Homeschool Mission Statement?

This week finally feels as though it's starting off right! Honestly, this whole year has just had so many ups and downs I just don't know what's going on!! Bman is excited about his math, Spanish, and typing. Z seems like she's able to sit down for a period of time and work on something. She's getting excited about science and history, two subjects she's never cared about before. And Nova has, all of a sudden, a great interest in books! This is good for us because trying to read around here is like trying to eat ice in the desert. Meltdown and after meltdown, a sad unsuccessful attempt, anger all around, and then I'm left with everyone unhappy and a wet shirt (baby tears and snot). Not sure if that's the best comparison, but it's what I have at the time.

Lately I've also been looking at my contributions to our homeschool and what I may be doing wrong or what I could do better. While there is always room for improvement in any endeavor, I find that I am always great at the "planning" but not so great at the follow through. I am also not the best at being able to reassess our situation and decide where to go with it. Our days just DON'T fit into the little boxes that I want it to and our one year old can make something that's supposed to take 30 minutes last 2 hours if she really wants to be difficult.

Thus, this has me looking at what I want to really accomplish and what's important in our homeschool. I recently came across this article My Kids Are Straight-A Students And They Know Nothing and it really spoke to me not as a mother, but as the student I once was. I homeschool my children for many reasons, but among them is the way my husband and I feel the system failed us. He and I are very, very different learners, and had very different experiences in school, but both failed us greatly. Growing up I could pass any test, ace any worksheet or project, and all the while I fell asleep in class because I was SO BORED! And once the information was tested on, it seemed as though I shed it all and was left with an empty shell ready to once again absorb for the next test. Unfortunately, this left me not really enjoying much in school. I liked academics just fine, because I was great at it, but nothing spoke to me. I didn't know who I was or what I enjoyed. I just kept playing the game. At the end of it all I went to college and found myself completely lost. I earned a degree in something I found mildly amusing but I did it in the same way--holding on to the information until I didn't "need" it any longer and then moving on. After leaving school, living life, and becoming a life-long learner that actively seeks out information on things I find incredibly interesting, I know NOW what I should have gone to school for, what I would like my life passion to be. Imagine though, IMAGINE, if my kids could have the freedom to learn things they are truly PASSIONATE about and that they can't wait to learn more about! 

My husband spent most of his school career hating it all as it was pounded into his brain and he was punished mildly for being an average student and could never truly see what he was gifted at. Now the subject he absolutely hated most (math) he truly excels in and it's the most favorite part of his job (accounting). 

With this thought process front and center I took a look at what I was doing in my homeschool. WHY oh WHY was I still stuck in this model with my children that they NEEDED to get certain things done just because that's how it is in public school?!? My son hated math, which he's truly gifted in. My daughter begged me to learn typing, cooking, sewing, play math games. And yet, here I was, convinced that it's all wrong. But it isn't wrong. I WAS WRONG. I AM WRONG. And this is why our year isn't working. It just isn't. I can't unschool, I can't classically school, I need to school for my children and they are so, so drastically different that it's going to take something different than I've been doing. 

I've read of others making a homeschool mission statement. Why am I homeschooling? What's important to me about our homeschool? What do I want to accomplish. Laying it out gave me new perspective on what I need to do to help these little people that I spend all these hours with. 

Here is my current mission. I'm not sure if it'll stay the same or if it'll drastically change as we go forth, but here it is for now. I encourage anyone that's homeschooling to sit down and write one. It gives a concrete purpose to who you are as a homeschooling parent, what you'd like to achieve, and what drives you and your homeschool. Is this too long? Maybe? Is this not really what a mission statement is? I don't know and I don't care.

To provide quality education for my children without the social stressors and rigid structural guidelines of public school, allowing them to explore individual interests and develop strong self-confidence and self knowledge. 
--To know public school basics but not be chained to them.
--To be able to gain knowledge in special areas not covered by public school
--To gain mastery in an area of their choosing, if they desire
--To head off to college or into adulthood with a basic knowledge of their true interests, chosen by them and pursued by them. 
--To leave home with a real-world approach, understanding academics, time and money management, family and home dynamics, having a strong emotional and mental constitution and capable of living on their own. 

It may seem like I have the intention of covering so much that I'm going a bit crazy. But really, I'm trying to convey that while the basics are somewhat important, so is passions. That is something that I, personally, need to remember. I also want my kids to be functional members of society someday that are able to leave home knowing how to do laundry, how to feed themselves, and how to basically budget so that they can live their lives. These are also important to me, as many children leave home completely lost when they need to be on their own. 

Do you have a mission? What drives your homeschool?