Homeschool Goal Setting – Looking forward, Looking back

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It’s January 1st. The first day of a brand new year always brings a level of excitement. For a perfectionist like me, it’s like a clean slate, an unmarked page, or a fresh untracked snow. I’ve been studying about goal setting over the last few weeks and I have learned a few things.

Goals need to be concrete and measurable.

You have to be able to tell if you’ve met your goal.  I may have a tendency to make non-measurable goals because if your goals are nebulous, then you can’t really fail, right? Maybe so, but with non-specific goals, you can’t succeed either. I confess that I am afraid of failure. I hate it. But while that fear may keep me from failing, it also keeps me from succeeding.

goal weekly hands-on

A measurable homeschool goal might be to add 1 hands-on activity per week. NOT Do more hands-on activities.

Goals need to make you stretch.

I could make a goal and to avoid failure, I could set an easy goal. I could set a goal that is measurable, but is something that I’m probably going to do anyway. There’s no benefit to that.

catechism goal

We have gotten stuck in memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism. My goal is to resume memorization of the catechism and memorize through Question 50 by June 1. That is not an easy goal.

Goals need to be possible.

There is a balance between stretching and over-reaching. I could make a goal of making a million dollars this year. That would definitely be a stretch. But there is not a pathway to get there. You don’t have to know every step you’re going to take to achieve your goal, but you do need to at least know how to start in that direction.

The catechism goal that I mentioned above is a stretch, but it is doable. We will have to review and memorize about 2 questions per week to achieve the goal.

Keep the number of goals small.

With a smaller number of goals, you can focus on really accomplishing them. The worst thing that can happen is you achieve them all before the year is up. Then you can set more goals!

I have not completed my goal setting for this year, but I am giving myself permission to work on them more on January 2. I intend to make goals in 5 categories keeping my total number of goals less than 10. 

Since the New Year is a convenient time for setting goals, it is also a perfect time to evaluate how we’re doing with the curriculum and plans I so meticulously laid out in the beginning of the school year (or didn’t, but meant to.)

I have been homeschooling a long time. This year is my 14th year! Homeschooling has become a very natural and automatic part of my life. It’s comfortable. But it has become a little sloppy. There are things that I know I should be doing a better job of.

virtual curriculum fair

Over the next 4 weeks I will be participating in the Virtual Curriculum Fair. This is an excellent opportunity for me to take a closer look at how I used to homeschool and how I’m homeschooling now in very specific areas.

  • Are there things I used to do that I should start again?
  • Should we be moving in a different direction?
  • Am I using the best curriculum for this student?

The Virtual Curriculum Fair is also going to help me to get started working towards meeting my blogging goals for 2017, which include posting weekly. So stay tuned for more updates on how we homeschool.

 

I invite you to see how my fellow bloggers learn in their homeschools (note: all posts will be live by noon EST, Jan. 2nd):

The Evolution of Our Homeschool by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Us-School Because We Are Us, Not Someone Else by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
It’s All About the School by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Setting the Stage- the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! by Lisa N. @ Golden Grasses
New Year, New Goals, New School! by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Homeschooling – A Glimpse into How We Do it by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Spotlight on How We Learn in Our Homeschool by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Our Unique Eclectic Homeschool  by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
How We Learn on the Go by Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Home Education – 10 Ways We Make It Work by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Schedules, where would I be without them? by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Education at Our House by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Starting the Day Well by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Making a Change – Accountability and Responsibility Through Routine by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair by Annette @ A Net in Time
Loving the Moment! by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind
Keeping Our Homeschool Organized by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
How We Choose Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom’s Heart
This Is How We Homeschool by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
How we don’t learn in our homeschool & how I don’t plan {2017 Virtual Homeschool Curriculum Fair} by Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos
Learning Our Way by Lisa @ McClanahan 7
Limping Along: Our Semi-Eclectic Approach to Homeschooling by Debra @Footprints in the Butter
2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair: See How We Learn by Dana L @ Luv’N Lambert Life


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7 thoughts on “Homeschool Goal Setting – Looking forward, Looking back”

  1. I love this! I am a goal-setter and it is so important to us as homeschoolers. If we set goals and reach them, we actually know we’ve accomplished something. Seems so obvious, but as Moms we can lose sight of that! Great article!

  2. I’ve recently realized one of my children is very motivated by specific goals, so I really need to assess the best way to help him set his own goals. Love this article!

  3. I tend to falter when it comes to setting reasonable, do-able goals (I just want the sun and the moon all at once, right?). Thank you for sharing your wisdom on goal setting with the VCF.

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