Goal Setting for the New School Year

My daughter just started eighth grade, and as kids get older, I think it’s important to talk about their goals for the year in terms of learning, friendships, hobbies and more.

This can be done informally at home, or in the classroom. Having goals encourages kids to think in terms of a growth mindset, understanding that they might not be great at a particular skill from the beginning, but with practice they can improve.

The Thinker Builder has a great goals writing activity that kids can use on their own or in the classroom to outline their goals for the school year (or the new year if you want to do this in December or January as well).

It outlines a writing prompt based on an acronym for goals: the guts of the goal, obstacles standing in their way, action steps and looking ahead.

The guts of the goal means a goal statement and noting what success looks like and the time frame involved. Looking ahead is about how they will feel about reaching the goal and what they will do next.

In addition to the worksheet, there’s a whole set of goal setting materials on their Teachers Pay Teachers page, including a goal planning booklet for kids to use to help them set good goals, a 3D block-shaped presentation version (as well as 2D and bulletin board options).

There are also materials to help the students keep each other accountable (in pairs or small groups) to working on their goals. This would be a great way to get kids thinking about goals they can accomplish thorough the year and keeping it on their mind by doing a regular check in with each other (as an adult I could totally use that, too!).

The full collection is 36 pages and it can be used with kids in third through eighth grades.

[Photo: The Thinker Builder]

Next Plan Idea:

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is in Southeastern Europe that’s bordered by Greece, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia and the Black Sea. It was founded from an empire that deeply influenced the Slavic nations and was once part of the Eastern bloc controlled by Russia.

Bulgaria Facts

Bulgaria is 42,855 square miles, or 110,994 square kilometers, with a population near 6.5 million.
Its capital and largest city is Sofia.
The Bulgarian Empire, from which the nation takes its name, took power in the area in the late 7th century and developed Cyrillic script, which is used for many Slavic languages. The country was under Ottoman rule for almost five centuries, but it declared its independence in 1908.
Bulgaria sided with Germany in both world wars and became part of the Eastern bloc led by the Soviet Union in 1946. The Communist Party ceded control in the late 1980s and Bulgaria adopted a democratic constitution in 1991.
It is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president and a prime minister as well as a National Assembly.
The word Bulgar might have some from a word meaning to mix or stir, or a derivative of that word that means revolt or disorder. About 85 percent of the country is ethnically Bulgarian, and the official language is Bulgarian.

Bulgarian National Symbols

The Bulgarian flag is made of three horizontal stripes, one white, one green and one red. It was adopted when they gained independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The national anthem, “Mila Rodino,” or “Dear Motherland,” was adopted in 1964 but its lyrics have been changed many times, most recently in 1990, and a shortened version was approved in 1991.

The Eurasian griffon vulture is considered the national bird, and a lion is used as it heraldic symbol.

The patron saint of Bulgaria is Saint John of Rila, the first Bulgarian hermit, whose followers founded many churches in his honor, including the famous Rila Monastery, now a UNESCO World Heritage site (and a very cool looking building).

The national instrument is the kaba gaida, a bagpie that is native to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Activities for Kids

Listen to the kaba giada in this video, or you can listen for two hours(!) here.

Learn more about Bulgarian folk dancing and watch some people doing it. The people in this video are also wearing traditional Bulgarian folk costumes, which is fun to see. (As a knitter I love those socks!) You can learn more about Bulgarian folk costumes here or at Meet the Slavs.

See what your name looks like in Cyrillic and see if you can write it! You can also learn the sounds of the Bulgarian alphabet here.

Learn more about Bulgaria from Kids World Travel Guide, or check out the resources available at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Wonders of Bulgaria has a good rundown of traditional Bulgarian foods you might want to try. For kids I’d suggest their version of moussaka, which is like the Greek dish only made with potatoes and not eggplant or zucchini. The Modern Nonna has a version that includes carrots, but they’re optional.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Bulgaria Facts

Bulgarian National Symbols

Bulgaria Activities for Kids

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