Back-to-school season is a great opportunity for a fresh start. Helping your child get into a growth mindset at the beginning of the school year can set them up for success. Setting goals can make a big difference with academics, sports, behavior, and more.
No matter your child’s age, you can work together to set realistic goals and, as importantly, celebrate their wins along the way. In this guide, we will outline the benefits of goal setting, some tips for setting goals with kids, and a template you can use to create realistic and attainable goals with your child.
Benefits of goal setting
Working with children to set goals can help them develop a growth mindset from an early age. A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can be improved through hard work, dedication, and practice. This is essential thinking for children because it teaches good habits from a young age.
Did you know that, even before your child can verbally set goals, you can start establishing a growth mindset? Working together with your child on any task is an opportunity to bring this type of thinking into the forefront. When you and your child are working on something new, explain the importance of practicing the skill, working hard, and then, finding success!
Here are some other benefits of goal setting for children (and adults)
- Increased independence and autonomy
- An understanding that they can control their own lives
- Stronger motivation
- Increased organization
- Better ability to plan for the future
- More critical and strategic thinking
- Stronger problem-solving skills
How to set goals with kids
Now that you know the benefits of goal setting with children, you can start to think about the best ways to actually work with your child to set goals. Follow these steps to start setting goals with your child before the school year.
Step 1: Explain what a goal is
This might seem like an obvious first step, but before you can start setting goals with your child, you need to start by actually defining what a goal is. Once they understand the purpose of creating and setting goals, they will be more likely to work towards achieving them.
When you explain anything new to your child, we recommend using an analogy with something they enjoy, know a lot about, or already participate in. For example, if your child likes and/or plays sports, you can talk about goals in the literal sense: Scoring a goal in soccer. They already understand the end result (scoring) so now you can work backwards to explain that hard work and practice gets the player to that point.
Here are some other analogies you can use to explain goals
- Proving a hypothesis correct in a science experiment
- Moving up to a new level in a video game
- Finishing a chapter or a full book
- Getting an A on an assignment
- Preparing a meal and eating it
Step 2: Talk through the process
What are the steps that need to be taken to create and accomplish a goal? You can keep this general or dive into their own specific goal, if they already have one. Discuss the language around coming up with a goal: This is where you can introduce the SMART goal framework.
SMART goals
- S: Specific - You want the goal to be as specific as possible so it is more achievable. For example, instead of saying “I want to play better on the soccer team”, you should try, “I want to score a goal in at least 1 game during the soccer season.”
- M: Measurable - Your child will only know that they have accomplished their goal if they can measure it! Include numbers however you can: Goals scored, grades achieved, etc
- A: Achievable - Is this possible? When a goal is already impossible, then there will be no motivation to even try.
- R: Relevant - Why are you making this goal? How will this help in the long run?
- T: Time-based - Creating smaller goals that can be accomplished in short spans of time make the goals more attainable and allow you and your child to celebrate wins more frequently!
Step 3: Brainstorm goals
Depending on your child’s age and interests, you can start with one goal or come up with a few. The most important part of this process is to work with your child so that their goal is their idea. Let them talk through what they are interested in, worried about, and hoping to accomplish this school year. Then, you can work together to come up with a goal or goals that they will be interested in achieving.
Brainstorm questions
- Is there anything you want to work on this year at school?
- What is your favorite and least favorite subject?
- Is there anything new you want to try this year?
- This summer you learned [new skill]. How can you use this skill or improve on it?
Step 4: Make the goal SMART
The brainstorm should give you and your child some solid ideas for their new goals. Now, it is time to take the ideas and put them into the SMART goal format. For example, if you come out of the brainstorm with the idea: “I want to do better in math”, you can help your child put this goal into the SMART framework.
Use these questions to make “I want to get better in math” a SMART goal
- S: Specific - Do you want to focus on a specific unit or type of math? Or is this goal going to be grade based?
- M: Measurable - Are we going to measure this by test scores, comfortability with certain topics/units, grades, or something else?
- A: Attainable - How did you do last year? How much are we hoping to improve?
- R: Relevant - Is this something that can be accomplished?
- T: Time-based - Should we start by focusing on each individual unit? Otherwise we can make this goal semester based. It’s best to do short time spans so we can celebrate more!
After asking these questions, here are some potential SMART goals
- I want to get an A on my first test of the year in math.
- I want to memorize my times tables in the next two weeks.
- I want to score at least an 85/100 on my tests for the first quarter of the school year.
- I want to be able to help a friend with their math homework at least twice during the first unit of the year.
Step 5: Develop a plan
Now that you have a SMART goal, you can create a plan with your child so that they can find success. You can start by brainstorming with them once more to figure out what they will need to do to accomplish their goal.
Ask these questions to brainstorm their plan
- Will you need any help to accomplish your goal? For example, a tutor or extra practice questions.
- What are the steps you will need to follow to achieve your goal?
- What, if anything, will you need to do every day? Every other day? Every week?
- How can we break down your goal into smaller pieces?
Then, create a schedule, to-do list, and/or visual reminders so your child keeps their goal top of mind. Can you break the goal down even further so there are daily or weekly tasks?
Examples of breaking the goal down further
- I will do my math homework every day
- I will ask my teacher for help when I don’t understand a topic
- I will use practice problems to continue working on topics I find difficult
- I will find a tutor or ask for extra help from my teacher if I need it
- I will practice math outside of school at the grocery store with my parents, playing board games, and more.
Step 6: Celebrate!
As your child works through their goal, it is important to celebrate their progress and their success. As they accomplish their smaller goals, and hopefully, their larger one, be sure to make note and help them find the joy in these wins. Before you know it, it will be time to come up with new goals for the next unit, quarter, or semester!
Goal setting template
Use the SMART goal template to create goals with your child for a successful start to the school year!
I want to [measurable goal] by [timeframe]. I will accomplish this goal by [what steps you’ll take to achieve the goal].
Example:
I want to get an A on my first test of the year in math. I will accomplish this goal by doing my homework every day, asking for help if I need it, getting practice problems to keep me on track, and working on math outside of school with my family.
Remember, SMART goals are
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Relevant
T: Time-based
With the above tips, examples, and template, we hope you can set up some great goals with your child for a successful school year! If you are looking for after school and weekend activities in your area, Sawyer has wonderful educators with tons of options.
