The gist of the article is that, while the blogger doesn’t really like to set goals, it is accepted as important. So, do you set goals? Do you do it like this person…laying out objectives for each academic area (reading , writing, math, etc.). Even to not have a goal is to have one, so really, kudos to anyone admitting it and thinking about it.

If your child is in school, it is much the same in that there are goals and objectives for each class, each semester, each year. Sometimes, though, we don’t think about the goal behind the goal.

So, what is your goal with homeschooling? Is it to get your child ready for high school? Is it to get your child ready for college? Is it to get your child to know enough to get a job?

Each of these goals (you might call them purposes) will dictate certain things to you as to standards and curricula. So, how about something more strategic? Our goal is to prepare our child (children) for life.

The Lybrands answered this goal by having a single focus: We want to teach our children to learn how to learn. Praise the Lord…it is starting to pay off. It is fascinating to watch our kid interact with peers in college and work. They are actually now commenting how neat it is to just know how to dig in and teach themselves something new. Do you look up words for your kids when they ask? We didn’t.

Do you show them how to do math? We didn’t. Do you help them figure out what to write? We didn’t. I don’t think we were cruel…we just asked them to explain math, or look up their own words, or play around in their mind until they found something they wanted to write about. Honestly, you have your own right to your own goals…all I am saying is to choose it carefully.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Blessings,

Fred Lybrand

P.S. If you liked this, won’t you please share at facebook and twitter to let others know? Thank you!