target, or are pointing at the "curriculum" arrow, causing it to veer off course! As August approaches and it's time to sign up for field trips and activities, I'm going to be sure that what we sign up for actually helps us achieve our goals.

Once I figure out exactly what they are!