- A bowl full of berries.
Since you have created a VISION for areas of development for your child’s future (see my first post in January 2011), you have clarified and articulated specifics about her/his adult life. Earlier you also wrote a S.M.A.R.T. goal that was Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. You are now ready to create and ACTION PLAN to drive you toward goal success and building strong, capable young people.
Writing an ACTION PLAN is as easy as eating a bowl full of berries, once you have the template. Divide your paper/EXCEL sheet/or WORD document into the following columns:
GOAL : My Two yr. old grandson will learn to love books.
ACTION: I will take him to story hour at the library. We will talk about the story read.
DATE: We will attend the story hour sessions once a week.
EVIDENCE OF ACHIEVEMENT:
By June 2011, he will choose two books to take home. We will have a special place for his books at home.
A goal does not need to be complex – the example is a short, simple ACTION PLAN. However, you can see the elements of the S.M.A.R.T. format: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. When you develop an ACTION PLAN for building the character and future of that special child(ren) in your life, you are on the path to helping a kid achieve success. You are also creating a better future for all. With your ACTION PLAN you now know where you want to go and how you will arrive. You can model and teach with ease. It can be as easy a bowl full of berries, once you have the steps!
How can ACTION PLANNING help you with your children, children you know, even your own personal daily living? Have you ever followed a similar plan in the past? What worked especially well? Did you find you needed to change your plan?
These steps can lead to success! I can show you how…
“The way to make learning a lesson-a celebration instead of a cause for regret- it to ask: How can I put this to use tomorrow?” ~ by author, Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards ~
Today I will offer you a format to develop your “ACTION PLAN” to segment your kid VISION into specific daily/weekly steps. Through a specific plan of action, you can truly see the effect of your vision, the role modeling and the teaching you do on a regular basis. When we receive feedback on our performance – both personally and professionally – we feel successful. When we see concrete results, our confidence develops and we begin to see how we truly can make those dreams for the future you are creating come true. Developing an ACTION PLAN proves that we not only believe in kids, but believe we can truly make a difference in the outcome of building great adults. And, its easy to do!
In your VISION statement, you wrote about how you envision your child in various categories as an adult. You may have developed a VISION about a professional career, their societal role in ten years, or even how they might select the right marriage partner. In order to successfully achieve the VISION, the next step is writing an “ACTION PLAN.” Your plan should have four categories: the GOAL, ACTION, DATE ACHIEVED, EVIDENCE. To write your first GOAL, you will be most successful if you follow the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting format. The letters S.M.A.R.T. stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-centered.
How to Write S.M.A.R.T. Goals
GOAL: My child will learn responsibility commitments by feeding the dog after dinner without being reminded, following performing this task with me daily for three weeks .
-
Specific: We know exactly what the child is expected to do to attain the goal that is directed toward the VISION.
-
Measureable: We know the measurable degree to which the expectation has been set – daily.
-
Attainable: We know that this is a task a child can most likely complete with ease.
-
Realistic: Is the daily expectation realistic? Yes, the dog needs to eat daily and the adult will model how this is done.
-
Time-centered: The parent has a plan to model and provide practice to build the habit of feeding the dog.
Now, write your GOAL(S). On Friday we will move on to the other categories. Did you enjoy writing your goal(s)? Was it difficult? Did you find that you changed your goal writing after you began to consider the S.M.A.R.T. attributes? If you would like feedback on your goal or would like to share with our readers, please feel free to do so. See you Friday with more on this important process.
