It is 2022...how did that happen? Time really does fly by when you are busy paying attention to he day-to-day stuff-kids, work, laundry...
Thinking back on the 2021, I had all of these lofty goals that I made in the hopes that this year was going to be the year I achieved them all. But, did I do it, you ask...
Nope.
I didn't achieve any of the New Year's resolutions I set for myself. They were these vague resolutions like: loosing weight, hanging out with my family more, and working less. But, the truth is that I wasn't holding myself accountable for actually meeting my goals. I was just going through the motions. My goals weren't specific, they had no roadmap, and most importantly, they had no deadline. I wasn't setting myself up for success and, as a result, my goals went unmet and that made me feel like a failure. (Not a great feeling...)
So...this year I am trying something different. I've decided to set new goals for 2022, but not just any goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals.
In case you have never heard of S.M.A.R.T. goals...S.M.A.R.T. stands for:
Besides setting goals for myself, I also decided to incorporate this idea of setting S.M.A.R.T. goals into my one-room schoolhouse teaching too.
We started by talking about what resolution are. We looked at the definitions of S.M.A.R.T. goals, and I shared some of my S.M.A.R.T. goals with the kids. (I believe that sharing my goals with the students is incredibly important. How can I ask my students to be vulnerable with me if I'm not willing to be vulnerable with them? I'm an imperfect person, yet I am always striving to be better. My students need to know that their teacher isn't perfect (far from it), but isn't that the point? Self-reflection and improvement is a life-long goal for everyone. Or, should be...)
Next, we read about how the tradition of making New Year's resolutions began and practiced taking notes on the important historical details in the article. (Did you know that the practice of setting goals for the new year is over 4,000 years old?)
Then, we wrote our own S.M.A.R.T. goals using the flip book I made for the kids. The digits in the year (2022) served as the springboard for the kids to help give them a place to start.
Here is a "sneak peek" of the New Year's resolutions questions my students responded to in their flip books:
2 = What are 2 things today that you can do to help someone else?
0= What is one thing you can eliminate (or stop) doing?
2 = What are 2 things that you can say yes to doing or trying this year?
2 = What are 2 goals that you hope to accomplish this year?
My students were so honest and thoughtful throughout out time together. They wrote S.M.A.R.T. goals that are personal and important to each one of them. Before sending their flip books home, I took a copy of each student's resolutions (goals), so we could check back on them together at the end of the month and celebrate their progress toward achieving their goals!
If you would like to do this activity with your students, you can grab my NO PREP | New Year's Resolutions Reading and Writing Activity pack by clicking on the picture about OR by using the link in the product title.
Until next time, my friends!
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