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Teaching Children How To Set Goals And Use A Vision Board

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Goal setting is an important life skill that is never too early to start developing. Learning to set goals teaches children to take responsibility for themselves. They learn that their actions determine whether or not they fail or succeed.

Goal setting also builds self-confidence. When children reach their goals, they learn to believe in their abilities and are more likely to set new goals for themselves in the future.

6 Tips for setting goals with children

Journal Writing

 

1. Collaborate with the child to set goals. Try not to dictate to the child what goals he/she should set. The child is more likely to push towards their goals if they can take ownership of them and are vested in the outcome of their goals. As the child gets older, assess whether or not they are capable of setting goals on their own.

2. Start with small goals. Starting out with small, easy to achieve goals, ensures that the child experiences some success early on in the goal setting process. Once they have some success, they will gain confidence in their abilities and are more likely to set more challenging goals in the future.

3. Make sure goals are age appropriate. Young children between Kindergarten and third grade might set goals such as sharing with friends, reading a book independently, etc. Starting at around fourth grade, children might set more complex goals for themselves such as making honor roll or making a sports team.

4. Goals need to be realistic and attainable. Children need to set goals that they have the skills to achieve. For example, it would be unrealistic for a five year old to have a goal of reading a Harry Potter book independently because they have not developed the necessary skills to do so. This goal would most likely be unattainable for the child despite their best efforts.

5. Make goals specific. Having broad goals can overwhelm and confuse the child. When setting goals, try to be as specific as possible. Instead of saying ‘I will do better in school’, state specifically what you will do in order to do better in school. For example, ‘I will complete my homework daily.’

6. Decide how you will track progress. Children are more likely to work towards their goals when they see progress. They can track their progress by using a sticker chart, graph with tally marks, a spreadsheet, etc. Make sure the child can readily see the progress they are making towards achieving their goal.

Making vision boards with children

Teaching Children How To Set Goals

My 11 year old son’s vision board

A vision board is a visual representation of the things you want to accomplish or acquire. People create vision boards to have a constant reminder of what they are working towards. A vision board is a great tool for teaching children about goal setting. Children can use vision boards to keep them motivated and focused as they work toward their goals.

A vision board activity
The following vision board activity will help the child in your life start their goal setting journey with ease and FUN! First, download my Goal Setting for Children worksheet. Work with the child to complete the worksheet. Once you have done this, you are ready to make a vision board.

What you will need:vision board supplies
-Poster board (any size)
-Magazine articles and pictures that represent your
goals and action plan
-scissors
-Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
-Glue, glue stick or tape
-poster board letters (optional)

 

 

Gather all your materials and have the child glue the pictures on to the poster board. Let their creativity run wild. Once they are done, hang their vision board where they can see it often. For an added element of fun, feel free to make your own vision board with your child.

Remember to cheer your little one on as they make strides toward their goals.  The journey to them achieving their goals is equally as important as them actually reaching their goals.

Don’t forget to click image below to download your free goal setting worksheet!

Goal Setting Worksheet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to take goal setting one step further with adolescents, check out Goal Setting: Coaching Adolescents to Be Successful In Life. I provide a step by step guide to help kids set goals in six different areas of their lives. These areas include Academics, Behavior, Family, Social Life, Health, and Money. Below is a sample of the reflection worksheet for the area of Academics:

If you like this article, you may also like 9 Ways to Teach Your Children About Feelings.

Teaching Children To Set Goals - Copy

 

Comments

  1. This is a great way to help kids physically visualise their goals, what a fantastic idea! Love it. Shared for future reference #manicmondays #mommyatoz

    Reply

  3. I love this idea! I will definitely be doing this with my daughter this month to see how it goes. And I hope we can do it on a regular basis. Thanks for this – super cute, practical, and great for learning to set goals from an early age.

    Reply

  5. I loved this post, Yanique! I saw you mention it on (I think it was) Twitter earlier today and was excited to read it. I think this is such a valuable skill/tool to teach our kids and I’m not sure I would have thought to do it so concretely before reading your post. I’m working on a post that happens to tie in with this one a little, so I may be offering a link to your post in mine, if that’s all right. Thanks, Yanique!

    Reply

    • I think it’s so empowering for a child when they set a goal and work it through to fruition. Goal setting is such a valuable skill that will benefit them even in adulthood. Thanks Brooke! I always appreciate your thoughtful and encouraging comments. P.S. You can link to me anytime 🙂

      Reply

  9. My youngest grandson is the perfect age for this! He’s working on his writing skills and would probably greatly benefit from setting goals and monitoring his progress. Thank you for this wonderful share!

    Reply

  10. This will be great for my son when he’s a bit older. I really like the idea of the vision board. I definitely respond better to images so I think it will really help him to visualize his goals. Thanks for sharing.

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    • Absolutely! The kids I’ve worked with enjoy feeling like they can control some aspect of their lives. Setting goals can be such an empowering activity for children. Thanks for stopping by Tonya!

      Reply

  13. This post could not have come at a better time for us. My daughter is about to turn 7 and has begun to develop some pretty lofty goals for herself, to say the least. She often becomes frustrated when she doesn’t achieve them and then sometimes gives up all together. I’m not sure why I never thought of making a goal board with her, as I live by mine, but I will definitely be doing this with her this week! Thanks so much for the motivation 🙂

    Reply

  17. Oh I just love this post! It’s so, so important for kiddos to realize that they are able to take control of their lives and make positive, constructive progress toward things they’d like to achieve. Your tips are just fabulous, and the vision board is a wonderful tool! I’m definitely pinning this to share! 😀

    Reply

    • Thank you Shelley! You hit the nail on the head. Having children learn to set goals gives them a chance to take control of their lives. They get to see first hand how their actions impact their lives. Thanks for commenting!

      Reply

  18. I function really well when I set goals, I never thought about trying it with my kids. My 4 year old would enjoy making a vision board. Thanks for your tips.

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  21. im glad someone else commented that this is great for parents too because that’s what I was thinking the whole time (my daughter is only 2) so gonna go make my vision board now! Lol.

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  23. You know, the idea of having each of my children set personal goals has been something that’s been on my mind for quite some time, but I could never figure out how to organize the concept. This is perfect. And the visual is helpful for both parent AND child (plus fun to create).

    Reply

  27. Great post! I used to do sticker charts with my kids when they were younger and once they filled up a certain amount of squares they got to pick a treasure out of a treasure box! It was a lot of fun watching how excited they got to get closer to reaching their Goal! The vision board is an awesome Idea, shoot I think I’m going to make me one!

    Reply

    • Love sticker charts! My son thinks he’s too old for them now but once upon a time he use to love them, especially when he was working towards something he really wanted, like a trip to Chuck E Cheese 🙂

      Reply

  28. I wish I had seen this when my kids were small. I have grown kids now who I think would have benefited from the skills they could have gained from this.

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    • Goal setting is so important and it’s never too late to learn. My sister is 25 and still struggles with making goals and following through, but I’m sure one day the light bulb will go off! Right?!

      Reply

  29. Yanique, you’re amazing! My family did a vision board back when I was pregnant with Zoe-Grace and the boys loved it. I think it’s time for them for another. I think it’s time for them to do one separately on their own. #3 & #4 is going to be my focus when we start. Thank you!

    Reply

  30. Great tips, Yanique! You really put something on my mind. I talk about setting goals with my children but I have not thought about doing a visual board with them. This is definitely on my list to do with my children as well as doing one for myself.

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  32. I love this post. I did Vision Boards few years back, for myself. And they really helped reaching my goals. I will definitely use these for my daughter when she grows up.

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  34. Great post! The vision board is a really good idea and I agree, it must really help them to feel more in control. Will be trying it out!

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  36. This is so great… especially for the beginning of the school year. Great for parents and teachers to use in their classroom. Thanks!

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  37. They did something like this in one of my 4th grader’s classes. I do think it made a difference although I’m not sure it would be as well received if it were mom’s idea…still might be a fun and helpful for the summer.

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  38. This is such a wonderful idea! I never even thought of creating a goal/vision board with my daughter. This is definitely something we’re going to do. Thanks for sharing!

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  40. This is such a good idea! I’ve thought about doing this with my daughter, but we’ve never done it. Maybe this weekend?! I have a vision board, so why shouldn’t she??

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  42. Another brilliant post! Thank you, Yanique! I will be using these for myself as well as my 3 year old. This is so important for everyone to learn and especially helpful for those with attention disorders like myself. new goal: remember to make goals lol. Thanks for this awesome and educational read!

    J

    Reply

  44. I use to have to do this with my older kids especially my daughter. I completely forgot about setting goals and using visual aids. Thank you for another great post and sharing your wonderful idea about using a visual board. I’ll have to do this with my little one.

    Reply

  45. Great tips! This is a nice training for kids to set goals. Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.

    Reply

  47. Thank so much. I am a lead parent educator and this month in my parent group, we will be starting our 2018 dream/vision board and this is a great article that I will be sharing to have my parents also, take what they have learned to their children at home.

    – Angelina Hunt, MS

    Reply

  48. Hello, I’m from Good Morning America and am interested in including your kids vision board in a piece I’m doing on back to school traditions. We would credit you and link to you. Please let me know thanks!

    Reply

  49. This is a great tool to not only help set goals and motivate children but i think its also a good tool to help them develop a more positive creative mindset. I love it…Thank you so much

    Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] After a long break, it is nice to reconnect to the why.  Kids are not the exception.  You might need to remind yourself why you took on this responsibility, to begin with and the kids might need to remember what they want for themselves.  If your kids don’t have a vision, that will be the first step.  Check out these other vision board resources. […]

    Reply

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