Goal Setting

Happy New Year!!

First, an update on our Marshmallow Theory with Skittles and M&M's. I've heard the students talking about their different methods of choosing candy each morning. Some pick their least favorite Skittles flavor so they aren't as tempted, while others pick their favorite so they can eat all their favorite at the end of the year. So interesting! They constantly ask how many Skittles they will have if they wait until the end of the year. They seem to be very focused on that long term goal. I'm excited to see how long it lasts! We had one student decide to eat his Skittles on Day 3. That means 19 out of 20 are still participating, and have gotten 11 pieces of candy so far!

When I asked students about their experience so far, these are some of the responses I got:
"The candy looks breakable and makes me want to eat it before they all break apart."
"It's very tempting to try not to eat it."
"I think it might get old so I kinda want to eat it before it gets old."
"I have M&M's and when they chip I can see the chocolate inside and it makes it even more tempting."
"It's very tempting because not many kids get candy at school and it's tempting. It's just chocolate."
"It's hard to find a place to hide it so I'm not tempted."
"It's not that tempting once you get it in the container. The lid makes it hard to get the candy."
"The most tempting part is getting a new Skittle each day. It makes me want to eat it right then."

When I asked them about strategies they are using to stay focused on the end goal, these are some of the responses I got:
"I put it on the cart so I can't see it when I'm working."
"When I'm working I turn my container around so I can't see my name and I don't know whose it is. It might be another student's so I don't want to eat it as much."
"I try to ignore it by not looking at it."
"I pretend it's not there."
"I focus on my school work."
"I just do my work and don't think about it. It's just there and I barely even know it!"

Now, onto Friday's lesson with Dr. Brain! We focused on motivation and goal setting. Students learned what different things in our bodies and in our world are motivators. I am attaching some video snippets of Dr. Brain's lesson. We practiced a balancing scale (gymnastics skill) for 10 seconds in class (quite challenging in such a small space!). Students decided to set a final goal of 30 seconds. They were asked to go home and practice a scale each day. We learned that the more we practice, the thicker our neural pathways become, which means the easier the skill gets! We also learned that we need to set intermediate goals before we can reach a final goal. There are smaller steps that need to be taken in order to be successful at reaching our goal. We decided if we can balance for 10 seconds, we should try 15. Once we mastered 15 seconds we would try for 20. So on and so forth until we reach our final goal of 30 seconds! We encouraged students to have you videotape them at home, showing how long they can successfully hold a scale. I've already received one student video! So neat! I would love to be able to post some student videos of at home practice, so if you don't mind, please send some my way!!

In addition to the mini lesson from Dr. Brain, I introduced a Goal Setting activity for students to complete with you at home. These surveys are coming home in your child's red BPS folder today. Please take a minute to look the sheet over, and have your child complete the STUDENT Survey side. Once your child has "assessed" his/her skills, please guide him/her through the short written portion at the bottom of the page. The student side will focus on a SCHOOL (academic) goal. Then comes time for parent homework! :) On the Parent Survey side, please rate your child on the 10 survey statements. Once you've completed the survey portion and identified what you think your child's strengths/weaknesses are, please collaborate with your child to set a goal for him/her at home. This should NOT be an academic goal of any kind. It can be a behavior, a chore, or anything else that doesn't have to do with school! You'll also need to discuss some intermediate goals/steps to helping your child reach his/her goal. Please return these surveys to school by Friday, January 15th!

Thank you for your cooperation and participation! I look forward to seeing some more student videos!

You can see some snippets from our goal setting lesson by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/bDOqnCUwQd0