As the Holidays roll around, you might notice that your child’s educational motivation takes a turn. With the excitement of Holiday celebrations and the breaks from their school routine, setbacks might occur. This is why it is important to set educational goals at home. It is a great way to help them achieve academic success during the Holiday months.
What are educational goals?
Educational goals are a set of learning achievements your child plans to accomplish in the school year.
Benefits of educational goals
- Provides a confidence boost
- Encourages practical problem solving
- Can increase grades and academic performance
- Helps improve critical thinking and analytical skills
- Can help students improve time-management skills
- Provides good practice in setting future career and life goals
Setting SMART Goals
The SMART formula for setting goals is a great way to ensure your educational goals stay on track, keeping your child motivated and accomplishing more.
S — Specific
Help your child get as specific as possible with their plans. Instead of setting a goal to study more, plan to study for an extra 30 minutes after dinner every day.
Help them set more specific educational goals by asking the “w” questions:
- Who will help you?
- What do you want to achieve?
- Where is this going to happen?
- When will your goal be achieved?
- Why are you choosing this goal?
M — Measurable
How will your child know they’ve reached their goal? Choose goals that are easily measured. Aim for a specific test score or GPA rather than trying to simply increase your grades. Instead of only saying you’ll read more, decide on a set amount of pages or chapters you’ll read every evening before bed. Don’t forget to take time to celebrate their accomplishments as they tackle their learning objectives.
A — Achievable
It’s best to keep their educational goals within reach. That doesn’t mean your child can’t have big dreams. But these larger goals should be broken down into smaller, bite-sized objectives. Help them choose realistic, short-term goals as they work toward bigger plans.
R — Relevant
Help your child set goals that line up with what they actually need to be working on. Find out where they’re struggling or what they’d like to improve, and keep those in mind while crafting goals. Keep their goals in line with those bigger life plans to help them stay motivated and moving forward.
T — Time-Bound
Don’t leave goals open-ended. Decide exactly what needs to be worked on and when it’s going to be accomplished. Even if a deadline is self-imposed, it can help keep your child on track. If your child is always struggling to finish a task on time, this is a chance to review the goal and re-evaluate their methods for achieving it. Does this goal need to be broken down into smaller, more manageable objectives? Does their goal line up with their larger plans? Placing a timeline on a goal makes it much simpler to analyze and track progress.
If you follow this SMART formula, your child is more likely to reach their educational goals even through the busier times of the year.
Drama Kids International helps children of all ages set goals through fun and developmental drama activities. Check out more information today!