How can you hit a target that does not exist? Homeschooling without defined goals is like standing in the backyard with a bow and arrow, spinning in circles, trying to decide what to shoot at. As a veteran homeschool parent of 27 years who was also homeschooled as a child, let me ease your burden just a little. Before you look at a single curriculum catalog, step back and decide what your big goals are.
Start With Goals, Then Choose Curriculum
Each fall, the panic settles over many homeschool parents as they pour through catalogs and websites of curriculum options. Choosing the best materials for each child can feel agonizing. The answer to that overwhelm is simpler than it looks: decide what your foundational goals are first, and let everything else be driven by those.
Your homeschool goals do not need to mirror those of any other family or school. When I was a new homeschool parent, I would sit for hours writing lists of every specific skill I hoped to cover each year. That exercise helped steer our choices, but after a few years I realized that everything boiled down to a handful of foundational targets I wanted each child to reach before graduating from our homeschool.
So each year I still make a general list of subjects and skills, but everything points back to our family's five learning goals.
Example Family Learning Goals
- That the child would learn to read well.
- That the child would learn basic mathematics.
- That the child would learn to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
- That the child would learn how to learn.
- That the child would cultivate a lifelong love of learning. (The most important one.)
Why These Five Goals? The Montessori and Research Case
These five goals are not arbitrary. Each one maps directly onto what Montessori philosophy and decades of educational research identify as the foundations of a capable, self-directed adult. Here is what the evidence says about each one.
Learn to Read Well
Reading is the key that unlocks every other door. A child who reads well can teach themselves almost anything. Montessori understood this deeply: her method introduces reading through a multisensory, phonics-based approach using sandpaper letters and the moveable alphabet, building the connection between sound, symbol, and meaning through touch and movement before pencil ever meets paper.
Research published in the Journal of Educational Psychology (2010) found that early reading fluency is one of the strongest predictors of long-term academic success across all subjects. A child who reads well at age 8 is statistically far more likely to graduate high school, attend college, and achieve economic stability as an adult.
Learn Basic Mathematics
Mathematics is used every day, in every profession, in every household. Montessori's approach to math is one of her most celebrated contributions: she made abstract numerical concepts concrete through physical materials, from the golden bead chains that represent place value to the stamp game and bead bars. Children who learn math through manipulatives develop a genuine understanding of number relationships rather than a fragile memorization of procedures.
A 2013 meta-analysis published in Educational Psychology Review found that students who learned mathematics through concrete manipulatives before moving to abstract notation showed significantly stronger conceptual understanding and longer-term retention than those taught through abstract methods alone. ShillerLearning's math curriculum is built on exactly this principle.
Communicate Effectively, Orally and in Writing
The ability to communicate what one has learned is what makes knowledge useful in the world. Montessori's language curriculum develops oral expression, vocabulary, and written communication as interconnected skills, not isolated subjects. Children practice storytelling, narration, and conversation long before formal writing is introduced, building the cognitive and linguistic foundations that make writing feel natural rather than forced.
Research on oral language development (Dickinson and Tabors, 2001) found that rich conversational experience in early childhood is one of the strongest predictors of later reading comprehension and writing ability. Homeschooling, with its naturally high ratio of adult-to-child conversation, is an ideal environment for developing this foundation.
Learn How to Learn
This goal is what separates a good education from a great one. A child who knows how to find information, evaluate sources, ask good questions, and persist through difficulty will be able to acquire any skill or knowledge they need throughout their life. Montessori called this quality "normalization" -- the state in which a child is self-directed, focused, and intrinsically motivated to work and discover.
Research on metacognition (Flavell, 1979; Hattie, 2009) consistently identifies self-regulation and learning-to-learn skills as among the highest-impact factors in long-term academic achievement. A 2006 study in Science (Lillard and Else-Quest) found that Montessori-educated children showed significantly stronger executive function and self-regulation than peers in conventional settings -- precisely the skills that underpin the ability to learn independently.
Cultivate a Lifelong Love of Learning
A deep love of learning will inspire and drive a child to seek the knowledge they need, long after formal schooling ends. This was the animating purpose of Montessori's entire educational philosophy. She believed that children are born with an innate drive toward discovery and growth, and that the adult's primary job is to protect and nurture that drive rather than extinguish it through pressure, comparison, or rigid external control.
Research on intrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, Self-Determination Theory) shows that children who develop intrinsic motivation for learning in childhood are more likely to pursue higher education, show greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and report higher life satisfaction as adults. A 2017 meta-analysis of Montessori research confirmed that children in Montessori programs showed significantly higher intrinsic motivation and love of learning than peers in conventional settings.
If this goal is met, any gap in specific subject knowledge can be filled later. A child who loves learning will seek out what they need. A child who has lost that love will struggle regardless of how complete their formal education was.
-- Maria Montessori (adapted)
Putting It Into Practice
When I sit down one day to write each of my children a transcript or a diploma, I will look back at these five foundations and judge our mutual success as student and teacher. If these targets were met, I will have confidence that any subject they did not completely master, or any skill that was not on our radar, can be filled in when they find a need for it in their adult life.
Take some time to evaluate what your family's most important outcomes are. Write them down. Let them guide every curriculum decision you make. The overwhelm of homeschool planning shrinks considerably when you have a clear target to aim at.
Welcome to the beautiful world of homeschooling. The investment of time and energy is real, and so are the rewards. Here at ShillerLearning we are available to come alongside you in your education journey. Feel welcome to call 888-556-6284 or send us a message with your questions. We are passionate about helping your children learn, and helping them learn to love learning.
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