Math Made Fun: Playful Strategies for Math Education

When it comes to the subject of math, words like "rigid," "defined," and "standardized" often spring to mind. However, the true nature of mathematics can be one of curiosity, wonder, and yes, playfulness! A play-based approach to math offers children the chance to transition from abstract concepts to concrete understanding in a deeply engaging manner. This blog dives into how integrating play into math education fosters a deeper comprehension.

Why play?

From an early age, "play" is an inherently human trait. Research shows, “During play, children’s brains are actively seeking and using skills such as negotiating, improvising, communicating, critical thinking, problem-solving, taking risks, sharing ideas, perspective-taking, creating, and learning from mistakes.” These abilities are fundamental for academic success, and math, in particular, demands solid problem-solving and critical thinking skills. A flexible and curious brain is more adept at strengthening these skills. By adopting a play-based approach to math from the start, children develop increased flexibility and stronger problem-solving abilities, preparing them for the ever-increasing complexities of math as they progress.

Let’s Play!

So, what does a play-based approach to math look like? Math often poses difficulties for children due to its abstract nature. Introducing play into math education bridges the gap between abstract concepts and concrete understanding. This approach enables children to grasp the "why" behind mathematical concepts, rather than relying solely on rote memorization. Here are some inspiring ideas for incorporating play into math education:

Math Manipulatives

An array of math manipulatives are available, from snap cubes and pattern blocks to dice and counting objects. In fact, almost anything can serve as a math manipulative, including Legos, coins, trinkets, and stickers! Think outside the box when it comes to counting, learning math facts, and simple computation skills by using manipulatives!

Food

What’s more fun than food? It not only captures children's interest but also provides a multi-sensory learning experience. Whether it's using apples to introduce fractions or M&M's for counting and ratios, food offers a delightful and engaging way to explore mathematical concepts.

Board Games

Many board games offer opportunities to practice math skills in a playful manner. Monopoly, for instance, enhances money sense and computation skills, while a deck of cards or dice can be utilized for various math concepts. Additionally, numerous board games are now designed explicitly to strengthen math skills in children.

Apps

Digital apps provide another opportunity for a play-based approach to mathematics. Often, children enjoy these games so much that they don't even realize they're doing math! In a previous Peak blog post, numerous apps were highlighted that cultivate confidence in elementary math skills through play and games.

By embracing playfulness, educators and parents can unlock children's inherent curiosity, leading to a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts from an early age. Through manipulatives, food, and games, math transitions from abstract memorization to tangible, interactive learning.

Written by Laine J.

The importance of Exploring Outlets

During a child’s first five years of life, their interaction with caregivers sets the stage for their emotional development for life. The five stages of emotional development during these years consist of a variety of emotional skills such as: naming, identifying, self-regulating, expressing, and managing emotions. And while you can help your child develop these skills during the early years, how can you support your child with their emotional development when they venture off into full days of school, extracurricular activities, and play-dates? Helping your child discover new independent interests gives them a unique opportunity to engage with emotional outlets. 

What Are Outlets?

Outlets are activities and/or interests that children can practice regularly as a way to manage emotions. These outlets can range from a variety of activities and can be practiced independently or in a more directed, group setting. There are different types of outlets children can explore to find their passion and interest. Young children often begin exploring extracurricular activities such as sports, dance, mindfulness activities, band/music, theatre, art, STEM, technology/coding, and many more! Through these various activities, children can explore their interests, improve their skills, and develop a sense of identity. 

Benefits of Outlets 

There are many benefits to utilizing outlets as an avenue for self-expression and self-regulation strategies. Here are some specific benefits to channeling outlets:

Goal Setting- Outlets provide explicit practice with creating, attaining, and planning goals. For example, a child may want to learn a new soccer trick or art skill or develop fluency in math puzzles. These examples all require specific goals and steps to reach these goals. While younger children may require assistance at first, eventually they will learn to independently set and attain goals. This skill will inevitably transfer into other areas of their lives as well. 

Expressing and Managing Emotions- Outlets provide a safe and controlled environment to express emotions and even manage stress. The skills learned in the controlled environment can be used in independent or guided practice to help self-regulate emotions. For example, if your child relies on a structured activity weekly, such as yoga, they can choose to use these skills when they are feeling dysregulated. 

Self Discovery- Outlets can provide an opportunity to discover new interests and explore a variety of passions. As children practice specific activities over time, they often learn ways to manage different executive functioning skills such as: planning/time management, flexibility, organization, self control, task initiation, and emotional control. Explicit practice in multiple contexts will help them become proficient in these skills. 

Increased Development in Many Areas- Once children begin school, there is a large emphasis on academic achievement and development that continues through adolescence. This can cause limited time to practice other essential areas of development. When children are provided time to participate in outlets, they are practicing non-academic skills that will help them succeed in school. These skills include gross/fine motor skills, emotional development, imagination, critical thinking, creativity, confidence, communication/language skills, empathy, and general life skills.

From exploring new interests to stepping out of your comfort zone to safely regulating your emotions, outlets offer a variety of opportunities to reconnect with yourself. Children, teens, and adults can all benefit from exploring outlets and choosing specific ones that work best for them. In early childhood, children may choose to explore a variety of activities before choosing specific areas of interest. For example, a child may explore dance, ice skating, sports, pottery, and yoga before choosing a specific outlet. Additionally, as children grow into teens and adults, their interests may change. As humans, we are continuously learning and re-discovering ourselves as we enter new stages of life. With that said, outlets may change and new interests may be explored at different stages of life.

If your child is looking to learn more about Yoga & Crafts as an outlet, please check out our  group class offerings!

Written by Ami Z.

Real-Life Math Skills: Building Money Sense

It has become increasingly more common for consumers to rely on contactless pay as a preferred transaction method. People are using physical money less frequently, and while this may be more convenient for those of us who have a strong foundation of money sense, this may also develop a new challenge for the younger generations. Despite young adults having access to electronic banking tools, children of all ages need to develop foundational skills related to money prior to more advanced skills such as budgeting, balancing checkbooks, and creating saving plans. Although it may seem impossible to do in a world of “tap, insert, or swipe card here”, there are plenty of additional ways for children to strengthen their skills! 

Money sense often begins in school as early as first grade with students identifying coins and bills and their corresponding values. From here, students begin practicing more complex skills such as money-related word problems and understanding the relationship between place value and money. There are plenty of strategies you can use at home to help students of all ages continue to develop these skills.

For students, it is important to use engaging tools to help them build these beginning mathematical skills. Math can be such a tricky concept so it may be beneficial to incorporate a mixture of games and practical activities to help students develop these concepts. Aside from pretend store playsets, there are plenty of board games that teach these foundational skills that can be found at Lakeshore Learning, Amazon, Walmart and more! Some of these include Monopoly, Pay Day, Allowance, Making Change, and the Exact Change. Games are such a positive and interactive way to engage students and develop these skills in a low stress environment. Additionally, for various ages, there are math flashcards, trivia questions, workbooks, and online tools that can help strengthen these skills!

Other ways to help students develop these skills include processes such as earning allowances, creating savings plans so your child knows exactly how much they need to save before purchasing an item, and even building savings (perhaps in a piggy bank!). As your child grows older, it may be important to share insights on the roles and responsibilities of earning money. Tasks such as trips to the grocery store, buying clothes, and eating out could be excellent ways to start these conversations. Greenlight is one banking app/debit card for kids and teens that allows parents to set controls and manage money spending with their kids. Additionally, We Are Teachers provides a list of ways you can help your child develop money sense at home. 

Money sense often begins with fundamental skills as simple as understanding the value of money. Children begin developing these skills from a young age and continue to develop them through high school and their young adult lives. Helping students strengthen their money sense and establish money management strategies will contribute to their success as adults! Money can often be a stressful topic, but helping your child develop these skills can be a fun and rewarding experience! Real-life examples, visuals, and physical money can be one of the best ways for your child to make sense of these complex concepts!

Written by Ami Z.

Cultivating Balance: Strategies for Students to Avoid the Hustle and Embrace Intentional Living

The hustle culture narrative in our modern day society suggests that success can only be attained by working long, exhaustive hours, and that burnout and stress are a ‘normal’ consequence. With the rise in social media influencing and tendency for everyone to play the comparison game, hustle culture has become a pervasive aspect in our lives. While it deeply impacts our adult population, the effects certainly trickle down to students and can have damaging effects, like anxiety, disengagement, and guilt. Working hard is important, BUT not at the expense of health and wellbeing. Students must find opportunities between the constant "go, go, go" to slow down, unwind, and hone in on what is important each day. This blog dives into some simple methods you can use with your kids to introduce a healthy school/life balance, move through overwhelming feelings, and escape the clutches of the "hustle."

Set Boundaries

As your students moves through elementary and secondary school, part of your role as a parent is to help guide them on what they can take on within and outside of school. It has become increasingly popular for kids to "overload" their plate with AP classes, volunteering, and multiple extracurricular activities. Add in a robust social life, and this can be a recipe for stress, anxiety, and burnout. Work with your child to set a realistic goal of what classes they can take and how many activities they can manage in their schedule. It may help to create a visual weekly calendar with all of their commitments so they can see just how much free time they will end up having. Our past blog also details some tips and tricks on how to best structure a balanced after-school routine.

Encourage Self-Reflection

When life is moving at a far too rapid pace, there isn't really time to stop and reflect. Self-reflection is important because it offers an opportunity to reprioritize, learn and grow. Pick a time once a week for your child to journal about their feelings regarding daily responsibilities, academics, social life, and more. If journaling isn't their style, encourage a few minutes at the end of each week to have them check in with you instead. Questions like "Was there anything you felt particularly worried about this week?" or "What is your number one stressor right now?" may help you and your child start to identify areas that are weighing on them more heavily than others, and thus allow you to make some changes or set some boundaries to alleviate some of that stress.

Utilize Mindfulness Practices

One key aspect of avoiding negative effects of stress is to simply notice when it creeps up and practice some self-regulation techniques when it does. Getting into the habit of a daily mindfulness practice allows students to witness their thoughts, emotions, and feelings on a consistent basis. Mindfulness practices, like breath work, yoga, and meditation, also aid in living each day with more intention and less stress. In our past blog, we go over some tools to use with kids of any age when stress gets high! At Peak Academics, we also offer an integrative service that combines traditional academic tutoring with coaching in self-regulation practices.

Incorporate Downtime

In a society that often "praises" the hustle, it is easy to feel guilty or lazy for taking some time for yourself. However, burnout can greatly affect creativity, mindset, and intrinsic motivation. While some students have no issue finding joy in downtime, others may find it difficult to set aside their responsibilities for time to relax and reset. If your child falls in the latter category, sit down with them each week and try to schedule in a time for rest and relaxation where all other responsibilities can wait, even if just for a bit! In a recent blog, we discuss the importance of incorporating downtime into a daily or weekly routine and some methods to do so.

In a culture of near-constant busyness, setting boundaries, encouraging self-reflection, utilizing mindfulness practices, and incorporating downtime into our lives are all essential components of achieving a balanced and healthier approach to life and education. It is not about abandoning hard work but rather redefining it, emphasizing the importance of self-care, and finding a more intentional and sustainable way to navigate the challenges of our modern world.

Written by: Laine J.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Checklists That Work

For students with ADHD or executive function challenges, managing daily tasks for school and home can feel pretty overwhelming. For one reason, they tend to have underdeveloped working memory skills. This can influence many aspects of their life, from struggling to track assignments to misplacing materials to falling behind on daily responsibilities. While checklists are often suggested as a go-to tool for working memory support, they will only be effective if the student understands how to use and apply them. So, how can you make checklists more effective, less overwhelming, and actually productive for your child? Let’s take a look at the do’s and don’ts of checklists that ACTUALLY work.

DON’T: Overdo it. Expecting your child to jump right in and use a checklist for everything is an unreasonable expectation.

DO: Start by introducing 1-2 simple checklists so your child can feel success. You can offer scaffolding and support in other areas while they work on developing this new skill. Once they have mastered their introductory checklists, you can explore adding more!

DON’T: Only use checklists as to-do lists. Children should have the opportunity to see the function of checklists in multiple settings.

DO: Create checklists for important items to remember and routines to follow. Checklists can be used to make sure kids follow all steps while learning a new routine or to make sure they have all of their materials or equipment for an activity!

DON’T: Make one long list of tasks to complete. This can be overwhelming and cause confusion when trying to prioritize deadlines and due dates.

DO: Create an individual checklist for each aspect of life. Whether it be school-related, extracurricular, or personal, separate tasks into individual categories. This will help students prioritize tasks based on level of importance (i.e. school work should be completed before a fun personal project).

DON’T: Tuck checklists away in a folder or drawer. If they’re kept out of sight, they will most likely be kept out of mind.

DO: Keep each checklist organized and in a designated spot. Help children by placing checklists in common areas, or related areas, where they can easily access them as part of their normal routine. For example, a checklist posted next to a backpack may help your child remember to pack all of their belongings before leaving for school. If beneficial, lists can also be transformed into transportable bag tags or eventually put in electronic format on a phone for older kids.

DON’T: Only use checklists once per week. New habits are difficult to form if practiced infrequently.

DO: Encourage your child to check and revise their lists at least once per day so they can finish up or reassign any uncompleted tasks and prepare for the next day! Build a consistent routine at a fitting time each day. For example, it may be appropriate to check a “Turn In” list right after school before leaving campus to catch any missed items.

DON’T: Simply make a list. A list is a great starting point, but simply creating one does not teach kids how to use it.

DO: Model how to use a checklist and practice with your child. Physically checking items off on a list will clarify what is left and also feel rewarding!

DON’T: Expect children to be able to complete all of their tasks or prioritize their schedules independently. Executive functioning skills take practice and need to be taught! 

DO: Have weekly planning meetings to go over your child’s responsibilities. This is a great way to communicate expectations for the week, check school grade postings for missing items, and share family events/reminders. It also provides an opportunity for you to model how to create checklists for the week ahead. Try using the think-aloud strategy to demonstrate how your brain is processing information as you create lists.

Just remember, not everyone has fully developed working memory skills. Checklists can be a great support to help kids manage their daily to-do's but they might need to practice and try different strategies until they find some that work!

Written by Ami Z. and Krista G.

Strategic Organizational Systems for a Successful School Year

With the start of a new school year, it is the perfect time to lay a strong foundation for success through the use of student organizational systems. From transforming cluttered corners into calm and cozy workspaces, to navigating the chaos of lockers, backpacks, and binders, strategic systems provide students with the essential tools to manage their workload with ease.

Crafting an Effective Home Workspace

Crafting and nurturing an environment conducive to focused study time is a fundamental aspect of academic success. To establish an efficient home workspace, consider these key factors. Opt for a quiet and well-lit area. A dedicated room or a corner within a room can provide the calm vibes needed for optimal concentration. Adequate lighting and comfortable yet supportive seating also help to sustain study sessions. Assign a specific place for each item on and around the desk. By creating labels and designating spots for supplies, workflow becomes more streamlined. Introducing daily, weekly, and monthly decluttering checklists empowers students to maintain their workspace and keep it more efficient. For those who struggle with task initiation or require frequent breaks, employing time management tools, such as timers or alarms, can be beneficial. Lastly, personalize the workspace with items like fairy lights, potted plants, cheerful office supplies, or framed family photos to foster an inviting and warm atmosphere.

Maintaining a Clutter-Free Backpack

Backpack organization is essential for management of school materials and staying on top of school assignments. Begin by designating distinct pockets for various items like phones, calculators, snacks, and writing utensils. Adding labels to each compartment or pocket can help maintain order as well. Preparing the backpack the night before school not only alleviates the dreaded morning rush, but also reduces the likelihood of forgetting crucial assignments or items. Regular sessions for tidying up, whether on a weekly or monthly basis, are essential for decluttering compartments and discarding old trash or papers. A laminated backpack checklist serves as a practical tool to ensure all essentials are prepped and packed each day.

Utilizing a Binder or Accordion File System

By creating a system to keep school assignments and papers neat and organized, students will easily be able to access their homework and class materials and be more prepared for quizzes, tests and long-term projects. Students should choose the best system based on their individual needs and preference, whether it be a traditional binder, a Trapper Keeper or Case-It, or an accordion folder system. It’s beneficial to use dividers and tabs to assign separate sections for each school subject. Color-coding offers an effective method for distinguishing subjects and assignments. Sheet protectors protect important papers from wear and tear, and keeping a three-hole punch at home facilitates easily adding unpunched papers into the binder. Consistently dedicating time each month to declutter, organize, and eliminate outdated papers ensures efficiency throughout the school year.

Unlocking the Key to Locker Success

A clean and tidy locker can make passing periods more efficient and help prevent students from losing school supplies and assignments. Purchase shelving and compartments to optimize locker space, making it functional for the assortment of necessities. Nowadays, there are many options for magnetic organizers or hooks to add to the locker's functionality. Placing a laminated class schedule within the locker aids in packing materials according to class order. Keep only the essentials in the locker to avoid a mess and schedule a weekly time for locker clean out. As with the home workspace, items such as pictures, uplifting quotes, or decorative magnets can instill a personal touch.

By embracing strategic systems as those outlined above, students can elevate their organizational skills, setting the stage for a successful school year!

Written by Laine J.

Exploring the Past: Engaging Children in History Through Travel

Children are natural explorers, full of curiosity about the world. With summer in full swing, vacations and trips provide a golden opportunity to tap into their natural wonder and enlighten them about the rich history that can be discovered through travel. This blog will dive into creative and unique ways to engage children in the captivating narratives of our past, connecting their travels to a deeper understanding of history.

Plan Visits to Historical Sites

When planning your family vacations, make it a point to include visits to historical sites. These can include a wide range of locations, from museums to ancient ruins and renowned landmarks. Many historical landmarks and museums offer guided tours or activities tailored specifically for children, heightening their interest in the subject matter. To up the excitement factor, consider organizing a scavenger hunt related to the specific landmark or site. This interactive approach not only engages children, but also allows them to more actively participate in history.

Utilize Guidebooks

Prior to your trip, consider investing in guidebooks or exploring online resources that outline various places of historical significance in your chosen destination. Involve your child in the process, exploring different possibilities and discussing what interests them most. Guidebooks and websites often include an array of historical facts that can provide a valuable context to the upcoming trip, building both curiosity and anticipation.

Make History Hands-On

Enlivening history through hands-on activities can be an extraordinary way to create an immersive learning experience. Encourage your child to try historical foods, witness plays or reenactments, participate in traditional crafts, or explore the musical traditions of the region. These types of experiences will not only deepen their appreciation for history, but also foster more of a connection to the culture and people of the past.

Attend Cultural Events

Research and identify cultural events taking place during your travels. Attending these events exposes your child to many different historical perspectives through unique traditions, music, food, activities, displays, and art. By immersing themselves in shared experiences of the culture, children gain a broader understanding of the historical context in which it all unfolds.

Document Your Travels

Capture cherished memories by taking plenty of photos, videos, and jotting down favorite moments from your trip. Once you return home, involve your child in the process of creating a scrapbook, PowerPoint presentation, or video slideshow to recount their experiences. This interactive reflection reinforces their learning and allows them to showcase their newfound knowledge to family and friends.

By taking the time to emphasize history through travel, you provide your child with a deeper appreciation of those who came before us. By gaining insights into the past, they can contemplate the contributions they themselves may make in shaping the future!

Written by Laine J.

7 Ways to Reinforce Executive Functioning Skills this Summer

As the final school bells ring and the summer heat kicks in, many families are gearing up to enjoy a summer break filled with quality time, relaxation, and planned activities. Before school ends, many teachers give tips, tricks, and resources to avoid the “summer learning slide”, referring to a student’s loss of reading and math skills during the summer months. While these resources often include practice pages and suggestions to maintain academic progress, it is equally important for students to exercise the executive functioning skills they frequently practiced through school systems, structures, and routines. Here are 7 ways these skills can be easily incorporated into your student’s summer break through a combination of day-to-day routines and fun, engaging activities.

Get organizeD

During the summer months, many families experience less structure in their daily schedules and may fill their time with non-routine events such as camping, vacations, playdates, summer camps, and more. This transition can be challenging for students who may have relied on visual supports or daily routines during school. You can support this transition at home by using organization/planning tools to keep track of important dates and information, setting timers as needed to display how much time your child has left to complete a task, and helping your child create morning/afternoon checklists to stay organized and keep track of any routinely scheduled tasks that need to be completed.

Be mindful

Another way to practice executive functioning skills is through daily mindfulness exercises. Angela Pruess, a licensed clinical family therapist, highlights eight benefits and examples of mindfulness for children. Practicing mindfulness can look like daily meditation, “down time” or “quiet time”, yoga, nature walks, spending time outdoors, mindfulness apps, blowing bubbles, coloring, journaling, and listening to music.

Play, play, play

Playing games is a great way to practice skills like planning, memory, self-regulation, flexibility, self-control, organization, and goal setting. Specific games like Monopoly, Uno, Bingo, Connect 4, Jenga, Mancala, Memory, Battleship, and Guess Who can work on these skills. Prepped Learning offers additional suggestions for games to improve executive functions. Not only are games a great way to improve critical thinking skills, but they are also a fun way to make connections and create memories with your child.

Create a summer activity wish list

Have your child create a summer “wish list” of realistic activities and goals for this summer. Goals can range from “read 10 books” to “see a new movie”. Then, encourage your child to plan out and set a timeline to accomplish each task. You can add this to your family organizational system or create a personal calendar with your child so they can view and self-assess their progress.

Join an organized sport or activity group

Your child could join a summer camp, team, or program to increase their team building and executive functioning skills. Many sports and activity groups (band, music, theater, martial arts, etc.) help children develop skills such as organization, self-awareness, self-regulation, attention, memory, vision, and goal setting.

Run a lemonade stand

Your child can plan an activity with friends, family, or independently to run a lemonade stand. They can create a list of materials, set goals of how much lemonade to sell, practice following multi-step directions while making the lemonade, organize their stand, modify plans as needed, and improve task initiation skills. This can also give an opportunity for children to reflect, using developing their metacognitive skills, and problem solve for any necessary improvements.

Create checklists for planned activity days

If you have an activity planned, such as a beach day, vacation, camping trip, etc., you can ask your child to get involved in the planning process by creating a checklist of necessary items to pack. Not only does this checklist help create responsibility, but it also works to improve skills like planning, organization, and prioritization.

Whether your summer has a jam-packed schedule, or is filled with rest and relaxation, there are many fun, and exciting ways your child can continue to develop their executive functions and prevent the summer slide!

Written by Ami Z.

Supporting Children as They Develop a Sense of Self

As humans, our sense of self is integral to most every aspect of our life. Identity can be formed from a variety of factors, including hobbies, personality traits, occupation, spiritual beliefs and more. As opposed to their youngest years of life, children entering elementary school and beyond begin to develop their unique sense of self in a more meaningful and abstract manner. Integrating projects, enrichment activities, discussion, reflection, and hobbies can all benefit children in the development of their identity and their ability to express themselves.

Choice Projects

Project-based learning is ideal for the development of a positive sense of self because it promotes intrinsic motivation, curiosity, questioning, reflection and child-led task initiation. Projects might be child-led, teacher assigned, or created by a family member! If assigned a project for school, children can find small ways to tailor the project to fit their interests. For example, they can find a topic that speaks to them, or choose a manner to present their project that excites them. Perhaps they are a visual learner and want to hand-draw every picture in their presentation, or they love making movies and choose to do their presentation video style! With summer coming up, this is a great time for parents to encourage their children to pick a project of their own to work on over the next couple of months. Self-directed projects offer a full creative outlet for children to work within, all while learning more about themselves and what makes them who they are. Long term self-choice projects appropriate for the summer might include: learning how to build and maintain a garden bed, writing a book or comic book, creating a dance routine or talent show, doing a research project on a place they want to travel, or building their own robot! The options here are endless, with an end-goal of finding something that encourages the joy of discovery and is as self-led as possible.

Enrichment Activities

Enrichment activities, or extracurriculars, play a huge role in building a child’s sense of identity. Parents may offer guidance and support in the process of exploring which activities speak most to their children. Extracurriculars can often become overwhelming and sometimes, not so child-led. It is beneficial to really observe children’s interests and help them to choose activities outside of school that are going to spark joy and help them grow as individuals. After all, children end up spending MANY hours doing these activities, so it’s important to pick ones that they find interesting. Take inventory of what hobbies are already most enjoyable to the child and align those with a club, camp, or class. Nowadays, there are an array of options to choose from, like music, sports, cooking, yoga, dance, theater and STEM. It may be helpful to allow children the space to practice a few of these enrichment activities in order to then be able to narrow down their favorites!

ReflectioN

As children grow and advance throughout elementary school, so too does their sense of self and identity. The end of the school year provides a great opportunity for kids to reflect upon goals, achievements, growth and personal interests. Here are some ideas that may jumpstart this process. Students can put together a portfolio of all of their favorite projects, art pieces, writing samples and other accomplishments. They can share this with friends and family and talk through the “why” behind their choices. To reflect on their best memories from outside of school, encourage children to create a “top 10” list of the ten most memorable, funny, interesting or unique things that happened to them over the year. This can become a scrapbook of sorts if they tie in a small writing and add photographs or illustrations to go along with each item on their list. This type of self-examination will ultimately help children to better evaluate their strengths, passions and gifts!

A strong, and positive sense of self is helpful in every arena of life down the road. Understanding one’s own core beliefs and identity benefits the ability to set boundaries, achieve goals, develop and maintain relationships and so much more. Finding ways to weave in self-exploration throughout the school-aged years, ultimately fosters and nurtures the confidence and pride a child has with their own identity.

Written by Laine J.