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What Can Goal Setting Do For You?

In my last post, I talked about the value of goal setting. I talked about why it matters. I don’t believe you can have a thorough educational plan without clearly defined goals and a plan for achievement. Now that plan can and should often be revisited, but the goal and end result remain the same.

So, now I ask, what can goal setting do for you? I’ve seen it help students increase test scores and master concepts they’d “always” struggled with. Once we broke down and analyzed tests, students often learned it wasn’t reading or writing that they struggled with- it was figurative language, or drawing inferences. Once they identified the skill they struggled with, our goal setting journey began. By the end of the year, my students who took our goal setting sessions seriously accomplished more than they believed possible when they first entered my classroom.

I’ve witnessed goal setting work in my personal life as well. From the very beginning of our marriage, Matt and I set out to accomplish big things. We set a financial goal of being debt free. We took several detours on this one, but we finally did it. We paid off all consumer debt and all student loans. Now our financial goals are clearer, more accurately planned, and we have more motivation to accomplish them. As a team, we defined what matters to us. We realized that we desire freedom: financial freedom and freedom of schedule.

Freedom of schedule means several things. My husband and I want to travel. We traveled a lot in our younger days. We want to take family vacations, see our country, and see the world. But several things need to happen first, the most obvious one being our time. Matt’s job was our first obstacle. He eventually found a work from home position that would afford him the ability to take his job on the road. Working from anywhere that has an internet connection was the first step for us to achieve freedom of schedule. The next obstacle was working around a school schedule. Homeschooling makes the most sense here. We can make our schooling as heavy or light as necessary. We can take breaks on our calendar, and not a district’s. Once the pandemic has lightened, we look forward to making our first cross-country road trip. In the mean time, we’ve been practicing our skills and hitting various camp grounds. Not being subject to any one else’s demands on our time has been incredibly freeing and rewarding for our family. I have to remind myself that we would not have had these experiences or memories if Matt and I hadn’t started casting vision and working towards that reality years ago.

I realize that some of these things sound very counter-cultural, and I’m ok with that. I was prior to the pandemic, but I think this year has also shown many of us how many demands are placed on our time. It is possible to take control of your family’s schedule, if that is something you desire.

What can goals do for you? For our family, goals have provided a path to financial freedom and freedom of schedule. It is extremely exciting to me to be at the cusp of these goals, and realize the possibilities before us. If you had asked me two years ago about these, I would have laughed and said they are a ways off in the future. It’s funny how a phone call, a job change, and a renewed determination can alter your timeline.

What do you want for your future? For your family? What can goal setting help you accomplish?

Start planning today by downloading this free goal planning guide. Dream big, my friend!

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Goals- Why they Matter

I’m a firm believer in goal setting. I used to set aside an entire day at the start of each semester for students to set goals, both personal and academic. I then used test days for them to reevaluate their progress. That’s a lot of classroom time. Some may look at it as a waste, since my academic subject wasn’t taught on those days. While much academic learning may not have happened that day, I know my students were learning valuable life skills about planning, persevering, and achieving their goals. Those are the lessons I hoped would stick with them in the long run.

Goals don’t end at the classroom. Goals are important for so many reasons. I’m going to focus on my top 3 reasons.

1. Goals Provide Focus
It’s hard to achieve something if you don’t know what it is you’re trying to achieve. I found that often people have a sense of what they want- success, good grades, to go to college, a good job, etc. While this is a good start, it’s not enough. Simply saying “I want a good job.” is enough to placate the sense of purpose, but it’s not enough to become achievable. First, you must define what a “good job” is. Then, you need to determine the job requirements. Goals provide focus.

2. Goals Provide Accountability
A proper set goal will include baby steps and timelines to achievement. This creates an internal accountability. Accountability is a motivating factor for success and achievement. For larger goals, external accountability may be needed. You may need to involve a family member or friend who will check in and ask about your progress. When it comes to homeschooling, your whole family will be involved in goal setting and achieving. You will probably have many goals- goals for you and your spouse relating to why you are homeschooling and what you want homeschooling to accomplish, as well as your children’s goals and subject/learning goals.

3. Goals Lead to Success
It is so easy to say “I want to be successful.” It’s much harder to actually be successful. Taking the time to thoughtfully plan your goals and create a plan for implementation significantly increases your chances of achieving them. Planning and visualizing success creates a “can do” mentality in the mind of the goal setter. Mentality is half the battle. When a person has clearly defined their goal and their path to achieve it, there is little that can stop them.

In the ten years my husband and I have been married, we’ve set some big goals for ourselves. Some of them have been so big that I did not believe we would accomplish them. Now, as I look at what we want to accomplish, what we have accomplished, and where we are, I believe we can achieve any goal we set our minds too. I want you to find that success as well.

Are you ready to start achieving your goals? The first step is to make a plan! Use my free goal planner to get started now.

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Is homeschooling the right choice for your family? Part 2

Making the decision to homeschool is not easy. There are so many questions- from you, your kids, your spouse, friends, family. It was a decision that scared me so much, I shut down and refused to talk about it for any significant length of time for year. I told my husband I wasn’t ready for that. I said the kids couldn’t learn from me. At least not to read anyways, so we should send them to kindergarten first. I tried and failed miserably to teach my oldest how to read. Looking back, I was expecting too much of her too soon, but it left me so frustrated and defeated that I thought I couldn’t do it. I quit trying to teach her before I did “more harm than good” and figured her teacher could teach her to read. She excelled in kindergarten. She is now in second grade and reads entire Harry Potter books on her own.

Because of that experience, I wouldn’t even try with my younger daughter. She learned to read just fine in kindergarten. She also loves reading now, and is reading slightly above her grade level. In the 4 years that have passed since my failed first attempt, I’ve learned that I can teach kids to read. I’ve done it online for over 2 years now. My mistake with my daughter came when I was expecting her to sound out words, but she didn’t know all of the letter sounds yet. I forgot about the very basics, and was frustrated when she couldn’t get something that I thought of as easy. My takeaway from that experience is that the teacher has the benefit of knowledge. It makes sense to you and is easy to you because you already know it. It’s a foreign language to the learner, so it is imperative that the teacher break it down to the smallest concept possible. I’ll implement this when it’s time to teach my sons how to read.

Once I overcame my fear of teaching my own children, I had to ask if homeschooling was really best for them. After 9 months of them being home, and 6 months of me as their primary teacher I have to say it is. The stability and predictability we have found with homeschooling has been needed by all of us. My younger daughter has a difficult time with transitions. Morning routine- wake up, dress, eat, out the door, was often rough on her. She’d oversleep, which led to chaos, and well, you know the story. While I liked the school my children attended, I like our relaxed morning routine more. The stress of wondering if they made the bus is gone. I don’t have to anxiously watch out the window while feeding the boys to check for the bus. Or wonder if their bus made it to school okay. Mornings are less chaotic for all of us now. And we control our schedule. I can plan trips to family whenever I want, and we can take school with us, or take a break. We’ve adapted a 4 day book work/traditional schooling routine and a day of hands on learning. This has been something we all look forward to. We’ve visited local museums, parks, done science experiments, crafts, service projects and more. Having a dedicated day to step away from the books and continue learning has been a great application of our homeschool goals.

That all sounds great, but what about socialization? Well, if it weren’t 2020 I’d have a different answer. This is one of my biggest concerns too. The pandemic certainly affected our decision to homeschool. Public schools became too uncertain and too unreliable. My kids and family needed something predictable and certain. Unfortunately, my family has two medically vulnerable members. Public school, regardless of precautions in place, significantly increased our chances of someone becoming severely ill. We’ve had to say no to a lot of things this year. We’ve had to see less of our friends, as have many of you. Our normal social activities- church and playgroups- have been switched to online streaming or not happening at all. While we’ve been taking extra precautions, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I expect we will be able to find new socialization routines in coming months. We will pursue homeschool groups, play groups, sports, community service, and church activities with a new vigor. My kids love people. Keeping them away from others has been the most heartbreaking part of 2020.

I expect to continue homeschooling for the 2021-2022 school year. Pandemic aside, we have grown to love being together. I enjoy being a vital part of my children’s education and watching them get excited about learning. I love watching them explore. I love when they share what they’ve created with me, or make a new connection about a concept we’ve been discussing. I love making opportunities to connect to learning after the school day is “over.” The three hours we had between them getting off the bus and bed time just was not enough. We stopped the hamster wheel, and I don’t intend to get back on it.

What does your family value? How do those values translate into your children’s education? This free goal planner will help you start implementing your family’s goals today!

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Is Homeschooling the Right Choice for Your Family? Part 1

It’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? It at least feels that way. So much seems to hang in the balance of our children’s education. The anxieties and doubts this question raises are enough to make you say no before you give it an honest thought. How do you answer this question? How do you make any decisions about your children’s education?

Matt and I have a vision for our kid’s education. We know what we want them to gain, pursue, study, and the end result of those studies. It sounds too simple, but it’s our guide post as we ask the hard questions.

We want our kids to want to learn. We want our kids to pursue their interests- piano, soccer, horses, astronomy, art- if they love it or show a talent for it, we want to nurture that. We want our kids to know history and apply it to today. We want them to experience other cultures and read a map. We don’t want our kids to hate math. We want our kids to know how to think. We want them to be independent, critical thinkers.

If I had to summarize it, I’d say our goal is for our kids to enjoy learning, to pursue their interests, and to know how to think critically.

Can’t this be achieved in public schools? Yes. To some degree. But not to the degree that we are aiming for. The general attitude towards learning in public schools is unfavorable. Most kids dread going to school. The ones who are excited for class (not for seeing their friends) are “weird.” The pressure on teachers to create “bigger, better, newer” lesson plans that will excite and captivate students is unimaginable. Have you ever tried to get a seventh grader eager to learn about prepositional phrases and adjective clauses? No amount of engaging material will alleviate the moaning and groaning. At some point, it is necessary to learn things that are not “interesting” or “exciting,” but I don’t believe those are worthy of moans and groans. Buckle down, learn the concept and gain a new appreciation for your native tongue. The general attitude of “Can we have a free day?” that is prevalent in public schools is something I want to keep my children away from. I want them to approach their lessons with a “What new thing can I discover today?” attitude, rather than a “Are we done yet? Will this be on the test?” attitude.

I also believe that we can avoid the “learning because I have to” attitude by tailoring the material. I can teach prepositional phrases from any content. My son likes firetrucks right now. Great! We’ll read your favorite book and identify all of the prepositions. When we’re done, you can write a story about firetrucks and use at least one prepositional phrase on each page. By tailoring it to his interests, the boring prepositional lesson just became interesting. Any teacher will tell you that a child’s attitude towards learning is half the battle.

My daughter gets grumpy and frustrated very easily. If the lesson moves too fast, she shuts down. When we had her in public school, she kept these emotions inside, then unleashed a fit of fury when she came home. She often couldn’t tell us about her day because her memory was clouded with the negative emotions. At age 5, she struggled to speak up and ask for help. That has been less of an issue since homeschooling. Obviously I know my child best. I can tell when she is overwhelmed. I can make her laugh, and we’re ready to go again. Or I can slow down, and break the concept up even more for her. By catching the learning difficulties as they happen, it saves us all a lot of time and frustration.

When we made the decision to homeschool for the 2020-2021 school year, I asked my daughters what they wanted to learn. They each gave me their top three interests. I created a Google Doc for these, then added to it. I began to create units centered around their chosen topics. It has been so much fun! The kids are engaged, learning about a topic of interest to them, and I’m enjoying planning the units and teaching my kids. Because my girls are only 18 months apart in age, I decided unit studies would be best for us. I’m able to scaffold and adjust the assignments as needed for each child, but it is significantly less work than if I had followed state standards for each grade. My three year old even jumps in on the fun! I’m enjoying learning at our pace, together.

It’s a challenge for me to let go of the teacher in me that had assessments, benchmarks, and data driven goals and performances to analyze. Sometimes, I miss the clear expectation of having taught x by x date. However, the freedom I have found is rewarding. My girls are learning every day, and I have seen them bring the skills and ideas we have talked about into parts of their day outside of the school room. Sometimes, their imaginary play becomes more realistic. “I’m a green anaconda….I’m going to get you!” “No M! I’m a scarlet macaw in a tree, and green anacondas can’t climb trees because they are too big.” Other times, my daughter helps me in the kitchen and claims that my measuring cups show a fraction. Or she looks at the night sky and wonders about the moon and how bright it is…only to realize on her own that it reflects the sun’s light (My girls are 6 and 7, for context). We’ve come a long way in the few months that we’ve started this journey. I know we have a long way left to go. I need to remind myself of the little victories. When I see them applying academic concepts outside of school, I know we are on the right track to fostering a love of learning, pursuing their interests, and cultivating their critical thinking.

What are your educational goals for your child? How will you pursue those goals? Use my free goal planner to get started! Download it here.

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5 Reasons not to Blog…and Why I Am

I’ve debated writing a blog for several years. I’ve often heard that I have the skills necessary to write one. And yet, I haven’t. Until now. Why is that? Several reasons.

Fear.

I’ll cut right to it. The number one reason I have put off starting my own blog is fear. This one encompasses nearly every excuse I’ve had for not blogging. Fear of failure. What if no one reads what I write? What if my writing isn’t interesting? What if I’m not any good at creating my own content? I find it easy to tell other’s stories, but can I tell my own? And tell it well?

Fear has kept me in my comfort zone long enough. If I’m honest, it hasn’t been all that comfortable lately. So, it’s time to take a leap of faith and act. You overcome fear by doing.

Technology.

Those who know me personally know that technology is not always my friend. There have been plenty of jokes made about this over the years. My husband’s computer is working fine…until I walk into the room. Then it crashes and needs to restart (true story). It’s like technology senses my presence. Can anyone relate? I have a love-hate relationship with it. The things it can do are awesome! And I love that robots can clean my floors. But for some reason, it never wants to work properly for me. I follow instructions perfectly, and it won’t work. My husband does the exact same thing I just did a moment before, and it works. I don’t understand it, and it leaves me frustrated.

Given this phenomena, managing my own website for fun sounded more like torture to me. I’d rather write in a journal, even if it meant keeping my story to myself. However, I do happen to be married to a technological genius who just so happens to make his living from building websites and apps. This excuse has quickly fallen by the wayside, especially once I began using WordPress professionally. My interactions with technology have improved (out of necessity) over the years, but it’s still not my preference.

Time.

There’s never enough time in a day. It doesn’t matter if you have a full time office job, work part-time, or manage a home. Add a family to the mix, and the time for hobbies, interests, and self care seems to just disappear.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this year, it’s that my family is only as healthy as I enable them to be. By that, I mean that as their parent and spouse, I have a greater influence over their mental, social, and emotional well being than anyone else. How can I inspire them to their best self if I am not my best self? I can’t give what I don’t have. If I am not taking the time to pursue my hobbies and passions, I’m left unfulfilled and my family knows it. I am tired of losing myself. I’m tired of “only being a wife and mom.” I’m ready to be me again.

Laziness.

I’ve had to admit to myself recently that I struggle with laziness. This was hard to do. I always considered myself a hard worker. I put strong effort into my work- whether it’s writing pieces for a company, telling stories for a nonprofit, creating interviews, lesson plans, or preparing lesson materials, I go above that status quo. An average observation score from my principals would have been upsetting to me. I drive myself to stand out from the crowd, which is perhaps why admitting to laziness was difficult for me. Then I heard the term “lazy perfectionist” and it made sense. I’m not what you think of when you think of a traditional perfectionist (I’m okay with “good enough.”), but I still strive to stand out and be better. If I’m afraid I can’t stand out or be better, I’m often too lazy to try. Which made me wonder, can I really say that I am willing to take on challenges if I only attempt those within my comfort zone? Is that really a challenge?

Jealousy.

Jealousy seems like an odd reason to start a blog, doesn’t it? Feelings of jealousy helped to persuade me that this is needed. I have many friends who are also gifted with writing skills. I’ve stood in the shadows, watching their careers soar or watching them start blogs. While I openly cheered for them and their success, I had to acknowledge the part of me that wanted the same thing. I’d tell myself I don’t have time, or I’m not that eloquent, scroll past and move on. That’s the beauty of social media isn’t it? Keep scrolling and stop thinking. Of course, this just fed the discontent I was feeling. Eventually you need to acknowledge the feelings, push past the fear and do something.

So here I am. Utilizing my life experiences and passions to share the story of me, my family, our homeschooling journey, and whatever other antics we happen upon. One thing is for certain- our family doesn’t stay boring for long! Hopefully you will laugh with us. Maybe you will learn a few things. Most importantly, I hope you will walk away feeling encouraged, even inspired, to take on something new. Perhaps it will be that thing you’ve been afraid of trying until now. You never know, until you try.