Examples of Learning Goals That I Use with My Children

I love setting learning goals with my children so that I can keep track of where they are and what I can do to help facilitate their growth to the next level. Teaching children in the zone of proximal development helps me to achieve this. By scaffolding their learning to where they are, not where they should be as deemed by grade level and age level expectations, I can help each child grow in a way that fits their specific needs.

Even though we are involved in public education, I still design a homeschool atmosphere for my younger ones who are home with me all the time and the older ones who are learning at home after school, on the weekends, during breaks, and over the summer. During the summer months, I am especially focused on their goals because it helps me to establish a successful and productive routine.

Examples of Learning Goals

How I set learning goals is just as important as what the learning goals are, but I thought it best to separate these topics into two separate posts. By seeing a brief description of each child along with their learning goals and how I can facilitate their learning, I hope to provide a clear picture of what it means to set learning goals.

These goals are always shifting and changing depending on their interests and moods, my interests and available time, the time of year, whether or not everyone is sick, how much sleep I got the night before, and so on. Sometimes I write them down, but usually I just tuck them away in the back of my mind. I don’t follow some strict daily schedule, but rather try to incorporate these learning goals into our daily routines and into the one on one time I spend with each of them throughout the day.

*Note: I wrote this article a year ago, and am finally publishing it now, so my current learning goals are different.

1. Julian (11 Months)

Julian is the happiest little baby you’ll ever meet. He gets to have his mom at home all the time and breastfeeds on demand. After he gets lots and lots of love and cuddles from me, he loves to crawl around like crazy and explore his world. He is very fascinated by whatever his siblings are doing, and he loves chasing around our cat! He also loves watching Your Baby Can Read videos (which sadly aren’t available anymore so we are currently making our own videos) and cuddling up on my lap to read interactive books.

Julian’s Learning Goals

• Learn about his environment
• Crawl safely
• Go up and down the stairs
• Walk
• Babble and talk
• Learn how to make different sounds
• Learn about the names of things that he interacts with in his environment
• Say words
• Turn the pages in a book
• Interact with books
• Grasp objects
• Play with toys
• Interact with others
• Play independently

What I Can Do to Facilitate Julian’s Learning Goals

• Babyproof the house so he can explore freely
• Sit behind him as he learns about the stairs
• Hold his hands to help him walk
• Sit him on my lap and let him explore my mouth as I make exaggerated sounds
• Have conversations with him where I speak, then pause waiting for him to speak, and so on
• Say certain words over and over (His favorite words are clap, mouth, and daddy. I’ll say, “Clap. Clap. Can you clap your hands? Clap your hands like mommy. Good clapping Julian!” Or I’ll say, “Mouth. Mouth. Can you open your mouth? Mouth. I can open my mouth.”)
• Talk to him about his environment, whatever we’re doing, and tell him the names of things (Check out my blog about oral language development for more tips and tricks for developing oral language.)
• Repeat what he says
• Watch Your Baby Can Read videos WITH him and talk to him about what is happening, use these words often when not watching the videos (Here’s a video we made to teach our children vocabulary.)
• Sit him on my lap and read cloth books, board books, and any other kind of interactive book that he can touch and feel (Check out my blogs: How to Engage Your Baby with Reading and Best Books for Babies)
• Help him to turn the pages of a book
• Set up baskets of toys that he likes and can explore by himself
• Set up furniture so it is easy for him to pull himself up to stand
• Show him how certain toys work and play with him

2. Ophelia (2, Halfway to 3)

Ophelia needs to have her tank filled with lots of cuddles and love, but after this happens, she’s ready to be independent…extremely independent. She loves language like crazy and is already reading quite well. When she finds something that she likes to do, she will do it over and over and over again. She also loves putting things into things (like marbles into a metal tin), sorting objects, and stacking things.

Ophelia’s Learning Goals

• Read words she knows automatically
• Read words in sentences
• Read words in books
• Picture read books
• Read flashcards independently
• Review letter names and sounds
• Sound out words
• Learn new vocabulary words from her environment
• Learn new vocabulary words that are abstract (in books, etc.)
• Sing favorite songs and learn new songs
• Expand her imaginative play
• Learn Spanish words and phrases (and maybe other languages)
• Count to 20, count higher
• Demonstrate one to one counting principle
• Say the names and descriptors of shapes (number of sides, etc.)
• Do puzzles independently
• Continue stacking and sorting
• Color on paper with multiple colors

What I Can Do to Facilitate Ophelia’s Learning Goals

• Make flashcard rings of words and phrases she knows
• Make flashcard rings of words and phrases that she is learning
• Set out her favorite books in easy to reach baskets
• Read books with her, model picture reading, point to words as I’m reading, read simple level 1 books and point to words that she can read on her own, give wait time
• Make mini-books with her favorite words and phrases
• Make favorite things books with lots of pictures
• Talk to her about her world as we play together
• Sing songs together, teach her new songs that have hand motions
• Model imaginative play, play with her
• Find some intro to Spanish videos to watch
• Make counting books, practice counting objects and pointing to them
• Make shape books with descriptors
• Set up an independent puzzle station
• Set up stacking cups, add some small objects like golf balls that she can put into cups
• Color together

3. Elliot (4, Almost 5)

Elliot marches to the beat of his own drum, literally. He absolutely loves rhythm, music, dancing, and any type of music. He is very empathetic with a big heart and desperately needs his daily dose of cuddles. He has an incredible imagination and loves making toy figures come to life during imaginative play. He also loves anything that has to do with building like Legos, blocks, and especially Minecraft.

Elliot’s Learning Goals

• Play the keyboard
• Play the drums
• Play on the guitar
• Dance to music
• Learn how to dribble a soccer ball, and shoot a basket
• Play different games that involve lots of running and motion independently
• Build elaborate structures with a variety of materials
• Pick out books that he would like to read together
• Read his favorite things books independently (picture reading, basic words)
• Read words that he knows when we read together
• Read simple 3 and 4 letter word flashcards
• Read all Your Baby Can Read words
• Read all Dolch words
• Read simple sentences
• Draw pictures of his choosing
• Learn about science topics he’s interested in: dinosaurs, weather, rocks and minerals, etc.
• Do science experiments
• Play imagination games with elaborate and complex themes
• Play independently with activities of his choosing for extended periods of time
• Learn about basic math functions: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as well as learn a variety of math vocabulary
• Memorize basic math facts
• Count as high as he can
• Count by 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s, and 100s

What I Can Do to Facilitate Elliot’s Learning Goals

• Teach him how to play simple songs on the keyboard
• Teach him how to read music using a color coding system
• Teach him how to play drum beats using both hands and a foot for the bass drum
• Teach him how to make different guitar sounds
• Set up music playlists that he likes to dance to, have dance parties
• Do yoga, play basketball, play soccer, fly a kite, play tag, run races…anything to help him move
• Show him how to use different building materials (Big Legos, small Legos, wooden blocks, small colored blocks, K’nex, etc.) to make new and elaborate structures
• Make sure his favorite books are accessible in our book baskets
• Set aside time to cuddle up and read his favorite books
• Work on his favorite things book
• Make flashcards with his favorite characters and add little phrases for each one that he can read
• Cut up flashcards with pictures on one side and 3-4 letter words on the other, practice reading, play little games like flipping them over, putting them on my head, etc. (or something like this)
• Quiz him on Your Baby Can Read words
• Practice Dolch word flashcards
• When reading together, pause and let him read the words he knows
• Read Basher books together and make the characters talk to him
• Encourage him to draw pictures using a variety of colors, draw together, print out and color his favorite things together
• Play imagination games with him, introduce new problems and solutions, new characters, new settings, use props, etc.
• Play board games together, let him make up whatever rules he wants
• Do science experiments together, start with vinegar and baking soda ones and move on to others, find some online, Usborne Science Experiments book
• Play Starfall math during breakfast time, let him choose whatever he wants to do and talk to him about what he is doing (Here’s a video of us doing Starfall Math together.)
• Quiz him with math flashcards
• Find times to count throughout the day

Ruby (Just Turned 6)

Like Ophelia, Ruby also started reading at a very young age, and now in 1st grade, she is reading at a 3rd grade level. Being able to read really helps her to do many different independent projects. She likes getting really deep into a certain show (right now it’s Digimon) and then printing out pictures, writing stories, and making drawings with that theme. She is very creative and crafty and she is always working on drawing, art projects, and a variety of crafts. She is also really fascinated by science. My mom talked to her about biology from a young age, and I have fed her curiosity ever since.

Ruby’s Learning Goals

• Find and read beginning chapter books on her own
• Comprehend longer texts
• Write complete sentences
• Write a paragraph
• Make mini books
• Make Digimon books
• Create a variety of craft projects
• Color using a variety of mediums and styles
• Free draw using drawing templates
• Complete needlepoint projects
• Learn about meiosis and mitosis
• Learn about biology, chemistry, and any science topic she is interested in

What I Can Do to Facilitate Ruby’s Learning Goals

• Take her to the library and show her how to pick out beginning chapter books
• Encourage independent reading during “rest time”
• Read chapter books together and talk about the story
• Sit with her while she’s writing to encourage her to write more about a single topic
• Make more blank mini books and write stories together
• Make Digimon favorite things books together
• Find drawing videos and drawing templates for Digimon characters and draw with her
• Teach her how to free draw by erasing and adding more
• Sit with her while she does needlepoint so that she doesn’t get frustrated and give up
• Make a new YouTube Channel for the science topics she wants to learn about
• Make mini-books about the science topics she is interested in, print out pictures and leave room for her to write about what she is learning

In Conclusion

I know that children are children and should have the freedom to explore nature, use their imaginations, be wild and free, and to even yes…get bored. But their brains are growing at a rapid rate (especially until the age of 3), and by the time they enter school, the pathways of their brains are established and ready to be specialized. By constantly and consistently nurturing them with new learning opportunities from a young age that match their strengths, interests, and developmental levels, we can give them the best chance to reach their fullest potential in life.

And let me make it very clear that I am not suggesting learning goals as a way to make our children academically superior (although they probably will be), I am advocating for them because children actually LOVE to be challenged, they love to learn, and they love to be engaged, especially when it means that they get to spend more time with their favorite person in the world…you!