Confidence is key
Resilience has become a bit of a buzzword in 2020.
With so many big, challenging events happening on a local and global stage, it’s becoming increasingly important to learn how to adapt to unexpected changes.
The capacity to deal with change and over come adversity comes down to one key thing… Confidence.
How good is your confidence game and how do you build it?
Confidence is linked to everything we want in life, from a positive sense of self and achievements to having a loving relationship and a success at work.
Confidence is also acting “with trust”. You are not completely certain of what you’re doing but you take the leap of faith anyway. It’s about what we do that matters, not so much how we feel while we are doing it.
This is the age where we build the foundations because it’s what we teach our children to do for themselves that makes them successful adults.
You may already have noticed that Kindergarten is quite different to their other years of early learning.
It might be just as noisy and your child still may come home occasionally covered in paint and glitter, with their shoes full of sand and a backpack stuffed with their latest work of art.
What’s changed though, is that your child can now empty the sand out of their own shoes, wash the paint and glitter off themselves and share with you how they used the scissors, stapler and sticky tape all on their own to make their masterpiece.
A daily ritual in our classroom is to recite the Bright Kids “Growth Mindset Mantra”
Mantras and affirmations are all about tapping into the unlimited positive mindset.
Sure, not every day is going to be a stella day but its recognising the wonder of circumstances and contrast.
Awareness is the first step to change because we can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.
Awareness is understanding there are different viewpoints and perspectives.
Awareness is about being present in the moment and knowing when you are in your conscious mind.
Our mind is like a parachute; it needs to be open to work. So What does an open mind sound like?
“My brain is like elastic, it stretches and it grows.
Even when a task gets tricky,
I will have a go.
I won’t give up,
I’ll take a risk,
I might get all upset.
Mistakes don’t mean that I can’t do it,
It just means I can’t do it YET!”
This mantra is a way of thinking that helps children connect growth with hard work and perseverance.
It is a way of helping children to believe in themselves.
When a child is feeling confident in themselves, they are more likely to approach new situations with a “can do” attitude.
Term 4 in the Kindergarten room is when we focus on the skills needed when they start prep.
Educators will be actively encouraging the children to;
- Explore more;
- To try new things;
- To use every learning opportunity to harness their ability to think more strategically; and
- To focus on the execution of tasks.
Skill builders will be provided during active learning time, either to be done independently or in pairs.
These tasks are hands on and encourage children to apply their knowledge in different contexts through;
- Problem-solving,
- Investigating and
- Reflecting with their peers by sharing their discoveries.
Confidence is a key in children’s emotional development.
When a child is lacking confidence to complete a task, a successful strategy we use is a reminder of their previous success.
“Remember when you couldn’t do (insert task)? You didn’t give up and now you can, how proud did you feel?”
During their time in Kindergarten your child is learning the skills to be a confident, independent, self-sufficient individual.
One of the biggest changes in your child’s near future will be the transition from Kindergarten to Prep.
While this may feel daunting for many parents it’s a journey your children have been preparing for all year, they have already successfully transitioned from an Early Learner to a Kindergarten Kid and are ready for the challenges next year will bring.
That’s all from my resilience blog this month, Miss Patti and my Sea Turtles.
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