Hopefully by now you’ve written school goals and plans for your spring semester. But if not, perhaps this post can guide you through the process of getting your high school at home ready for a great spring start!

When you take these six steps, you’ll set your teen on a course for success!

#1 Consider each student and where they need to be by the end of May (when most of us end the school year)

Acknowledging their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses gives a starting point. Consider their academic progress along with personal growth and character. Are they needing to earn college credit this semester? Plan how that will be done. Line out a weekly plan for them to follow so their assignments will be complete when you’d like to end your school year.

#2 Write down the goals/milestones/habits/tasks for each of your students

Those four terms, taken from this post by Michael Hyatt, make it possible for you to turn “dreams” into real life. Here are his definitions…

  • Goal: Something you are trying to achieve.
  • Milestone: A significant marker that indicates progress toward a goal.
  • Habit: Something a person does often in the same way. Habits are not usually an end in themselves; they are a way to achieve a goal.
  • Tasks: Actions a person takes that move them toward a goal or milestone.

An example for Dual Credit at Home students is the goal of earning 3 college credits by passing a particular college-level exam. The milestone would be passing scores on practice tests indicating readiness to take the official test. The habits formed in order to reach the goal would be consistent studying, while the task would be to simply follow the weekly Study Plan.

Completing the tasks results in forming the habits, which allows you to see the milestones, and the end result is goal accomplished!

#3 Recognize your purpose for each goal

There is usually an ultimate “reason” for most goals we set - graduation in May this year (or maybe May next year!), etc. When our teens remember why they’re adhering to a certain schedule or routine, they’re motivated to continue with that routine!

#4 Plan your steps of action

Get out your Four-Year Plan if you downloaded one from our website (or download a free copy here). As you fill it out, it becomes your teen’s road-map for what they’ll accomplish this spring. If they’re doing Dual Credit at Home, their tasks will already be written out on the Study Plan they receive each Monday; you simply print it out for them each week. If you’re following a different study schedule, work with them to write out their tasks and the needed habits to reach the milestones you set.

Use this free High School Transcript PDF to log your teen’s courses and credits up to this point and the ones they’ll be completing this semester. Seeing their high school courses, volunteer work, awards, etc. written down in a professional format will help them see what they’ve accomplished and what remains to be done.

Adding dual credit studies challenges your teen beyond typical high school academics. When setting academic goals for spring, remember that while dual credit studies are academically challenging they’re also necessary for an impressive transcript. Many students are now using credit-by-exam to decrease the time taken to earn their degree and to graduate from college without student loans.

A written plan gives you a much greater probability of successfully reaching your goals! So take a deep breath, brew your favorite herbal tea or coffee, retreat into your schoolroom or curl up on the couch with your laptop – whatever you need to formulate a challenging, yet fun, plan for your favorite high schoolers. (Here are some field trip ideas especially for high school age students!)

#5 Plan how you’ll measure progress over the coming months

Perhaps a weekly evaluation, maybe on Fridays before putting school away for the weekend. Or maybe twice a month. Whatever works with your personality and your schedule, but keep the tasks and habits in front of you and your teen and enjoy reaching the milestones.

Flex with how things actually play out - tweak the tasks/habits when progress doesn’t come as quickly as hoped, and celebrate when goals are reached earlier than planned!

#6 Thank the people who make your success possible!

A husband that allowed you time to plan and backed you up in your school routines? A teen that cooperated and made it easy for you to look great as a home school mom?

Give God the glory for what He allows you to accomplish asking for new wisdom for new goals. I hope you have an amazing 2015 – setting your sights high and thoughtfully planning for success!