How to be successful in school

To ensure your child’s success in school, goal-setting is a necessary beginning step!  When you and your child work on creating his academic goals, you should first find out what motivates and interests him.  The goals should line up with your child’s purpose so that he feels the value of achievement once the goals are met. 

• Set a reasonable number of goals for your child to work on.  Overloading your child with too many targets could result in him not attempting to complete any of them.  Younger children especially benefit from a fewer number of goals set and often enjoy working on these goals one at a time.

• Write the goals down. Simply stating the goals is not enough. Putting your child’s goals on paper makes them real.

• Set S.M.A.R.T. goals!  S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for the five steps to follow when setting goals:  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based.  It’s a simple tool used by individuals and businesses to move away from unsuccessful goal-setting and toward an actionable plan that gets results. 

S – Specific:  Well-defined goals are goals that get the attention they need. The more specific your child’s goal is, the more he is able to focus and the better the chance he’ll have of making it happen. For example, a child who knows his target is to spell five more words from his spelling list by the end of the week has a better chance of improving than the child who is told “please learn your spelling words.”

M – Measurable:  Goals should be able to be measured. Putting concrete numbers in goals helps your child know if he is on track.

 A – Attainable:   No child has ever learned an entire curriculum overnight. Motivation is key to keeping your child on track and knowing he CAN reach his goal will help keep him focused and excited. Dream big and aim for the stars but keep one foot firmly based in reality.

 R – Relevant:  Your child’s goals should be relevant to the teacher’s curriculum. By keeping your child’s goals aligned with the teacher’s expectations, your child will be able to get ahead of the class.

 T – Time-based:  Your child should have a specific period of time to accomplish each goal that is realistic.

Children have a better chance at success in school when parents take an interest in homework.  Parents, you can be supportive by demonstrating study skills, organizational skills, time management and by just maintaining a positive attitude!