Sunday, September 16, 2012

Helping Youngsters Become Academically Optimistic

One of our strategies that many teachers love and often use only takes a minute or so to share with kids. At the end of the school day (or class period) ask children "What is something good that has happened for you today?" Once they have had a chance to think about that and one or a handful have shared their thoughts, ask them "What is something good that might happen tomorrow?" The second question gets them planning and scanning for something good about school. For children who can't think of something, help them with the thinking and language of the positive.

Many parents who have attended our workshops have chosen to use this strategy at dinnertime or bedtime!

2 comments:

  1. Oh...memories! Creating a parent education piece on practical optimism as an artifact for one of my Brainsmart classes was my favorite activity in the whole program! I still use it each year with my Kindergarten class. The parents love it, too.

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  2. Kelly, when I see your positive quotes on Facebook, I am often inspired. I can tell that you really are a positive roll model for your kindergarten students at the academy. We are happy to hear that you are using what you learned with us in your program! Supporting teachers to transfer exciting, cutting edge research to the classroom is why we do what we do. Keep up your good work in education!

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