It’s a new year, and everyone is all a buzz about goals. What about your kids? Do they set goals? What kind of goals would they set for themselves? How teaching goal setting in your homeschool is the easy way to encourage a lifetime of good habits (plus a free goal setting worksheet for kids;)
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Dear Homeschool Mom, You’re tougher than you think
When a new year rolls around, words like goals and resolutions are practically buzzwords.
But what really do our kids catch and see and understand about goals, goal setting or how to achieve those goals?
Reaching new levels is one way we, as humans, build our confidence.
Do you remember being a kid and learning to ride a bike, bake a cake, or drive for the first time? Yeah, of course, those were big moments! Reaching those big moments built confidence for the next big moment.
Teaching goal setting in your homeschool may not seem like much. However, when we teach our kids to set goals and how to achieve them, we are giving them one skill that they get to take with them to any and every aspect of life.
Learning goal setting:
- is a skill that can be learned
- can go with you to any career, job or area of life
- is good for as long as you are alive
- builds confidence that crosses to all areas of life
- encourages independence and self-reliance
How to teach goal setting
One of my favorite tools in our homeschool is our Big Life Journal. It encourages a growth mindset and has so many fun and learning activities we do as a family, that encourage personal growth. Teaching our kids that goal setting should be fun and stretch us, but also exciting, and life-giving. Setting goals regularly is one great approach to instilling a life-long love of personal growth.
The New Year or a new school year is a great time to sit down and have a fun goal-setting session. One great and highly encouraged way to set goals is the S.M.A.R.T goal-setting method.
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable or attainable
R- Realistic or Reasonable
T- Trackable
Kids who learn that goal setting is both fun and exciting are more likely to keep at them.
Tips for goal setting with kids
- Keeping ages in mind encourage them to set S.M.A.R.T goals
- Include steps that keep them engaged and excited along the way
- Using short-term goals for younger children ensures more success
- Show them you set goals too (remember more is caught than is taught!)
- Talk about missing a goal is not a failure, and how many successful people have missed goals that they later achieved!
Fun activities to teach goal setting
Goals and goal setting should be a fun, exciting thing that kids love to do and look forward to. Encouraging goal-setting in a family-friendly fun environment will turn kids into lifelong goal-setters!
- Have weekly, monthly or quarterly goal-setting sessions
- Throw an end-of-week/month/quarter goal achievement party
- Encourage friendly goal competitions
- Make a family or homeschool vision board full of those exciting goals
- Build up and talk about how fun/exciting/ fulfilling it will feel once goals are reached
With a new year, we all have new goals and resolutions on our minds. Why not teach good goal-setting strategies to the next generation? Teaching kids that goals are a great and fun way to grow and achieve new things along the way, encourages both growth now and a wonderful life-long habit they can take with them EVERYWHERE ♡♡♡
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Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.