Our Family Mission Statement Makes Me S.M.I.L.E.

With the New Year underway, my mind has been predictably reverting to that of the Organizing-Me. I’ve been thinking goals, goals, goals:

Has our family met ones we set before? What are our current goals? What is our game plan for reaching them? Do we have a MISSION? A PURPOSE? A TRUE NORTH? Might we finally come up with a concise statement to check in with when making choices? Something to guide us in big decisions and small. A statement that encapsulates what we value and how we aim to prioritize our principles.

Good news for me! After years of waffling, I don’t need to wait any longer for such a touchstone to materialize:

These words will soon appear in our living room, both textually and as a vision board of sorts, as a constant reminder of our family's purpose.

I could not be more excited.

Now, I know it may seem silly that I am bursting with pleasure over such a simple statement. Indulge me, though.  I like words. I like direction. I like having a summit in sight and a plan for reaching it. Plus, I love living on purpose. Our family’s S.M.I.L.E statement not only provides all this, but it also symbolizes something our family has sought after: Unity!

For years now, my husband and I have hashed over a family mission statement. Sometimes, we talked about it. (Okay, even bickered.) At other times, we quizzed each other with questions, which we found online and in print about living purpose-driven lives. (Okay, I usually badgered Mike with these.) Periodically, we tried encapsulate our big ideas in a concise statement. (Am I ever concise?) Occasionally, we even included the kids in our efforts.  And this year, we did it! We synthesized words to describe our mutual purpose as a family.

We penned a purpose statement that speaks to us and about us – one that defines our principles and pursuits. It is broad enough for flexibility, but specific enough to offer direction and accountability. Moreover, if makes me SMILE!

Big thanks to my husband for indulging me through completing this seemingly simple, but years-in-the-making task.  Now that the to-do of writing it is done, the satisfaction of consciously living it has begun.

Do you have a family mission or purpose statement?  What process did you use for creating it?  How has it helped center your family?  How do you display it and check-in with it?  Do share!

If you don't have a purpose statement, but would like to  get started on one, here are some resources that have inspired us in the process at one point or another:

• Tsh at Simple Mom offers to guide families through a two to six hour process of drafting a purpose statement.
• Franklin Covey offers a Mission Statement Builder for individuals, families and team.
• Trinity Fellowship offers a faith-based pdf with guiding questions and tips.
• Families with a Purpose offers a simple three-thought template for writing purpose statements.
• LearnVest offers directions for vision boards that could easily tie-in to purpose statements.

Prayer Pegs - Wake Up Time

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<-- Luke helps Jack say his Morning Offering.

Last week, we began a Prayer Pegs series to share how we are taking action steps to share our primary goal of loving and serving God here at Jammies School.

One habit we are trying to instill in our children is that of beginning the day with grace, gratitude and intention through praying a simple Morning Offering.  We hope this Offering also helps them open up a daily “conversation” with God, so that they might begin to "pray unceasingly." So, when the kids wake up, after giving and receiving “good morning” hugs and kisses with Mom and Dad, we help them say this simple prayer:

“Good morning, God!  I thank you for this day.  Please be with me in all I think and do and say.” 

Some days, Luke and Nina say this Morning Offering on their own.  Other days they say it in unison with me.  Still, at other times, they ask me to say it for them or tell me they have said it in their heads.  Each day is different.  But, the important thing is that each day begins with mention of – and thanks to – God!  The vital daily conversation with Our Father begins.

It continues, less formally, as the kids enter into free play while Mommy does chores and whatnot.  Case in point:  One recent morning, I heard Luke and Nina talking about church, God, priests, etc. while they played with their Little People and Mega Blocks.  Part of their dialogue was conversation with one another, but part of it became a sort of prayerful conversation with God.  All of it was completely kid-prompted and integrated into their play. It made me smile, confirming for me that our focus on pegging prayer to regular parts of our daily lives – even if not done perfectly nor consistently – has created an environment where “God play” and prayer come spontaneously and naturally.  That is just what we are aiming for!   What a great start to the day that was.

Eventually, we hope to add a more formal, traditional Morning Offering to our Wake Up Time Prayer Peg, as well as whatever other personal and creative forms of prayer and faith formation speak to us.  Your ideas, resources, links and stories about similar endeavors for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and “big ones” would be most welcome.  Please leave a comment to share your favorite Morning Offering prayer, way of praying unceasingly, etc.  And, check back with us next Wednesday for our continuing Prayer Pegs series.

Also, be sure to visit the Works for Me Wednesday links at We Are THAT Family to see what works for others this week at home, work, home education, and, of course, prayer.  Starting our day off right with a Prayer Peg sure do work for us!

Focusing on Our Jammies School Mission and Goals

<- - As part of loving others, Nina joyfully washed her hands so she can play with baby brother.

 Having a Mission and Goals works for us in so many aspects of our life – homeschooling included.  And, today, I am refocusing myself on just that!

Why?

In the midst of trying to save all of our not-yet-backed up-files during our recent computer virus and hard drive failure, we ended up with multiple copies of many them.  As I slowly make my way through these, deleting the doubles, I realize that much of what was “saved” could have just as well have gone down with out former computer.  Yes, it has become quite apparent to me that the “clutter bug” habit I am trying to break extends from physical clutter straight to electronic clutter.  Yikes!  I really need to be a more discerning steward of all manner of things in my life and our home!

To help me do this regarding our physical and electronic Jammies School files and resources, I have decided to focus myself on our Jammies School Mission and Goals, which can be found here.  I figure, using it as a compass point, I can better delineate the paths we might actually take in the course of the next few years of early learning with our children.  With these mapped out – knowing the subjects, topics, themes and activities that complement them – I can do a better job of organizing (and purging!) our files and resources.  Wish me luck!

And, let me know what works for you in the way of early education mission and goals, organizing electronic files, organizing physical files and resources.  I am a big believer in not reinventing wheels and in rolling along with wonderful inspiration from others.  So, please leave a comment (and link if you have a relevant one!)

Luke helps baby brother to love movement by clapping his hands together. -->

And, to read what works for others this Wednesday, please see the links at We Are THAT Family.

Jammies School Mission and Goals

Updated as of 7/14/2010

We aim to experience a God-Centered, Catholic-Inspired Blend of Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Reggio, Classical and Other Inspirational Approaches in Tune with the Massachusetts Department of Education Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences

Our Mission

Each day, we will seek to follow “Our Rule of Seven”(*Giving credit where credit is due, please see the note at the bottom of this post!):

• Love God.
• Love others.
• Love moving.
• Love beauty (nature, art, music, culture, etc.)
• Love working.
• Love playing.
• Love learning.

Some Goals We Have For Meeting Our Mission

Some ways we can love God are by praying, reading His word, exploring Bible stories, focusing on faith formation and trying to be like Jesus.  Nina adds “by kissing each other,” or showing our love to others in His name, and Luke adds “by cleaning up”, or creating order and being good stewards, as God asks us to do.  (Now, if Luke would only balk less at actually cleaning up!)

Some ways we can love others are by sharing, being kind and taking time to help and visit them. Nina adds “by going to Nana’s an Papa’s”, or spending time with loved ones, and Luke adds “by kissing and hugging”, or showing affection.

Some ways we can love moving are to enjoy lots of physical activity inside and out (outside whenever possible!) at regular times throughout our days.  Nina adds “climbing”, or practicing skills that use our muscles and coordination, while Luke adds “by moving flowers by digging them out of the ground”, or doing heavy work to make our home and yard more beautiful.

Some ways we can love beauty are by noticing interesting things in nature, enjoying making and listening to music, acting out stories and getting creative while doing and observing art. Nina adds “playing with flowers”, or noticing nature’s beauty, sketching, sculpting and enjoying it, while Luke adds “seeing fish and bumblebees, dogs and ducks”, or enjoying animals and nature.

Some ways we can love working are enjoying cooking and gardening, practicing new skills and having fun with clean up time. Nina adds “spraying”, or using a spray bottle and a rag to clean doorknobs, etc. in an effort to make our home a healthier one, while Luke adds “helping Daddy”, or working together with others on projects and tasks.

Some ways we can love playing are by using our imaginations, by playing inside and outside and by playing alone and with others.  Nina adds “making something …like triangles or something”, or creating shapes and structures out of Bendaroos, Legos, etc., while Luke adds “by building stuff”, or using his imagination to create cities and structures with a variety of open-ended toys.

Some ways love learning are by thinking of questions and discovering answers to them and by focusing our current learning on Our Core Four, Plus**, which is:

• Faith Formation
• Reading and Pre-Reading
• Writing and Pre-Writing
• Math Literacy  
• Plus Bonus Topics, Themes and Subjects (Skills and Habits, Art, Music, Sensory Exploration, Nature Studies, etc.)

 *Our Rule of Seven springs forth from ideas initiated from reading Melissa Wiley’s post here.   After reading it, and enjoying hopping down all the little bunny trails it led me on, Mike and I made our own lists of what we feel is important for the kids and for us as a family.  We grouped our thoughts into seven broad headings which became our Rule of Seven.  Ideally, we attend to each part of the rule every day at Jammies School, but, in reality, we are happy if we touch on each throughout one week.  

** Our Core Four, Plus comes from a synthesis of many ideas, and, particularly, influence from Classical Education and the Well-Trained Mind.