Setting Goals For the New Year

The new year is here (can you believe it)!  That means we are officially halfway through the school year.  Now if you think the school year flew from August to December then you know it will be only a blink of an eye before summer is here.  Now that you have a half of a school year under your belt-it is time to take inventory and set goals for the remainder of the school year. If you set goals for your child (or for yourself) take a look at those goals.  If they were accomplished-great!  If not-take a moment to think about it.  

Does the goal need to be tweaked?  

Did you start out blazing but lost your steam?  

Is there a bigger problem the cause of the lack of progress?

 This ‘look back’ at old goals is not meant to make you feel guilty or bad about what happened last year.  The purpose of look back at those goals is to move forward!

Now that you are ready to make new goals don’t forget that goals always need to be:

         -Realistic and Attainable

         -Measureable

         -Time Based

So instead of your goal being: 

 Dexter will be ready for Kindergarten by the end of the school year.

Make it:

By December, Dexter will know all of his letters and colors and he will score in the average range in 4/5 areas of his school readiness assessment.

Instead of your goal being:

Madison will do better in school this year.

Make it:

This grading period Madison will make A’s, B’s and C’s on her report card by turning in all of her assignments when they are due, completing homework for 30 minutes and reading for 10 minutes every night before watching tv or playing with her tablet. 

By creating goals like these you actually create a ‘roadmap’ for your children to succeed at the goals.  After you and your child come up with your goals for the specified amount of time (I like to use months or the grading period).  Don’t forget to put them somewhere they can be seen frequently.  Places like the refrigerator, their closet door, inside their planner, the bathroom mirror are all great locations for their goals. 

If you feel that your child’s goals for speech and language have not been accomplished-there could be a need for outside therapy.  Just one therapy session per week could make a world of difference.  Call us today to make an appointment!