Marking End of School Year Important for Kids

May 5, 2010 - PRLog -- The end of the school year is a milestone to celebrate. It's also an important opportunity to encourage children to reflect on what they've learned while dreaming up the goals they'd like to reach for next. Teaching kids to set and achieve goals is critical to academic and personal success, says Susan Bosak. Bosak is an educator who works with students across the country as part of the Legacy Project. She offers some ideas to help parents and teachers end the school year right.

With the high school drop-out rate in some areas at 30% or more, research shows it's critical to get kids thinking early -- in elementary and middle school -- about what's important to them and why. Dreams and goals give life purpose, direction, and meaning. They help young people build toward the future, and offer a sense of control and hope.

Bosak cites work done by researchers at Florida State University who looked at data following 12,000 young people from the time they were teenagers. The research determined that young people with the skills and support to set and achieve goals had "more ambitious career plans, more stable plans in young adulthood, and greater educational and occupational achievements by midlife."

"The end of the school year is the ideal time to have children look back on what they've learned and what it means to them," says Bosak. "It's also a time to look ahead and encourage children to explore who they are and the goals they'd like to reach for. Helping children find direction is one of the most important gifts a parent or teacher can give."

There is a free online Begin and End With a Dream activity set parents and teachers can use at www.legacyproject.org. Bosak offers these tips:

-- As a way to reflect on the school year, encourage children to make a Top 10 List of the best memories and things they've learned over the school year.

-- To start exploring new dreams and goals, work together to make a Dream Reading List and set summer reading goals.

-- Children can brainstorm a Life List of things they'd like to do and learn as they get older. Look at doing one or two of the things on their list over the summer. For example, if a child has an interest in seeing a particular city or historical site, plan a family vacation everyone can enjoy.

-- Use the Legacy Project's Ladder to the Stars downloadable sheet to help children develop the skill of identifying and ordering the steps needed to achieve a goal. They write a goal in the starburst and fill in all the required steps on the ladder rungs leading up to the star.

-- We all have different strengths and achieve goals in different ways. Using the Dreamer Profile, help children explore whether they're a Creative, Dynamic, or Practical Dreamer.

-- End the school year in style by making a Celebrate Certificate and Wishing Wands with children.

Parents and teachers can also share the award-winning bestseller "Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes" (TCP Press, $17.95) written by Bosak as a way to start a discussion with children about their dreams and goals. It combines artwork from 15 top illustrators, inspirational quotations, and a poetic story about hopes and dreams across a lifetime. "Dream" has won 11 national awards include an iParenting Award, a Teachers' Choice, and a Children's Choice.

For all the end-of-school-year activities and ideas, visit www.legacyproject.org.