New Years Resolutions

 

Helping Your Child with their Learning Goals this New Year

The New Year inspires individuals of all ages to rethink their wants and set new goals. Even children benefit from New Year resolutions, as they encourage them to work on their time management and discipline.

If your child isn’t sure what they would pick for their resolution, a great place to start is with a learning goal. After winter break, the pause in learning can lead to problems with retaining information. There is hardly a better way to get back into the swing of things than with a goal to invigorate them.

 

How do I help my child set their learning goal?

A great thing to remember when setting resolutions for your child (and even yourself) is the SMART acronym. First and foremost, your child must identify what it is they want to work on in school. Upon naming that broader goal, help them break it into more sizeable chunks with SMART.

• Specific- “Getting better at math” is too vague of a goal to feasibly achieve. “Getting better at multiplication tables,” is better, but “Mastering the first half of my multiplication tables” is specific enough that your child should know exactly where they need to start.
• Measurable- In the same example as above, it’s difficult for your child to say when they’ve succeeded at their goal of “getting better at math.” However, there are clear steps to take to master the first half of their multiplication tables—succeed at the ones, then the twos, and so forth.

 

Measurable- In the same example as above, it’s difficult for your child to say when they’ve succeeded at their goal of “getting better at math.” However, there are clear steps to take to master the first half of their multiplication tables—succeed at the ones, then the twos, and so forth.

 

Attainable- While you want to encourage your child to reach for the stars, goals that are too high usually fail. Your child might feel bad about themselves if they set a goal that is too lofty, which can lead to even more problems with their learning.

 

 

Results-oriented- Your child’s resolution should also include steps of how they’ll achieve their goals. This might mean studying for half an hour after school every day or working with a tutor two times a week.

 

Time-bound- It’s easy for goals to fall to the wayside if there isn’t a time frame for completion. Encourage your child to select a date to complete their resolution by. This could be mastering the first half of their multiplication tables by the end of the school year.

 

 

A tutor can help them achieve their learning goals

If your student needs additional support achieving their learning goals, consider hiring a tutor. The Assyrian Cultural Foundation offers free math and English tutoring to Assyrian students. It is our mission to provide students the tools they need to not only overcome their current problems but to set their path for future success.

To learn more about our tutoring program, call us at 224-935-2366 or email  stella.sweiss@acf-us.org.