January is a great time to look back over the past few months to reflect on what children have accomplished. You may work for a program that tracks children’s progress using a variety of assessment tools. Take some time this month to review those tools, preferably with other teachers who work with your group of students. Depending on the age of the children you work with, you may also choose to include children in the goal setting process. Together, create goals for the children and determine curriculum supports that you can add to your program to achieve these goals. Here are a few ideas:

Whole group goal ideas:

• Create smooth transitions between challenging times of the daily routine
• Integrate deep breathing and other self-calming practices
• Select a community project or charity cause to support
• Increase the amount of active play in the day by incorporating children’s interests
• Create cooking projects that promote heathy eating

Individual goal ideas:

• Help children set individual goals for the number of books they want to read each month
• Help a child set the goal to conquer a particular piece of playground equipment
• Encourage a child to make a new friend
• Challenge children to explore their talents by participating in a talent show
• Create activities that promote handwriting for children who are interested in writing their names
• Provide a script to a child who needs help solving problems or entering into play with others