on intention

I’ve been seeing a lot about living with intention lately. It is hard to say whether there is really a lot of talk about this topic or I am just drawn to what discussion there is because I am in need of a refocus. Either way, I really enjoyed having our summer lists hung up conspicuously in the house these last few months. Did we do everything? No. Some of us had changes in our priorities, some of us had ambitions beyond our means, and some of us just forgot to check back. Overwhelmingly, though, we were reminded of our goals and priorities at times when we found ourselves drifting into boredom or routine. We accomplished a lot this summer. More than the individual accomplishments was that fact that most of us focused our energies in a positive direction.

I’ve taken down the summer lists as school is officially back in session. I am not ready to give up the idea of teaching the kids to live with intention, of teaching the art of focus. Because school is back in session and our collective focus is on learning, I thought it only fitting to dive into the new season by identifying the things that we want to learn, try, and be this fall.

I thought for sure my kids would roll their eyes at this suggestion. I was shocked when one of my teens asked to keep a copy taped to a notebook for a daily reminder. The kids embraced this activity with thoughtfulness and a sense of humor.

Clearly, spelling is something we need to work on for winter. 

I simplified our lists, modifying the awesome summer printable from Ann Marie Loves beautiful blog (thank you again for this great printable, Ann-Marie!) with our goal prompts and each person’s name. Because I’m a nerd, I also modified the size to fit into project life sleeves.

It’s not too late to try this for yourself or with your family. Even my four year olds set goals for the fall. Théa and Gus may have had more goals than anyone else.

Let’s see how we all do. (And P.S.? This is totally my next step.)