Goal Setting for Little Kids

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges to classroom teachers of difficult children is convincing them that they can “handle it”. Difficult children have very little confidence that they can do the right thing. 2 and 3 year olds are only beginning to understand what’s right and wrong in their moral development reasoning. Here are some strategies that build confidence or build faith within the child that if they did the right thing once they can do it again.

A sure tool for helping little kids realize they are capable and they can do it is using puzzles with a picture of the appropriate behavior glued to the opposite side of a puzzle. The missing ingredient in goal setting for kids are the minute to minute step by step accomplishments. Children conceptualized attainment when they move one step closer to the goal every time they glue another piece of the puzzle together. Once they demonstrate four or five times they can behave the puzzle is completed. This provides the teacher with a benchmark that they can refer to to help the child recognize it resides within them to be responsible. Use the following steps toward implementing Puzzle Goal Setting in the classroom:

1. Make or take a picture of the child doing the correct behavior and enlarge to fit on an 8 1/2 x 11 sized piece of paper.

2. Depending on the age of the child draw puzzle pieces on back of the picture (4 years old, 4 pieces for the puzzle).

3. Do not have more than 6 puzzle pieces because you want the child to succeed in meeting the goal you have set for them.

4. Invite the child to paste a piece of the puzzle on when you observe correct behavior to validate each time the child succeeds. Make a big thing about their responsibility.

5. The younger the child the quicker you’ll want to assemble pieces of the puzzle together.

6. When the puzzle is complete, post in a place where the child can see the picture so you can reinforce that he can do it when you see him going in the opposite direction.

7. With some children it may take two or three completed puzzles to reinforce they are capable.