The GOAT Program? You must be kidding! What in the world does a goat have to do with education or life skills, unless perhaps you live on a farm, right? Wrong! The GOAT Program, created by Greg Para and Pearl Dahmen, is an exciting resource designed to help young people systematically learn the fundamental elements of goal setting, problem solving, and time management by utilizing an imagery approach. It appeals to both right brain (creative) and left brain (linear) thinkers.

But how does the goat fit into the plan? GOAT is actually an acronym for three different aspects of the program:

Goals Go On And Try / Greatest Of All Treasures
Objectives
Actions
Timelines

Included in the GOAT program set I received is a soft-cover student training workbook, a soft-cover companion guide, and an e-book on an interactive CD, which includes both the workbook and companion guide. The website, www.thegoatprogram.com, lists the success kit at $54.95 (including shipping/handling), and it will also include a worksheet CD and five affirmation cards in addition to the components I received. There is also an option for an eStart kit for $19.95 (including shipping/handling), which contains only the e-book and the worksheet CD. Each of the books can be purchased separately on the site as well.

The student workbook is divided into two parts. The first is the theory section, which helps students understand the history, foundation, concepts, and imagery of the program. For example, an alligator represents excuses and limiting beliefs that hinder a person from reaching goals, and a pirate skeleton represents negative influences. The second part of the workbook provides practical applications, with practice in using and implementing the program.

The Companion Guide is identical to the student workbook except that it includes four color-coded boxes on each page to provide the parent, teacher, or facilitator with more ideas and concepts to be covered. The four boxes provide a Life Lesson (LL), Page Objective (PO), Instructional Concept (IC), and Suggested Exercises (SE). Various learning styles and teaching techniques are addressed as well.

The student workbook is filled with "Gold Coins"--each representing an important idea or concept that the student needs to understand and apply. These sections are fill-in-the-blank exercises designed to add information to the student's "treasure chest of knowledge."

Students are systematically taught how to set goals, identify objectives, and develop a list of actions needed to succeed. Students are taught how to distinguish between objectives and actions and also how to identify the excuses and limiting beliefs (alligators) and negative influences (pirate skeleton) that can keep them from accomplishing these things. Last of all, students are shown how timelines and time management skills can help them complete their list of actions to accomplish their objectives and, ultimately, reach their goals.

When I first began looking over the GOAT Program, I thought it might be too complicated, involved, or overwhelming for me or for my children to use. But as I caught the vision and grasped the concepts of this systematic approach, I re-evaluated my opinion. Now I believe that using the GOAT Program to set goals, create objectives, list actions, and utilize timelines is indeed very doable! In fact, I think my twelve-year-old son will benefit greatly from using the GOAT Program. I also plan to use it myself to achieve some writing goals I have been putting off for too long. The life skills presented in this program are excellent for people of all ages--and they are skills that I especially want my children to have. What an advantage!

You can visit www.thegoatprogram.com for more information, testimonials, and product offerings. There is even a section on the site just for homeschoolers. Check it out, and remember one of the GOAT mottoes--Go On And Try! You'll be glad you did!