4 fun goal-setting activities for kids

With the Olympic Games Paris 2024 just around the corner, we can all take inspiration from the Team GB athletes going for gold to inspire us with our own goals. This is a perfect opportunity to get the kids excited about the Olympics and help them set up some goals to achieve ahead of summer. That’s where fun goal-setting activities come into play to make sure your kids keep it front of mind. Goal-setting for kids is an important life skill that can help them motivate themselves, manage their time properly and build confidence along the way. But how can you make smart goals for kids fun and engaging?

Here are 4 fun goal-setting activities that will get your kids excited about achieving big things in the term ahead!

1. Vision Board Creation

Creating a vision board is a great goal setting exercise to help kids visualise their goals in a creative and fun way. Get your kids to think about what they really want to achieve, places they want to go, or things they want to learn. With some simple art supplies such as glue, scissors, and magazines, they can glue pictures and inspiring messages onto a big sheet of card. The final vision board will be a daily reminder of what they’re working towards, which can help them to stay motivated along the way.

2. Goal pots

If arts and crafts isn’t their thing, try setting up a few goals pot together. Kids can set up their own goal for something they really want and start saving their pocket money towards it. Try talking about saving for goals and why it’s important, then set up an electronic pot and your child is ready to start saving towards what they want. It’s a great way to teach your child how to save money and have some fun at the same time. For more handy articles on saving, check out this guide for talking to your kids about saving goals, or this guide for tips to help your kids save money.

Savings Pot

3. Word Clouds

Ask your kids to find a few words that represent their goals. Things like“be a good listener,” or “make new friends” can be good starting points if they’re stuck. Or, they might want to start thinking about goals for school, such as “get a B in English” or “Hand in homework on time”. Then, use a free online word cloud generator, to create a fun list of what they want to achieve. Try printing out the word cloud and sticking it on your child’s bedroom wall to remind them of what they’re aiming for.

4. Goal ladder

For bigger goals it’s important to break it down into small manageable steps – enter the goal ladder. Draw a ladder and start with the final goal at the top of the ladder, then work backwards. Ask the kids to come up with a list of what actions they’re going to take to get to their goal and put one on every step of the ladder. This will help kids to understand that by tackling the smaller tasks first, they can then ‘climb’ every step of the ladder until they complete their goal.

Smart goal setting for kids is a valuable skill that can help kids grow, learn new things, and feel a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. By making goal-setting for kids fun, exciting, and achievable, we can help to equip kids with the tools they need growing up. If you’re looking to bring the fun of the Olympics home, then check out these fun Olympic games for kids to get you started. Also don’t forget to check out our Team GB hub to meet the Team GB athletes, learn more about the Olympics and help your kids to get going with their goals.