Ladies and gents, my girl has made it through 1st grade!
I'll let your mind wander and guess what it was like to get a 7-going-on-17-year-old to sit down on her last day and set summertime goals with me.
I mean isn't goal setting what every kid wants to do on the last day of school?!?
I did bribe her with a trip to Sonic.
And a sleepover.
And a new puppy.
And a water park in our backyard.
(Just kidding about those last two.)
As much as I knew this wasn't on her priority list, I wanted to understand what she hopes to get out of summer.
Teaching Kids Goal Setting
I did think twice - maybe this was overkill.
But then I went for it. Why?
I think setting goals is a great activity (and sometimes a skill) that gets a bad, business-y wrap.
I am hoping setting goals together will:
- help us spend our time wisely
- serve as motivation for good behavior
- maximize the FUN this summer
Watching her write down goals told me what she defines as fun (and helped me know what to prioritize and incentive).
It helped me think critically about what I hope to accomplish the next few months too.
Now I didn't make sure they were SMART (spe
cific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely); although a lot of them were off to a great start.
I'm proud of how quickly she got her list made and pumped for the days ahead.
Here's what each of us wants to do this summer
So, what do we hope to do?
Over corndogs, tots and orange pop here's what we each came up with...
(I tried to avoid adding too many "adult" things on my list, which was harder than I thought it would be!)
Mae:
- Play
- Pool
- Playdates
- Grandma's house
- Movie theatre
- Get books at the library
- Make books
- Great Wolf Lodge
- New pet
- Eat ice cream
Mama:
- Read books
- Bake new things
- Road trips
- Hike
- Write my book
- Organize the house
- Exercise
- Visit St. Louis
- Art classes
- Movie theater
Fortunately - there's a lot of overlap here! We've got a lot of books and movies in our future.
Will you give me advice on summer schedules?
So - wish us luck!
If you're a mom out there planning ahead this summer, let me know if you goal set with your kids too!
And - before we get too far - I need your help!
I'm not sure how to plan (or if I should) chart out our days.
Should we set a time to do things each day (like what she's used to in school) or should we "wing it" since it's summer after all.
Or a combination?
I need your advice! Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts for planning a summer for kids.
Museums are a great learning experience for the kids! KC is rich with wonderful museums like the toy museum and others. Lunch at the atrium at the Nelson. Crown center is another venue for fun! Lunch at restaurants she has never eaten at before! Crestwood shopping area near Brookside has a French restaurant. Libraries have summer programs for the kids, Starlite theater will have kid appropriate shows featured! So much fun to be had this summer!
Love those ideas, thanks Gail!
The best part of the summer is getting away from the rigid day to day schedule of school. Spontaneous activities bring the most fun and the rules are just have fun, loose schedules and make it up as you go. Plan your days together and if they don’t go as planned don’t sweat it adjust and keep on making memories, I guarantee you she will only remember how you all had so much fun. Mine did and I had more than one…. LoL. Wishing you a happy and fun filled summer.
Awe good advice thank you friend!!