Young Scholars Academy

Where Children Develop a Love of Learning

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Goal Setting with Children

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It’s a new year! With a new year comes New Year’s Resolutions. A resolution is a promise that you make to yourself. I don’t know about you, but when I make a resolution, I don’t tend to stick with it after a month or two. Instead of making a resolution, why don’t we focus on goals. A goal is an aim for a desired outcome, striving to achieve something great.

Making goals as a family will help to strengthen your family bonds and teach kids to have ambition at an early age. Achieving goals also helps children to feel a sense of accomplishment. A great way to do this is to have your child make one or two goals for themselves at the beginning of a new year, new season, or even when entering a new transition for the family such as moving or changing schools.

For a child to make and achieve their goals the child must first take ownership with their goal. As a parent, we all have aspirations for our child(ren). But telling a child what their goal should be can be discouraging to the child. There is a difference between telling and guiding. This is where a parent can step in and give proper guidance for the child when goal setting. Ask the child questions to help them decide on a meaningful goal. Explain to them what a goal is and how to set them. While guiding your child, you help them have a voice in their decision, giving them a sense of self and self-worth.

Next, decide on a timeline. How long will it take to meet this goal? Having a timeline helps to motivate the child to keeping to a set schedule by creating a sense of urgency. Be sure to guild the child to a realistic timeline. It takes time to build the habits needed to achieve a goal. Change does not happen overnight.

What steps should the child take to attain their goal and how can you as a parent help your child succeed? The key is to come up with steps to follow to reach their goal. Creating steps helps to be sure there is a map to follow to succeed.

It is necessary to understand why the goal is important. When it is important to the child then he or she will work harder meet their goal, build self-confidence, and reach their full potential. Understanding the importance helps children to have a desire to succeed.

It is not enough to say, “I want to do better in school.” Is there a subject or aspect about school in which the child would like to improve? Let’s say math is a subject of struggle. The goal could then be to improve math by a letter grade or certain percentage. Maybe because a new quarter is starting, the child can set two timelines, one for the quarter and one for the semester. Some steps to improve math scores could be to ask more questions during class, study math facts, and take timed tests to improve speed in answering. Improving in math is important because math is a progression building on skills. First the basics are learned then it builds from there. Having mastery of the skill will help the child to progress successfully throughout all of their school years.

Once your child has decided on a goal, write it down and help them succeed by checking in on them and their steps to achieve their goals.

Ms. Blair
Health & Wellness Coordinator
Lead Preschool Teacher

Shopping for Siblings

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The holidays are quickly approaching and I am very excited to begin our families holiday shopping. This year, my youngest who is in preschool, is at that age where he truly understands how holidays work. In a sense this will be his first Christmas where he can fully comprehend the act of giving gifts. As we have had a few birthdays recently, he understands the process of picking out a gift and giving it to that person. It is an exciting responsibility that he has really become interested in, especially when shopping for siblings. I feel like this is a great time to introduce him into the process of spending money on a budget to pick out gifts for his sister this Christmas.

kid carrying money
Establish a budget for shopping

The first thing we did was establish a budget. I felt that explaining to him the reasons why we CAN’T buy every pony and electronic gadget out there was important. I told him that we only have a certain amount that we would be spending and we have to stay at that amount. I pulled $25 out in cash and showed it to him. I explained it as we have $25 like 25 points. He understands the concept of how points work in a game, you could correlate it to something of another value your child would understand better as well. Points is just what worked for us. So, he had 25 points to spend and that is all.

Next, we talked about the act of giving gifts. I reminded him that when we are choosing gifts for others, its not about what WE want or how that item makes us feel. It is all about the other person. Will it excite them? Make them feel happy? Is it something that they will use and enjoy? I wanted to really get him to comprehend the act of giving, its hard for a preschooler to not want to buy toys for themselves when shopping for others. Explaining the ‘why’ behind giving really helped.

We then talked about how to spend the money at the store. I clarified that every toy or item is going to be a certain dollar amount or points, so we have to pay attention and keep track. He understood somewhat, and then we ventured to the store. At the store I showed him the numbers and reminded him we can only spend $25. He started to shop around for his sister, picking out different toys, and really trying to keep up with the math. We took our time and counted, I showed him different combinations of toys he could choose from. Overall, he really did enjoy trying to figure out what to buy his sister while staying in budget. There were also bouts of frustration in the middle of our shopping expedition. It was hard a few times when he wanted to choose 3 items that were more than our budget and one big item that was way over. But, by calmly reexplaining to him our budget and the purpose of the shopping trip, he soon was able to see past it. He was able to narrow down a few items that he really thought she would enjoy, and he successfully bought gifts for his sister!

The joy that he felt picking out his gifts may be greater than when she actually opens them. He really felt in control, proud, and successful through this entire process. I am so proud of him for being able to problem solve and really try his best staying on budget and picking out something his sister will love. Keeping it simple and finding a way for him to connect to understand the process of using money was key. I am glad he was able to pick something out for her all on his own, it will make giving it to her that much more meaningful. Fingers crossed he can keep it a surprise until Christmas!

-Ms. Whitney
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator

Reading Under the Stars

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Looking for a new way to incorporate reading into summer adventures? Plan a backyard campout where you lay out and read stories together by the light of a fire pit or lanterns. Or, better yet pack up and go on a real camping trip with your books. Don’t let Colorado weather ruin plans. This can be easily be set up in the house as well if the weather is uncooperative. A weekend of any variation of this will be a highly memorable thing for your children. It combines so much fun along with education that they may not even realize is happening.

You could even plan a theme for the evening. Tell ghost stories, make it a Disney book night, or family favorites. Find children’s books about camping while they are experiencing it. Get some s’mores going to add to the excitement. Pitch the pop-up tent and have the puppies and stuffies join you. Try to fit as many blankets and pillows in the tent to make it extra comfortable for the ultimate reading fort.

Whether you’re backyard camping or great outdoor camping you can plan a reading discussion for the following night as well. The next day take the kiddos on a hike. Have them write down or draw the things that they see on their hike. Bring along a wilderness book to see how many of the same things they encountered during their day. They will be so excited to talk about it and learn more about what they saw. This is a simple and fun way to unplug with the whole family for a night or the whole weekend!

-Ms. Brooke
Lead Pre-kindergarten teacher
Curriculum Coordinator
Literacy Coordinator

Sweet Summer Fun

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Finally! Its summer y’all! Have you been counting down the days like we have?! As the cold days become fewer and fewer, my family is in the mood for sunshine and fun. I have begun planning mini vacations, weekend trips, and the day to day activities. I think these will be great to do this summer. In previous years, we have had a ‘go with the flow’ type of schedule. On the weekends we would go to the pool and try to catch things that were free around town. While that has been great, I wanted to try something new this summer! We are making a summer bucket list! This list is going to have daily goals and also BIG summer fun goals included. Here are a few tips and some of the ideas that my kids and I have come up with!
 
Depending on the age of your kiddos, you may need to make separate goal sheets for each child. My vision for this is to include daily goals they can accomplish easily. And also family goals or a summer bucket list. I feel having this tool for the summer will help keep us busy and have a more organized schedule. Because truth is, I say that I want to do these ‘things’ over the summer and I either end up forgetting what I wanted to do (seriously…) or I get lazy and take the easy way out and make park and pool trips. Which is totally fine. But it means that I never followed through with what I wanted my kids to experience over the summer.

Daily goals

Depending on age, these are simple things that they need to get done daily. You could turn this into chore type activities. Or small learning activities that will help keep those brain cells busy in the summer months. My preschooler has 3 daily goals:
  • to read 30 mins total (with sissy or a parent),
  • feed the dog dinner (he picked),
  • and play a writing/letter game with mom.
So, this is a combination of chores and learning. It is important to include your kiddo in making these decisions. It makes them feel the responsibility of making a choice. These goals will most likely get switched up during the summer. This way, he can focus on other things he needs to work on and will be involved in that process too. Now, I have thought of also doing a reward system for this…but decided against it. I want these goals to really feel important to him and not become something he is doing for a sticker/toy. This means working with my preschooler so he understands the concept a bit more. I want to pump him up so he meets his goals and feels proud.
Little boy with summer bucket list
A well thought out summer bucket list

Family goals or Summer Bucket List

This is a concept that I came across online, but I put my own spin on it. Online, the picture had all the places they wanted to go visit. While that will work, I just wanted to be more specific and expand it a little. So, for our Summer Bucket List we are coming up with a list of things that we really want to do/see/explore and also some kindness activities. I picked a few items on the list and I let each of my kiddos choose things to add. Most of the things we added are things that we are surely able to accomplish and will be awesome to be able to cross them off.
Some of the ideas my kiddos came up with fall into the ‘we will sure try’ category. While I am not sure if we will be able to do some of the items, I still wanted to include them. I think it is also important for them to see what happens when goals are not met as planned. That way, they get to have conversations and examine their feelings on it and grow from it.
 
I really feel this system will make a positive difference in our summer adventure. I want them to really have a busy, fun, and engaging summer! Having a small outline of what this will look like will help keep us all accountable. I also recently read a quote online that said “You only get 18 summers with your children, that’s it. So make it count.” Boom. Right to the feels for sure. Being a kid is such an experience that can be truly magical. MY daily goal is to act like a kid and have fun, that way my children will have the most memorable summer ever!
 
-Ms. Whitney
Lead Prekindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator

Importance Of Summer Reading

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We are all told that it is important to read to our children and have them read every day especially in the summer time. But some take it as a side thought like sunscreen application; something that should not be optional. It is important in all areas of your kiddo’s education to keep them reading regularly throughout the summer. Children lose more during the summer than they gain during the school year when they stop ALL learning. Summer reading is a simple and fun way to keep those brains chugging until school starts up again.

Most libraries have summer reading programs of some kind. They even offer rewards for reading so much in a certain amount of time. This is fun for the competitiveness in us all. Check your local library or online to see what they have planned for the summer and make a commitment of going once a week.

Just the short amount of time during the summer can put your child up to two years behind their peers who were reading during the summer months. They will not catch up because they spend the following school year trying to get back to where they were at the end of the previous year. These statistics are terrifying to see how fragile learning is. If we leave it, we lose it.

Reading during the summer is such an effortless activity that can save your kiddo tons of heartache and you in the long run. You are much less busy during the summer (so to speak) that reading can become an activity that replaces something you do during the school year (like band practice or dance lessons). Make the commitment you won’t be sorry.

Books are everywhere. Make finding new books a game. Take trips to the library, thrift shops, garage sales, do book exchange play dates, and keep books in the car during vacation travels. If you have reading times set in place already then just stick with those through the summer as well. You are setting the tone for the love of reading into your children now, then it does not feel like work for them late on in life. It is simply something they enjoy doing just like other activities. Happy Summer reading friends!

-Ms. Brooke
Lead PreKindergarten Teacher
Literacy & Curriculum Coordinator