In our first issue, we’re diving into New Beginnings & Setting Goals for the Year—helping you create meaningful intentions and an environment where your child can thrive.

Embracing new beginnings with a positive mindset is a powerful step toward growth and development. A fresh start provides an opportunity to build confidence, develop new skills, and overcome challenges with a sense of optimism. By encouraging children to see progress as a journey rather than a destination, we help them develop resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to try new things. 

Setting goals together for the year is also important. Clear, achievable goals give children a sense of purpose and motivation, helping them stay focused and celebrate small wins along the way. Whether it’s improving fine motor skills, enhancing social interactions, or increasing independence in daily activities, having a structured plan makes progress more tangible and rewarding. 

By fostering positivity and goal-setting, we create an environment where children feel capable, motivated, and excited to embrace the possibilities that each new year brings! Read on for how you can support your child in setting and working toward their goals and developing a growth mindset.

Here are a few simple ideas to support your child in setting and working towards their goals this year:

Goal Setting Chart
Create a colourful visual chart with your child to track progress on their goals. This could include pictures, stickers, or other fun markers to celebrate milestones. This visual reminder can help your child see how far they’ve come, making the process more engaging and rewarding, whilst also increasing their motivation.

Daily Routine
A consistent daily routine can make a big difference in helping your child feel secure, organised, and ready for the day. Predictable routines support self-regulation and reduce anxiety, especially as they are needing to adjust to new school buildings, grade levels or even an entirely new school. Try to build in time for activities like relaxation, play, and learning to maintain a healthy balance. Visual schedules or checklists can also help your child feel in control and prepared for transitions throughout the day, including between subjects or classroom activities.

Celebrate Small Wins
Acknowledge and celebrate even the smallest victories to keep motivation high. This could be something as simple as adding a sticker to their goal chart, giving a high-five, or taking a moment to verbalise how proud you are of their efforts. Celebrating effort (not perfection) encourages a growth mindset and reinforces the idea that persistence and trying our best matters more than outcomes. Recognising small steps helps your child feel empowered and motivated to keep going.

Supporting a Growth Mindset
Help your child develop a growth mindset by focusing on the effort and process rather than just the end result. Encourage them to see mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than something to be avoided. For example, if your child struggles with a task, praise their persistence and determination rather than just saying “good job” – acknowledge the hard work behind the success and be specific with your praise. Using phrases like “I can see that you worked really hard on that” or “it looks like you’re learning new things every day, which is great” can help shift their perspective on challenges and setbacks.

 

A vision board is a creative and hands-on way for your child to set exciting goals for the year ahead, whilst also practicing important OT skills!

What do you need?

Start by gathering magazines, photos, or printouts of things that your child enjoys, is interested in, or even things that just evoke a feeling of joy for them —whether that be learning to ride a bike, spending time with friends, a picture of a rainbow or flower, or mastering a new hobby.

What do you do?

As your child cuts, arranges, and glues the images onto their board, they’ll be strengthening their fine motor skills (think hand-eye coordination, hand strength, muscle control and motor planning) and engaging their senses with the different textures of the paper and glue. Plus, they’ll be practicing visual perception and planning as they figure out how to organise their board.

What does it work on?

This activity is not only great for building these fine motor and cognitive skills, but it also provides a fun and visual way for your child to connect with their goals and aspirations. It encourages self-expression, insight and emotional awareness by giving them a space to reflect on what they want to achieve. When the board is finished, hang it up where they can see it every day—seeing those goals in front of them will help to keep them motivated and as they work towards them over the year. It’s a fun, interactive way to kick off 2025 with creativity and purpose!

Starting the year with clear goals can set a positive tone for your child’s development. Here are some helpful tips to ensure you’re setting your child up for success:

Involve Your Child
Let your child be a part of the goal-setting process! When they help decide what they want to work on, it empowers them by giving them a sense of ownership and boosting motivation. Ask them what they’d like to achieve and then work together to break down the steps to get there. This collaborative approach makes the goals feel more meaningful and keeps them engaged in their own progress.

Be Realistic
It’s important to set goals that are, what we call SMART goals. In the OT world, this means goals should be

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound.

This approach ensures that goals are not only clear but also aligned with your child’s current abilities and challenges. Instead of aiming for one big, overwhelming goal, try breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps. These bite-sized milestones make the process feel more achievable and rewarding. Celebrating each little victory along the way keeps your child motivated and on track. Remember, small steps lead to big progress!

This month, we are proud to celebrate Ruby and her amazing progress in OT, with a particularly significant achievement—she has successfully mastered tying her shoelaces independently! Ruby chose this as her personal goal, and together with her OT, she focused on developing this skill over the course of just three sessions. Her dedication, resilience, and growth mindset were key to her success. Importantly, Ruby continued to practice at home, reinforcing the skills she developed during therapy.

Through a collaborative approach, Ruby worked with her OT to break down the task into manageable steps, gradually building her confidence and ability. She was able to navigate challenges, such as finding a comfortable position and persevering through initial difficulties. By the end of her sessions, Ruby was not only able to tie her shoelaces independently but was also proud to share her success with others.

Ruby’s progress is a wonderful example of how goal-setting, consistent practice, and a focus on progress rather than perfection can lead to significant growth and independence. We are thrilled with the wonderful strides she has made and look forward to supporting her continued success in 2025!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what topics interest you, what you find helpful, and how we can make this newsletter even more valuable for you. 

Stay tuned for more, and thanks for being part of the Learn Sense Grow community!