How often do you feel like you are drifting from one priority to another, never quite accomplishing what you set out to do? All of us are busy every day, but it seems as if few of us feel genuinely confident that we are focused on our goals amid all that busyness.
So far in this Homeschool Planning series we have talked about analyzing our educational philosophy and assessing our previous year (in a rather messy way). The next step is to begin creating achievable goals.
Goal setting is a powerful process in which you have the honor of choosing what you want your child’s education to look like at the end of their year. It makes the everyday actions we take more intentional and will help us with making choices, and avoiding distractions.
Setting goals is one thing, but reaching them is an entirely different animal. Here are a few secrets to both setting and reaching your goals:
1. Think it Through
One big reason people fail to reach their goals is that their objective was never very clear in the first place. Achievable goals are specific, yet simple – You don’t need to go to great lengths figuring out what percentage increase you want to see in your child’s geography scores, but setting a specific goal of memorizing all 50 state capitals by June 1st is reasonable. Our brains love simplicity. It helps to keep us focused, and remind us of what we are striving toward.
Be mindful of the reality that the only useful goals are those that are significant to you – things you are passonate about and find value in achieving. If you don’t really believe in the value of cursive handwriting, then don’t set it as a goal in your homeschool. It simply isn’t important to you.
Spend some time truly considering what you want to achieve; not which books you want your students to read, or which programs you will use, but what you really want to achieve. This is your general overview. I like to consider each student, and each subject separately before moving on to the next step.
2. Write it Down
Writing down goals makes us far more likely to act upon our intentions. The act of putting ideas on paper helps us to see our goals clearly. It forces us to make an effort to clarify our thoughts and gives us the opportunity to flesh them out.
We are forgetful creatures, but when we we repeatedly look at our goals, we reinforce those thoughts, moving the intention from short-term memory into our long-term memory, where it becomes much easier to envision the steps needed to achieve it.
I like to use a few simple tools in this process. The first is a June-June calendar available free from Donna Young. This is where I can envision our entire year, marking birthdays, holidays, vacations, scheduled practices and lessons, and any other obligations. This gives me an accurate picture of how much time I have to work with.
The second is a simple chart on my computer for each of my students listing all of their subjects. In each box I fill in (in just a few words) the basic information that I want to cover. This helps me to see everything at once, figure out which topics I can combine, and easily see what I need to develop a better vision for.
3. Break big goals into small steps
In order to achieve any goal, you must turn it into an action plan, breaking it into a series of small steps that you will need to take, in order to succeed. This not only helps us to see the path that we need to take, but also helps us to realize the steps we have already taken.
Small steps are tiny tangible actions that we can do. Things to place on our to-do list, and take action on.
At this point I like to print each child’s chart from step 2, and begin filling in details. I add in all of my required elements such as reading, writing, special projects, and how I will assess their success. I also try to put in as many due-dates as possible, so that I can keep an eye on whether we are on target to achieve our goals.
4. Be realistic about the time involved
We often overestimate how many projects our students can accomplish in a single day, yet underestimate how much they can learn in a year, given just a little progress every day. In the words of Aristotle,
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
The internet is full of amazing resources for homeschoolers, and we must be careful not to get carried away with over-planning our lessons. From free lap book elements, to videos, or games, we could keep our students busy every moment of the day. The hardest part is deciding what not-to-do.
In order to organize and simplify my choices, I create an Evernote stack for each subject containing notebooks for each individual chapter with the chapter number and basic info of what will be taught. Or, for subjects without a specific book that we are following, I create a notebook for each major topic we will be covering. As I discover great websites, books to get from the library, youtube videos, or projects that I think might be helpful I pop it into the correct notebook. This is where I can go wild. Anything and everything gets tossed into the folder, with little editing (Quick aside – I prefer Evernote to a written plan because it is neater, and easier to access when we travel, but a paper folder system would work just fine.) When the time comes to begin the chapter I simply skim through my options and pick only a few.
It isn’t necessary to do everything, but it is essential to do what you do well. Create a habit of doing your core subjects regularly and then add in only what you know your children learn from, and doing those projects very well. Some weeks you will have more time and energy than others, give yourself the freedom to roll with it
5. Prioritize
When trying to reach any goal, there is always too much to do. When you find that you have multiple conflicting goals for your homeschool, take the time to assign each a priority, and write it down. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important areas.
Find as many combined subjects that you can teach as possible. Whether it be reading aloud, group science projects, or family Bible lessons, try to combine your students whenever you can. It will save you from having to plan multiple times over, and it will also save you time in shifting from one student to the other.
Don’t forget that you have many things to accomplish in your day, and school is only one of them. Schedule a Quiet Time into your afternoon where each person has the freedom to choose their own priorities. In our house, each child goes to their room for an hour each day, and I can use that time to plan, clean, grade, or simply regroup. We also schedule two daily clean-up times. One for upstairs, and one for downstairs, to make sure that our home isn’t always at the bottom of the priority list.
6. Create Accountability
Check your to-do list regularly, and if you find that you are having difficulty achieving your goals, seek accountability.
Being realistic about our own limitations is humbling. Will you need help to start at the same time each day? Ask your spouse. Are you lousy at making enough time to complete science experiments? Invite a friend to meet with you. We are far more likely to stick to our plan and reach our goals if we know that we have friends and family working with us.
Accountability is necessary for our kids too. Read more about my mantra: “Don’t Expect What You Won’t Inspect.” Being part of a team increases our determination, gives us deadlines, and helps us to stay the course.
Find your own support team, a group of cheerleaders, and a coach who will encourage you every step of the way. I have written about how wonderful I find teaching in our local co-op to be for my own accountability.
The most important step is to BEGIN.
Once you know what your goals are, act on them. Many people are perpetual dreamers, who hope and are constantly busy, but never implement their action plan. So take just the first step, whether it is cataloging project ideas or just cleaning off the bookshelf.
Your days will never go just as you have planned, but if you take the time to set goals, break them into steps, and then cross just one to-do item off of your list, you are a step closer.
Are you making intentional choices, or just drifting? Setting achievable goals can help to keep you on task.
This post is part 3 of my Homeschool Planning series. Be sure to check out the previous posts if you are just joining in.