Mud Pies & Minivans: Daily Goal Setting With The Kiddos

I am officially going through withdrawal mode right now. Old Faithful aka "Camera #102" has just kicked the bucket & it has been almost 1 week since I've taken a real picture. I-phones just don't do it for me & I have decided it is time to invest in a serious camera. I'm talking strap around the neck, carrying case, TILE gps device attached, & take insurance on that bad boy kind of a thing. Its time to take the plunge & go BIG! Life happens so fast & now with 5 kids running around, I seriously have SO MUCH I want to capture. Now, to convince "Super Daddy" about taking this plunge with me-lol.

Ok, done venting on that. Moving forward. With school starting, I thought I would share a handy lil' event that we have added to our regularly scheduled family morning meetings-daily goal setting! Now, I have always been about teaching your kiddos to set goals from a very early age. Even down to my littlest dude, "Z", we have everyone's long term & short term goals hanging on the walls where we are constantly seeing them & reminding ourselves of the improvements & changes we are striving to make in our individual lives & as a family. That being said, 1 day when I started thinking about the mini hurdles that the kiddos sometimes battle in their day to day (trouble with sharing, not using "big girl words", forgetting to put laundry in the hamper, etc) I decided that having them start off their day thinking about how they could improve in different areas would be a great idea.

Now, every morning during our family meetings we go to our whiteboard & take terms talking about what goals we each our going to set for ourselves for that day. The reason I have each kiddo set their own goals is because it helps them learn to really to stop & evaluate themselves & really think about what changes they know they can make & would like to see-Its very empowering. My husband & I even participate in the daily goal setting for ourselves. I think it is so important for our kiddos to know that even parents are not perfect & still have things they need to work on. After my husband & I's goals are set & we discuss the steps we are going to make to try to reach those goals, the kiddos take turns setting theirs & talking about the steps they are going to make to achieve their goals as well (I start from the youngest & work my way up the line in hopes of discouraging "just copying my older sibling", lol).

Since adding daily goal setting to our routine, I have seen the kids make even more major strides towards breaking bad habits & reaching towards being an even better version of their already pretty incredible selves! Its amazing how capable kiddos are if you only give them a chance to show you. Even little "Aussie" has left me speechless a couple times with her personal insight on herself & her behavior-Amazing! Now, a lot of times all it takes is a lil' reminder of "what was your goal for today" to help them shift an attitude problem or reevaluate how they can handle a situation in a more productive manner. I definitely recommend trying this & staying consistent with it!

Have an awesome week!

-M&M Momma