Make an I CAN can to celebrate your abilities.
8-15-21
In sharing my passion for social-emotional learning and growth mindset, I have learned a great deal about myself and honed in on my true passion — normalizing the discussion of mental health while empowering children to develop a strong sense of self-awareness and a healthy growth mindset. Research shows that these traits can lead to resilience, valuable lifelong habits and a healthier society; it all begins with kids. Guiding adults in facilitating this process is my focus.
The emotional power of picture books is often overlooked. They can introduce healthy coping strategies, an enlightened vocabulary, and emotionally sound habits. Young children are often unable to understand or embrace these attributes, but identifying the qualities in others is a vital first step. From better self-care to empathy, the advantages of purposeful sharing of picture books are endless. Normalizing these conversations at a young age has a tremendous impact.
In the coming months, I will continue to share tips to help adults use picture books to their full advantage — starting difficult conversations, encouraging children to realize their own struggles, and effectively lesson the stigmas surrounding mental health. Please share your own strategies and insights.
June 6, 2021
Simple steps, such as the language we use with and around our kids have an a great impact on their mindset. This week’s word is YET. The dictionary defines Yet as … “at the present time” or “thus far”. Instilling our kids with the perspective that their current abilities aren’t the end-all be-all creates added hope and inspires gumption.
Encourage your kids to think in broader terms by listening carefully to their hopes, dreams, and interests. A simple comments like, “Pete is such a talented basketball player,” can turn into a discussion about Pete’s journey and how hard he worked to get there. Comments like, “You aren’t as good as Pete, yet, but you’re working hard at it.”
Growth mindset principles tell us to value effort over achievement in order to discourage giving up. Reading or watching stories about a famous person’s life and their journey to success enlighten us all — yes, they are successful, but it wasn’t easy.
ACTIVITY IDEA:
Now is the perfect time to plant a garden or one simple flower. The seed isn’t a thing of beauty YET, but water, good soil, sunshine, and some gumption will help it get there.
BOOK SUGGESTION:
Y IS FOR YET by Shannon Anderson & Jake Souva
With a diverse set of characters and a rich growth mindset vocabulary, this book reminds readers to celebrate their strengths, learn from their mistakes, and shoot their dreams. The language helps adults to model a growth mindset and help the children in their lives excel.
Comment below and let me know what success you have with YET.
10 Minutes a Day to an I CAN FAMILY
Part 1 — Growth Mindset Primer for Parents
May 21, 2021
So, what’s all this buzz about having a Growth Mindset? What is it? What’s the big deal? And, why does it matter?
Click here to see a TED TALK by Dr. Carol Dweck who coined the term Growth Mindset and has studied its effects on students and their success.
Before I start sharing tips, tricks, and inspiration, I need YOUR buy-in. After all, YOU are your child’s hero and they don’t miss a thing.
Having a growth mindset is all about perspective. I’m not talking about an idealistic ‘sun-is-always-shining’ attitude. A Growth Mindset is about having a realistic, but optimistic view of our world. The belief that natural talent isn’t the only way to succeed and can, if fact, be up-staged by patience, bravery, and perseverance. Like that Little Engine we read about when we were kids, our abilities are not stagnant. We can learn, improve, and triumph despite, and even because of, our struggles. It’s the difference between… ‘I can’t’ and ‘I can’t YET, but I’m still trying!’
Successfully instilling your kids with a Growth Mindset will be nearly impossible if you don’t exhibit one yourself (oops, ‘impossible’ is a bad word around here).
That’s why the first (and most important) task is assessing your own attitude and making adjustments if necessary. How often have you said something like this?
“Work is impossible. It’s just not worth it!”
“I give up! I’ll never get promoted.”
“I can’t figure this out. I never was good at math.”
“Beating him is a lost cause. He’s just a natural athlete.”
You get the picture. We all do it. Nine times out of ten, statements like this come out of frustration — you’re just blowing off steam and have no intention of giving up, right? The thing is, kids don’t get that. All they hear is… “Why try!”
Here are a few examples of Growth Mindset rich responses…
“Today was tough, but I’m not giving up.”
“That mistake helped me learn what to do next time.”
“I stuck with it and figured out how to make it work.”
“He might be a soccer superstar, but all this practice will pay off.”
Simply being aware of the behaviors we are modeling will take some time, but will quickly become second nature. And, the best part is that kids will catch on quickly. I will be sharing vocabulary, phrases, and challenges for pushing things along. Will it always be easy? Of course not! Will you want to bail on the plan, sometime? Yup! But, having a Growth Mindset is all about perseverance.
Next time we will look at a few ‘parenting catch phrases’ and how they fit in with a Growth Mindset.
“You are so smart!” is good for kids to hear, right?! Yes and no.
Please sign up for my newsletter HERE for weekly family activities, book recommendations, dinner discussion starters, and challenges starting in June.
10 minutes a day to a stronger I CAN FAMILY.
Growth Mindset — Tips For Raising Kids
April 16, 2021
My upcoming picture book, THIS COULD BE YOU (due out in April 2022), addresses perseverance, identifying strengths, and realizing dreams. That’s a no-brainer, right? We all strive to inspire and encourage our kids. BUT… unbeknownst to us, well-meaning comments can be misconstrued by little minds. Simple statements like, “You are so good at math” might backfire when the task is more difficult. Instead, try saying, “All that hard work paid off.” Simply put, a Growth Mindset is the belief that abilities are not innate, but can be developed through hard work.
Growth Mindset experts encourage us to…
praise effort over talent,
view mistakes as learning opportunities,
and embrace challenges.
“I can do hard things!” is a Growth Mindset mantra.
In our current situation — parents, teachers, grandparents, and caregivers are taxed more than ever — we are expected to do it all. A Growth Mindset makes life easier for everyone. As adults, modeling behavior is the most valuable thing we can do. We can help kids develop a Growth Mindset by practicing one ourselves — “I don’t know how to make a souffle YET, but I’m still trying!”
Here are two simple tips to get your started:
Evaluate your own outlook. Listen carefully to the words you use for one day – are you exhibiting a Growth Mindset? When you hear yourself say things like,
“I was never good at math either.”
try this instead…
“That strategy didn’t work. Let’s figure it out together.
Post something on your fridge or mirror as a reminder. I could be a single word like ‘Persevere’, a phrase like ‘I can’, or an inspirational quote like this…
Retraining your mind isn’t always easy, but this will be worth it — for you and the kids in your life.
I am excited to share strategies with you in the form of inspirational posts, stories, activities, contests, challenges, books, and conversation starters here and on my social media platforms click the icons below to follow or subscribe.
With each post, we will dig deeper into the specifics of a fixed versus a growth mindset. You can also learn more from psychologist, Dr. Carol Dweck here: https://fs.blog/2015/03/carol-dweck-mindset/.
