It’s April now, and we are finishing up our second year as a home-schooling family.  The short version, “It’s been a deeply satisfying, productive and successful year…for each of us.”  We’ve loved so many things about this experience.  We live in a community that has an outstanding network of homeschooling resources.  We’ve integrated ourselves into this network and found a variety of support.  From the “MMM” (Monday, Meals, Motion) Homeschooling Group to the field trips (we participated in 15 different field trips this year) to homeschooling gymnastic classes and more – we’ve learned so much and it has been so much fun!

But as we wind down, (although I love that homeschooling never really comes to a close – there is always something new to learn) I find myself in a state of evaluation: evaluating my curriculum, my children’s progress, myself as a teacher and home-manager, and our family values.  And that last one – evaluating our family values – is what drives all the others.  Our family’s values are the wind in our sails – giving us the force that guides all of our decisions and gives us our direction.

At present, our family values are:

1) Work daily to raise grateful kids in an entitlement world

2) Work to raise good Christians (serving God and man)

3) Instill in our children the “love of doing right”

4) Striving for excellence in a world that’s content with “good enough”

5) Being a blessing to our community – not a burden

Each day my husband and I are thinking about these values in one way or another.  It’s in my thought as we home-school, when we clean the chicken coops, when the house is a mess and things are a little crazy, when my kids are playing outside, when we have our family dinners, when we play “tickle monster” and run through the house, or when we slow down our day and read books and say prayers before bed.  These values are our compass when we talk about current events.

So as I continue to think through my home-schooling curriculum, my children’s progress, my work as a teacher and home-manager, I keep these values in mind.  They aid my husband and me in making the best possible decisions for our family.

What are some of your values that you hold dear and that guide you in calm or stormy times?