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What Will You Grow?

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Lesson Plan

Goal Garden Plan

Students will identify and map one short-term and one long-term goal using a fun gardening metaphor, then reflect on small steps to nurture their ‘goal seeds’.

Introducing goal-setting with concrete, playful metaphors builds kindergarteners’ planning, perseverance, and self-awareness, laying a foundation for lifelong success.

Audience

Kindergarten

Time

30 minutes

Approach

Use gardening metaphors and hands-on activities to map and reflect on goals.

Materials

Seeds of Success, - Magic Seed Question, - Plant Your Goals, - Star Reflection, - Plastic Pots and Soil, - Seed Stickers or Paper Seeds, and - Crayons and Markers

Prep

Prepare Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Magic Seed Question (Warm-Up)

5 minutes

  • Distribute the Magic Seed Question to each student
  • Ask: “If you had a magic seed, what would you plant to grow something amazing? Why?”
  • Invite volunteers to share answers aloud
  • Highlight that goals can start as small seeds and grow with care

Step 2

Seeds of Success (Introduction)

7 minutes

  • Project the Seeds of Success
  • Explain: seeds = goals, water = actions, sun = encouragement
  • Show simple examples: drawing a picture today (short-term), sharing a story next week (long-term)
  • Ask quick questions to check understanding

Step 3

Plant Your Goals (Activity)

12 minutes

  • Hand each child a pot and the Plant Your Goals
  • Instruct: draw one short-term goal as a seed and one long-term goal as a growing plant
  • Encourage coloring, decorating, and labeling steps (watering can, sun)
  • Circulate to support and ask prompting questions

Step 4

Star Reflection (Cool-Down)

6 minutes

  • Distribute the Star Reflection
  • Prompt: draw a star for something you learned and one action to nurture your goal
  • Pair-share reflections or share in a circle
  • Collect sheets to celebrate growth and plan next steps
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Slide Deck

Seeds of Success

Plant your goals, water your actions, and let encouragement be your sunshine.

Welcome the students and introduce the idea that today we’ll be gardeners of our own goals. Project this title slide to set the mood.

What Are Goal Seeds?

A goal seed is something you want to grow by taking small steps and caring for it every day.

Explain that every big success starts as a tiny idea or seed. Ask: “Have you ever planted a seed? What did you do to help it grow?”

Seeds = Goals

Just like seeds grow into plants, our goals start small and can grow big with care.

Point to the seed on the slide and say: “Our goals are like seeds. We plant them when we decide what we want to do.” Share a simple example.

Water = Actions Sun = Encouragement

  • Water (Actions): Doing small steps every day helps your seed grow.
  • Sun (Encouragement): Kind words and help make your seed strong.

Introduce watering and sunshine metaphors. Ask for an example of an action they might take to water their goal and someone who encourages them.

Short-Term & Long-Term Goals

  • Short-Term Goal: Draw a picture today.
  • Long-Term Goal: Share a story with the class next week.

Show concrete examples so students see short- and long-term goals. Invite one volunteer to suggest another example.

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Warm Up

Magic Seed Question

If you had a magic seed, what would you plant to grow something amazing? Why?

Draw your magic seed’s plant:













Write your answer:







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Activity

Plant Your Goals Worksheet

  1. Short-Term Goal Seed

Draw a seed in the pot that shows something you want to do very soon (today or this week).













  1. Long-Term Goal Plant

Draw a plant in the garden that shows something you want to achieve later (this month or beyond).













  1. Water (Action)

Draw or write one small step you can take every day to water your goal seed.







  1. Sun (Encouragement)

Draw or write one person or positive message that will give your goal plant sunshine and help it grow.







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Cool Down

Star Reflection

1. Draw a star for something you learned today:













Write what you learned:





2. Draw a star for one action you will take to nurture your goal:













Write your action:





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