The Three Questions: Gain Clarity and Confidence in Your Home School Journey with These Simple Steps

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.

Zig Ziglar

“See ya’ later, Dad!”

“Hold on there, sweetheart; you haven’t answered The Three Questions.”

“Oh. Right. Let’s see…Out. Friends. Later.”

“Well, if those are your answers, you won’t be going out this evening. I require specifics so I’ll know if I need to send out a search party.”

As a teen, I was required to answer The Three Questions every time I wanted to go out, whether it was with friends or on a ‘date’. At the time it seemed like my dad was being unreasonable and overprotective, but I can look back now and see the wisdom in his expectation of me.

Accountability and Intention

You see, it’s not that he didn’t trust me or my friends; he simply understood the challenge of navigating life as a young adult, and he wanted me to know that he had my back and could respond quickly if I ever got in over my head. Which of course I never did. Not once.

Rrriiiight…

BUT — he also knew the value of planning ahead and being intentional in how I spent my time, talents, and treasure, and he wanted to teach me that having goals — even short-term, fun-with-friends goals — would provide me with the autonomy, accountability, and surety of intention I needed to grow to maturity safely and securely. My dad’s ‘interrogation’ was intended to not only give me assurance that he was watching out for me but also to get me to think about where I was headed and what I’d do when I got there.

And that’s what I want for you, mama.

The Three Questions Are…

Asking yourself a few questions about what you want your home school journey to look like will provide you with the framework for success, security, and confidence that my dad’s questions gave to me so many years ago and that eventually gave me clarity in our home school purpose and plan.

One of the best ways to determine your goals is by asking yourself The Three Questions and answering them specifically and intentionally. Not like my snarky reply to my dad, as if I thought he’d actually go for that.

I hope by now that you’re wondering what The Three Questions are, and if they really could be useful to you.

I can still hear my dad’s voice as I write them:

1. Where are you going?
2. Who are you going with?
3. When will you be home?
   

The Answers Are…

First, where is your family’s education adventure headed? Do you have a vision for the knowledge, skills, and worldview you hope your children will gain before they leave home? What do they need to know before they ‘launch’ and venture out on their own? Once you have a vision for where you’re headed, you can determine how you will help your family get there.

Second, who is part of your family’s learning journey? It’s funny to think about who’s going with you along this new path, as it seems pretty obvious that it’s your children and your spouse. But have you shared your reasons for bringing them home for school, and your vision for the education you truly desire for them? Have you encouraged your children to be an active participant in their learning, or do they still think that ‘school’ is something that happens to them over which they have no control or creativity? Do you have a sense of what each of your children needs? How will you shape your family identity as you bring them along and encourage them to seek truth and find their own paths?

Heady stuff, this.

Third, when will you know when you’ve ‘arrived’ at your home school’s destination? What is your plan for knowing when you’ve ‘finished’ and your children have completed the course of study you planned for them?

Aim Intentionally

Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” That is equally as true for planning our educational course as it is for archery. If you don’t know where you’re headed, how will you know when you’ve arrived?

This can be as simple as “Our children will be able to read well, write effectively, and balance their checkbook”, or more detailed: “Our children will understand and develop a Biblical worldview, have solid training in life skills such as personal care, basic home maintenance and kitchen skills, and have a working knowledge of history and science, as well as mastering the three R’s.”

Set Your Course

However you choose to set your course, the important thing is to be intentional. Once you write down the hopes, dreams, aspirations, or just a list of what you want to accomplish, give yourself a big high-five and a hearty pat-on-the-back: according to psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews from the Dominican University in California, you just increased your probability of success by 42 percent!

“Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what, exactly, it is that you want to accomplish, but doing so plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success.” [Economy, P. This is the Way You Need to Write Down Your Goals for Faster Success. Inc. www.inc.com]

When you ask yourself where you’re going, who’s going with you, and when you’ll arrive, you are intentionally charting your family’s course to the wonderful destination you desire for your children. You’ll be able to move forward with confidence, and you may just find that your shoulders feel a little lighter once you have a plan in place!

Aim well.