Be kind. Encourage compassion. Inspire creativity. Nurture courage. Grow your mind.
Starting a new school year can be intimidating for both parent and child, but there are steps you can take to make the transition as smooth as possible. As your child goes back to school, you can begin instilling the skills, knowledge and mindset they need to succeed in their classroom.
A growth mindset instills confidence and the belief that the basic ability can improve through hard work and determination. As the new school year begins, let’s open the doors to positivity, confidence, curiosity with these growth mindset activities.
Kindness goes a long way, but how far can a week of kindness go? This is one of those growth mindset activities that teaches children the value of being kind to others. As school starts, pick one week for your children to participate in one act of kindness a day, like opening the door for another student, inviting someone new to sit with them at lunch or sharing their favorite book or toy with another student. Have your kids keep a journal of the kind acts they engage in each day, why they chose the act, what the results were, and how it made them feel.
Reading is a great way to illustrate the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Introducing this concept to children at an early age, kids tend to recognize the mindset of their favorite storybook characters. Children’s books present excellent opportunities to see both fixed and growth mindsets in action. Our children’s book, Guion The Lion, showcases two different mindsets through the characters Guion and Rae.
We all have that tiny voice in our head telling us negative things. Encourage your kids to spend a few minutes brainstorming the negative thoughts that they experience then practice flipping those around into a positive thought. This is a great introductory exercise that gets children familiar with the language of growth mindset. This creates simple connections to how to change how we speak to improve how we feel about ourselves.
Courage takes practice. Making mistakes is the best way to learn and grow. Allow your children to mess up, make mistakes, and fail, but be there to compliment their effort, point out what they can learn from the failure, and encourage them to try again. In doing so, this will nurture their confidence and motivate them to keep trying. Get out of your comfort zone and try new things together!
