At first, it was hard for them to figure out what goals they wanted. I started them off with an exercise goal. No sitting around all summer! From there, we moved onto a reading goal, then a chore and then a place they would like to visit. Goals are good. Achieving a goal teaches children perseverance and that hard work pays off! They could write down as many as they wanted, but at least four.
Let's start with Gian, only because he finished his list first and he wrote it in crayon (super adorable!):
His list reads: swim faster, jump rope, read 4 books, learn to make my bed. He left the table before we discussed a final prize for completing goals so his list doesn't include his reward.
Now Adrian:
Adrian dreams of one day becoming Lebron James so his summer goals are focused on exercise. His list reads: squat 10x times a day, push-ups 10x a day, 100 jump-ropes, cleaning my bedroom, 100 books every day (in other words, read 1 book a day), go to a waterpark. He left the table quickly also, so no reward here either. It's hard to get these kids to sit for more than 15 minutes. I have no idea how teachers are able to do it!
Amberly took the longest writing out her list, in fact, she did it twice since she realized that the colors she chose for her first list didn't match! #artistproblems
Her list reads: read 3 books a month, help with laundry, jump rope 10x a day, go to a waterpark, learn to sculpt, do flips in the pool, go to Legoland, go to an art museum. Her reward is a My Little Pony Equestria Girls Apple Jack doll (most complicated toy name ever!)
JC and I are working with them to achieve all these goals. A biggie on all three lists is jump roping, they are obsessed with learning how to jump rope. First, we got Adrian a rope since he watched a video that shows basketball players warming up by jump roping and he decided that he needed to do that too. Then, Amberly and Gian saw him using it and wanted to learn also. So we took a whole afternoon and worked on that (quite a feat!). We are going this weekend to the library to check out some books so they can get on the reading goals. Little by little, they have about 70 days of break, I know they will be achieving all their goals.
Want to try something like this with your kids? I created a fun printable that you can use to help your kids create their summer goal list!
Download here
Have you talked to your kids about summer goals? It's never too early to start!