A new month, new school or calendar year, the beginning of life in a new place. What better time to focus on a fresh start and setting goals! Here are the steps to setting a goal that your children will be learning at Blaine Elementary. You can extend their learning by working on these steps at home in your family setting.

1. Decide on a goal you want to reach. Keep it realistic! After all, you do want to be successful. When you choose a goal to shoot for be sure to consider not only what to do, but also how long you expect to give yourself to accomplish the task or behavior. This means including a way to measure your progress.

2. Decide on the steps you will need to take to get there. Not all goals will need a step-by-step plan, but some will be easier to achieve if you break them down and be very specific. It's often helpful to write down all the steps, then you can check off each step as you complete it!

3. Take the first step. For some of us this is the hardest part! Tell someone what your plan is and get them to encourage (but not nag!) you. Better yet, find a friend or family member who might have the same goal and work toward your goal together. It makes it more fun, and if someone else knows you're trying to make a change for the better you might be less likely to quit.

4. Take all other steps, one at a time. Ask yourself, "What's good about doing this?" Knowing the benefits of a goal is excellent motivation. Your goal must be something you want to do; the benefits must mean something to you. Plan ahead and think about things that might get in your way as you work toward your goal, then you can also figure out ways to get around those obstacles.

5. Reward yourself when your goal is reached. Rewards don't have to cost moneygiving yourself free time between tasks, do an activity you enjoy, say to yourself, "I did a good job!", print up a certificate and brag about your accomplishment!

Many elementary-age students enjoy setting academic goals (e.g. learning addition facts, read a book a week, get all worksheets turned in). Remember that setting small goals that can be easily achieved in a relatively short period of time is more beneficial that setting bigger, harder to reach goals. It's too easy to get discouraged! It's great to set non-academic goals, too (e.g. make a new friend, get my free-throw shots up to 50%, sort my clothes and get them stuffed in my drawers). Being able to set realistic goals is a life skill that will benefit your child in all areas of her/his life.