Growth Mindset For Young Children

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Your Image of The Child

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How do you see young children?

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Our Definition of the Growth Mindset: 1) Being able to embrace change by having the mental and emotional power to reinvent oneself multiple times in a lifetime. 2) Believing in one's ability to overcome obstacles.

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3) Being a person who builds and pursues interests.

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As Lilian Katz reminds us, Interest is different from excitement. Interest is a long-lived pre-occupation with a certain topic/phenomena/sport. It is the ability to lose oneself into something that is outside of oneself. It's the ability to stick around even when that thing becomes challenging. Excitement is a short-lived high reactivity. wth le o r a g peop ir n I " t, the es e t s iti ha nd mi eve t abil ed p li ic be bas velo tion t e s a d mo be dic k— e r n d ca ugh d wo ent l r o thr d ha nd ta rting an ins a sta e a br ust th t." e j poin weck ar D rol a C

This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment! Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Why the growth mindset strategies for older children don't work for young children: 1) Young children (below the age of 7) are concrete, here and now thinkers. By the nature of their cognitive developmental stage they tend to be fixed mindset thinkers because their current skills and abilities seem to be ‘all there is’ for them.

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2) CoAuthor Inc doesn't offer one size fits all solutions. Children are not predictable. To offer such solutions is to disrespect children and create joyless learning environments. 3) Words of affirmation are meaningless for this age group. Having them repeat words such "mistakes can make me grow" will just confuse them. What works is modeling positive behavior.

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4) It starts with you, the adult in their life that they look up to. Children self-image is built on how we view them and how we respond to them. 5) The growth mindset is a way of life and it takes time to embrace it and embody it.

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How do you see children? What is your image of the child? Each one of us has an image about young children. We have assumptions about what they can do and what they feel. It's very hard for us to treat children in a way that is different from this internal image.

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So now let's delve a little deeper into what YOU think today. The self-assessment on the following page can help you define your image of the child. We believe that most growth-minded caregivers would agree with many of these statements. If you prefer, you can completely skip this self-assessment and just jot down your own ideas on the Parent/teacher Self- Reflection page. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Image of the Child Checklist: On a scale of 1 to 4, where do you stand? I believe that all children have the potential to develop their intelligence and skills. I believe that children have important opinions and can participate in making decisions. I believe that children are always working to understand their world.

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I believe that with practice and good strategies, any child can improve at doing most things.

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I believe that children deserve to be trusted as important partners in their own learning process.

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I believe that grit and curiosity are teachable skills. I believe that children are more than cute, they are full human beings with lively minds. I believe that children are loving, kind, generous, and philosophical. I believe that children don't have to be replicas of their caregivers, but have the right to build their own interests. I believe that children should be allowed to take age-appropriate risks. I believe that children can handle setbacks and deal with disappointments. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Parent/teacher Self-Reflection

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What do I believe about children?

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Now What? Now that you are done with this self-assessment, let's go back to our definition of the growth mindset. Our goal is a child who can embrace change, overcome obstacles, and pursue challenging interests. Is your image of the child in line with that goal?

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Research shows that how caregivers view children directly impacts how children view themselves which in turn directly impacts their capacities and growth.

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If you are struggling to view your child through a growthminded lens, you are not alone. We have all been influenced by powerful messages depicting children as helpless or incompetent or simply cute. However, you can choose to reframe your thinking and project a more resilient and capable image for your child. Try choosing one of the statements in the assessment and try to look at your child for the coming week through the lens of that statement. Look for evidence that your child is capable and resilient. Ask yourself how you would respond if you shifted your thinking and see what happens. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Re-imagining Success

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The Growth Mindset and a Gentler Philosophy of Success

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What is Success for You? The growth mindset is a powerful and liberating concept; it tells us that we can improve our intelligence, that with effort and dedication, we can reach our potential and make big achievements.

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Unfortunately, our common success and status anxieties make many of us (caregivers) fall into the trap of reducing this beautiful idea to a narrow and draining philosophy of success.

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We think that before discussing strategies on how to raise a growth minded child or even talk about the growth/fixed mindset dichotomy, we first need to talk about our vision of success so we don't turn the growth mindset into a tool that puts more pressure on us and our children. The problem with success is that everyone has an idea about what it means. Often, when we think about a successful person, we think of someone who makes a lot of money, a famous athlete, artist, performer. We only think of success in terms of doing BIG glamorous things. We don't have to throw away our "BIG" definition of success, but we can certainly extend it.

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A Kinder and Gentler Philosophy of Success We propose defining success as doing interesting things not just big things.

Here's why...

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When we are invested in interests, we fight mediocrity and participate in the progression of various fields which gives us a sense of service and purpose.

"Interesting things" are activities that stems from a genuine interest. A preoccupation with wild life or climate change for example. This is different from hobbies or short-lived exciting activities like hiking once a month.

This definition is more aligned with child education and brain development. Children become better learners when they build interests.

Interests are open-ended by nature which allows us to grow, expand our knowledge and delve into the process instead of being fixated on the finished product.

Success is really about doing anything well and excelling at that thing. It doesn't have to be a glamorous activity with a high economic return. We are more likely to do well with the things we are interested in. We can't know with certainty what the next "big thing" will be. Focusing on interests respects the inevitability of change.

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What is Success for You? All of the statements below are indeed manifestations of success. However, leading with the perception of success on the right column is gentler, more inclusive and liberating. Choose only one statement in each row.

To be successful is to: excel at doing something, doing it well in a unique/different way.

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do something better than anyone else

know the answer

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discover something you did not know

engage at a level that brings you enjoyment and satisfaction

accumulate social (network), cultural (degrees) or economic net worth

bring value in people's lives and know how to learn from and with others

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create a professionallevel final product

fascinate others, get a standing ovation

see the world as an endless source of fascination

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Parent Self-Reflection

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I think my child is winning at life if...

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Growth and Fixed Mindset Personas Now that you have sketched out your definition of success, let's delve deeper into your growth and fixed mindset personas since we all have both. Choose only one statement in each row.

I believe that intelligence and natural abilities can be improved

intelligence and natural abilities are fixed traits

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learning is more important than looking smart

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people are their failures

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looking smart is more important than learning

people can learn from their failures

it's best to stick to what I know

I can always learn something new

we are born with interests, we just need to find them

interests are built not found

a good relationship doesn't require effort...people are either naturally compatible or not

any relationship requires reflection, mutual work and reciprocity

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Next Steps... Research shows that having a growth mindset can help us excel in different areas of our lives and have exuberant and rewarding life experiences

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It takes time to redefine big concepts such as success and to develop a growth mindset.

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Don't judge yourself harshly if you discovered that your fixed mindset persona is more dominating than your growth mindset persona. How many times have we heard "you either have the entrepreneurship/singing/dancing genes or you don't?"

Challenge:

Observe and listen to your child carefully this week with the new lens of success we have proposed (or one that you have identified for yourself) after doing this activity. Get others to help you learn more about your child's interests building process. For example, you could ask their teacher this week: "Which activities/topics does my child lose themselves in/seem very engaged in?" It could be as simple as making sand cupcakes or more complicated such as inspecting the life cycle of butterflies or homelessness. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Note To Self: I think ............ (child's name) is interested in .................

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Here are the things I've heard, seen, gathered that make me think that:

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I still need more time to understand what ............. is interested in.

Here are the things I've heard, seen, gathered that make me think that:

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How to Praise Children Constructively


Problems With Praise

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We all mean well when we praise the children in our lives. We want to show them our affection and encourage them to excel in different areas of development. However, if not done carefully, praise can have some serious side effects like:

1) Hindering intrinsic motivation

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Children are likely to repeat the successful actions that led to the praise to garner adults' approval rather than reaching for higher goals or exploring options.

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2) Wasting the child's time

If it is too general and does not contain the information needed for the child to move their activity in a positive direction.

3) Making them stop taking risks When we praise children's ability or achievements many of them will avoid taking risks in order to maintain an image of "perfection".

4) Frustrating the child Even centering our praise on focus and effort can lead to child frustration if the child doesn't have the right strategy to achieve their goals. This frustration can make children stop seeing us as a reliable source of feedback. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


What can help? Here are some suggestions to praise effort, focus, collaboration, creativity and perseverance in fruitful ways:

Effort

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Instead of:

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Praise the effort that led to child's achieving their goals. It's important to praise their successful strategy not the end-product or a strategy that didn't work.

Yay, you won the race!

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Wow, you were really pushing yourself to run as fast as you could!

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Persistence Try noticing how they met challenges and kept going.

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You spent a long time trying to find where each piece went!

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You did the puzzle!

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Instead of:

'If only you had seen all I had to do.' The child wants this observation.

Loris Malaguzzi Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Growth Note something they have accomplished that they could not do before.

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Wow, I remember when you could not put on your shoes, you have been practicing!

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Good job putting on your shoes!

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Instead of:

When unconditional love and genuine enthusiasm are always present, "Good job!" isn't necessary; when they're absent, "Good job!" won't help.

Alfie Kohn Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Challenge-Seeking Praise the difficulty of a task they set themselves, not whether or not they accomplished it successfully.

You picked something tricky to draw! You are really challenging yourself!

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Great picture!

Try

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Instead of:

This is not to be confused with praising effort and focus 'If only you alltheir I had to do.' that didn't help thehad childseen achieve goals. In this example, The the child is trying new which is most child wantssomething this observation. likely to have a low success rate. If trying this novelty several times using the same strategy didn't yield positive results, encourage the child to try a new strategy.

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Collaboration Note how the child has worked together with others to achieve their goal.

You and Susie really cooperated to get that built!

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I'm proud of you for working with your sister!

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Instead of:

The first type of wording makes collaboration less valuable to the child in and of itself. It drives the child to collaborate mostly to get the adult's approval. The second wording connects collaboration to success.

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Creativity Praise the way in which the child pushed beyond a simple or obvious answer to explore more complex possibilities.

Try

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What a tall tower!

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Instead of:

Your tower is special because you used these triangular pieces to balance the two sides

Creativity becomes more visible when adults try to be more attentive to the cognitive processes of children than to the results they achieve in various fields of doing and understanding.

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Constructive Critisim

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Once you have praised one of the elements above, if you want, you can add a piece of ‘constructive criticism.’ This does not have to come in the form of criticism!

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“I wonder what would happen if you added another layer on this side? What do you think?” “If you were going to make another version, what would you do differently?”

Remember that as adults, we have a lot of power, so be careful not to let your ideas and suggestions overwhelm the child’s own process. The purpose here is to serve as helpful collaborators, not to ‘correct’ the child’s work. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


More Informative Feedback Examples

What aspects of our work do you think you need to work harder on?

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Of all the things we have been working on, what are the ones you feel you are doing well?

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These examples work best when you are working with a child. Practice these examples when you use our app with your child.

What aspects of our work do you think you need someone to help you with?

How can I help you further explore this very interesting idea?

Practice while CoAuthoring. Download our app from an iPad Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Practice while CoAuthoring. Download our app from an iPad.

With an interested tone and a listening gaze: "What have you seen or heard that makes you say that?"

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You have really developed as an artist

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I see you mixed the yellow and green together. Would like to tell me more about that?

This is an interesting way of looking at this topic.

Your observation and interpretation skills have really improved!

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Your Praise Challenge!

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Constructive Praise

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Practice praising your child constructively when you CoAuthor with them on our app. Scan this QR code with your iPad to download our app

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Cut all the hearts with alternatives. Place them in a jar and practice one alternative each day. Aim for an empty jar at the end of the month!

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How to Help Children Take Pleasure in Each Other's Skills, Talents/Gifts

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A Learned Skill: Valuing Other People's Accomplishments

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Learning how to appreciate and enjoy other people's gifts, talents and accomplishments is a KEY Growth Mindset skill!

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This disposition helps us learn from others and frees us from the prison of envy.

This freedom helps us take risks without fear of judgement and without comparing ourselves to others.

This taught skill also helps us see the world world as an endless source of fascination and promotes peace in our communities.

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Is My Child Envious? In essence, when a young child exhibits negative behavior towards their siblings'/peers' accomplishments, they are asking themselves:

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"Will my parent/teacher/caregiver still love me despite the fact that I'm not as good as Liam/Andrea at playing the piano?""Will I still be visible to them?"

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Raising a Growth-Minded Child

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When base our self-esteem on being better than others, we are unable to reach out and try new things for fear that we will not be better than others in this new arena.

Try this instead... If we see ourselves instead as willing to be delighted by the success of others, it frees us up to experiment and to be delighted by our own discoveries along the way.

So how do we support children to make this shift?

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A Child Who Enjoys Other Children's Wins You can help children find the aspects of other people's creation/skill that delight them! This will help them shift away from focusing on wanting the praise other people receive. Instead of seeing themselves as lacking, we can help them see themselves as open to be delighted!

1) Pointing at other children’s success in a way that doesn’t provoke competition:

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“Look at Adam's painting, isn't that wonderful?” "Isn't it blissful that one of us can so beautifully play the piano?"

2) Then in a calm, serious and pleasant manner, talk about the artwork’s/accomplishment's properties.

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"I like how the blue and yellow merge together from the far left of the painting."

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3) If the situation allows it, you can also engage the child in a nonthreatening way: "What do you like about Adam’s painting? " "What was your favorite part of watching your brother play the piano?"

4) Avoid words that stir competition and catch up behavior: “If you work hard, you can do this too.”

5) Then change the content of the conversation to something relevant to the child's day/plans. "What are you up to next? Do you wanna read a book together?"

6) Occasionally, praise the child's authentic appreciation of other children's talents/skills. Use this with caution so your child doesn't confuse your intentions with people pleasing. "I love how you can always see the special things about other people." Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


ACTIVITY Co-Author a letter to a sibling or a friend with your child:

EXAMPLE: Dear ________,

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I'm writing you this letter today to let you know that I really enjoy (skill/talent/accomplishment). When I (witness/ed this skill/accomplished) I feel ______. Isn't wonderful that one of us can (skill/talent/accomplishment)!

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I hope for you to continue to (do skill/talent/accomplishment).

Your (relationship to the receiver), Sender's name

Have your child draw what they think is special about their friend/sibling.

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Dear ____________, I'm writing you this letter today to let you know that I really enjoy __________________________________.

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When I ___________________ I feel ______________. Isn't wonderful that one of us can__________________ ___________________________________________!

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Your _________,

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I hope for you to continue to ___________________.

____________________

I think you are special...

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Interest Building

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How to create an opportunity for your child to experience a different kind of success.

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Prepare to help your child BUILD an interest: : The ability to lose oneself into something that is outside of oneself over an extended period of time, (weeks or months).

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Developing a genuine interest in something doesn't mean being excited about that thing all the time. We can be challenged by our interests that thinking or working around them can get hard and that's okay.

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Interests are not synonymous with entertainment/excitement.

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Excitement is a high short-lived reactivity. There's a time and a place for excitement; the holidays, for example.

At CoAuthor, we define as doing interesting/challenging things not just big things. Try to hold this image of success in your mind while going through the following activities with your child.

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Step #1: Building an Interest Go out together and explore...

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Here are some ideas: go to a public museum, square, botanical garden, aquarium, library or even just a walk around your neighborhood. Can't do any of these? Go on a metro/bus ride together. Make that plan together.

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On (date) ..............., (names) ................. and ............. will go to ............................

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Why did you choose this particular place?

What do you expect to see when you go there?

What do you need to plan for for your trip?

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Step #2: Building an Interest Observe & Invite Look for something new to try or explore...

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When you get there, observe your child. Follow their lead as they explore the space. Take pictures of what they find interesting, or invite them to take the pictures. (2-3 photos can be enough) You can also invite your child to make a drawing of what they see! Try to fish for an interesting question or statement by your child. (text them to yourself or audio record)

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Here are some invitations for your child:

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1) You have been looking at that painting/fish/flower. What do you like about it? 2) If they are older than 3 you can ask: What questions do you have about what you see?

3) What do you think the person sitting over there is thinking about? Tailor your questions/provocations to what the child seems attentive to. Important!!

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Here are some questions are about different aspects/properties of the same thing. For example: The metro. Looking out the metro window: "Wow the metro is moving so fast! I bet it's faster than a cheetah!" "What does this metro makes you think about it?" "This metro is super fast, I wonder what the metro wheels are made of! Have you ever seen metro wheels? Do you wanna tell me about that?" "I wonder how many people take the metro every day in our city..." Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Step #3: Building an Interest Follow Up & Extend After the visit, check out the pictures/sketches/questions/audio you collected with your child.

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Ask them: Is there something here that you would like to find out more about? Remember, to discover a new question or interest is a success in itself.

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Invite your child to draw what captured their attention the most from their trip with you.

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Here are some drawing invitations:

What captured your attention the most during this trip? Would you like to draw that thing?

You had so many questions about that bird we saw, can you draw what this bird needs? Print out one of the pictures you took, place it on a table or desk and put a note next to it that says: "look very closely at this photo and try to draw it. Everybody draws in a different way. I can't wait to see your way of drawing this bird."

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Draw and label your drawing

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Step #4: Questions List I wonder...

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What would you like to find out about what you drew?

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Step #5: Research Focus on the process and not the product. Resist the temptation to push your child toward the ‘right answer.’ Here's a child-appropriate research proposition:

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1) Ask the child to draw their question "If you were to draw your question, what would you draw?"

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2) Ask the child to label their drawing (they can point at the different parents of their drawing and you can write the labels)

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3) Ask them: Where can we look to know more more about this topic? or Who do we know that can help us figure this out? Who can be an expert on this topic, i.e "Who is someone who knows so much about subways that we can interview?"

Research Tools

Books at your home Books in the library Ask people you know Ask people you don't know Look things up online Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


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Draw and label your question

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Our Findings: Here's what we found in ................... about our question:

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Where can we look to know more more about this topic? or Who do we know that can help us figure this out?

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Here's what we learned about our topic from the person we interviewed...

We used to think........ Now we think........

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Draw and label your findings

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Step #6: More Questions, More Trips... What new questions do we have? Where is our next trip?

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We have been doing a lot of great thinking! Here's a list of more questions we have about our investigation:

Next time we will go to...

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Growth Mindset Teachable Skill:

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Teaching children to tell us where they are in their learning process.

It's important to teach children that their current level of skill or understanding is not permanent. It will get better with time and practice. To do that, we have to teach them to identify their current level of understanding AND learn to share it with us (parents and teachers).

.

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How Difficult Is It?

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We created the following scale so that children aged 5 years old and above can use it by themselves to get more insight into their own process of learning and development. For younger children (2.5 years old+), the scale can be used by adults to assess where the child is and the next option offered to the child.

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How to use this scale in the process of building an interest: 1) Identify a key concept or skill needed for the interest. It’s important to identify a skill which is just above the child’s current level.

Get the child’s buy-in, or agreement that this is indeed a skill they would like to acquire.

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For example, if the interest is sewing, the skill could be stitching a hem. If the interest is going outside to play, the skill could be putting on your shoes.

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2) Invite the child to assess where they are and where you are with respect to this skill, using the scale.

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For example, Ask them where they think you were on the scale when you were their age. Mark the scale to show where the child is. Then ask the child, What do you think you could do to move to the next step?

3) Make a plan to try it!

You could say, "We should do it together every day for a week!" And then recheck the scale at the end of the week.

4) Recheck the scale If the strategy helped the child move along the scale, write that strategy down to apply to other skills - it’s a keeper! If the child has not moved along the scale, see if you can think of a better strategy to try next week.

Continue the process of checking the scale, then identifying a strategy to continue moving ahead.

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Things to Keep in Mind... Remember: Insanity is trying the same thing over and over hoping for a different result! There is a difference between practice and senseless repetition of something that is not working (make sure that the practice is effective for your particular child).

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Sometimes it's not the strategy that isn't working but the task itself is not age-appropriate. If that's the case, drop that task so it doesn't frustrate the child.

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Don’t forget that you can always get better at things too! Maybe each of you could have a strategy to work on and you can remind each other.

Once your child has moved up several steps on the scale, go back and consider: Is it now easier to engage in the activity that interests them? Are they enjoying it more?

So‌. was all that practicing worth it? We hope the answer is yes!

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What to learn more about this topic? We all want to raise growth-minded children who are able to take on challenges. We also receive positive cultural messages about the importance of raising the bar for our children. All of this is important.

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However, it’s important to couple this intention with children's "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). Simply put, there are things that children can easily do by themselves and things they can't do without help and things they can't do even if they have help. Tasks that are too easy or too difficult for the child don’t foster their development.

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To better learn how to offer our children appropriate provocations, we need to track their progress. We also need to teach them to tell us where they are in their learning process. We have to inculcate in them the ability to bravely say to a teacher: "Oh wait I'm lost, I have no idea how this works!" or "Can you please say this again?", "Can you please give an example?", "Can you say this in different words?" Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Cut out these cards to use with your child as they assess their own learning process.

I have seen other people do this/ I can follow along while someone else explains

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I have no idea how to do this/ This concept is completely beyond my understanding

I have tried doing this but I still need help from someone else/ I can explain this concept with help from someone else

I can do this but it takes a lot of effort and time/ I can explain this concept by myself but sometimes I get confused.

I can do this this easily/ I understand this concept and can apply it.


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How to Help Your Child Build Genuine Interests Part II: An Indoor Exploration

In order to raise growth-minded children who learn from their mistakes, see the world as an endless source of fascination and face challenges, we need to help them build genuine interests: something to be authentically excited about, follow and investigate even when it becomes difficult to pursue. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Your Challenge: An Indoor Exploration Your household is FULL of interest building tools! You don't need to buy ANYTHING for this exploration. You just need to look around with your child with new eyes!

A Mindful Home Tour!

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Step 1: Invite your child to explore with you! You could say: "Hey I have an idea! Let's walk around our home together, look closely and see what makes us curious! Are you down for that?"

Step 2: Look closely! While walking with your child or looking closely into your space, you might say: "We live here all the time but we forget to look closely at the things we have!"

While looking in the restroom you can say: "For example, I never stopped to think what's behind the wall that this shower head is attached to. What would you like to know more about?" Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


A Mindful Home Tour! Step 3: Take turns in telling a story! Once you are settled on what system you are going to investigate in your house (how the show/sink/flush/washing machine) work, invite your child to tell a story about how they think these systems work.

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For example, "Where do you think the water in the sink goes? Would you like to tell me a story about that?"

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It's okay if the story is imaginary!

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Be sure that the child is making connections even if they are giving what we consider an imaginary answer. After this experience, they will never look at the sink in the same way. They will look at it as a complex system that has a purpose.

Invite the child to draw the story they told about the sink. You can create this story in our app. (go to Tell Me A Story in the app then choose Anything Else) Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Interest Building: Follow Up Share your exploration at dinner time with the rest of the family.

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e's n o y r eve k in the t e G bac the f d o e fe ence n who s pre childre rk. o d/ chil id this w d

Brainstorm what to explo re next during dinner time.

Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


The Making Challenge:

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If you were to build a machine/tool or any other invention for your family what would you build?

Feel free to invent a machine/tool that doesn't exist yet. A very weird machine is totally fine! Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Challenge Ideas! Think of how you could challenge yourself to solve a problem or find a solution to make life even better for your family!

1) If you investigated your sink, you could create a tool that helps a younger sibling reach the handle.

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2) If you investigated your fridge, you could challenge yourself to cook something you never cooked before... using only the ingredients you have in your fridge!

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3) You could also create a tool or machine that helps to keep food colder for longer once it is out of the fridge.

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4) If you investigated your stairs, you could create a machine that helps your elderly dog walk up and down the stairs more easily. 5) If you investigated the shower, you could create a device that makes bubbles while the shower is running. These are just a few ideas to get you (the adult) thinking. Our hope is that these ideas spark ideas that apply to you and your child so you can create something that is fully your own! Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Leading Questions for Your Project What questions do you have from your investigation? What problems related to your investigation do members of our family deal with on a regular basis?

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If your ch ild says, " I don't kn Respond ow." with, "We ll , if y ou DID know, wh at would you think You migh ?" t be surp little nudg e

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show Try to ne genui n your i y t i s curio idea! s ' d l i ch

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What might make that problem more manageable for our family member?

rised at h ow this enables th em to thin k deeper!

How will you tackle this challenge?

What tools do you need to create your design? How can you use this mistake to improve your design? What could you try next? What other ways might there be? Who can you get feedback from to make your design even better? Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


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The Spreading Happiness Project

Children are great contributors to our communities. They teach us how to wonder and how to be amazed. They give us an opportunity to practice our ideas about fairness, friendship and democracy. With this view of children, we invite you to wonder with your child about their ideas on how to make people outside your household or your classroom happy. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Your Mindset

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Look at the child as more than just cute. Instead, see them as someone with ideas that matter. Think about how you'd like the child to contribute to their community.

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The label of cuteness reduces children to semi-conscious beings. Children deserve the label of full, whole citizens.

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Listen to the child with curiosity, without sharing your suggestions. It's enough to ask questions like: "Is it possible to make people who don't live with us happy?"

Show your child that you're interested in their ideas by writing them down in front of them. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Logistics Download the CoAuthor Application: To create a letter and a beautiful card and get a step by step seamless experience, download our app. Scan our QR code from an iPad

Guiding question:

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Check the last page if you can't download the app.

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When do we come across people we don't know? Where could be a good place to hand out the letter to the stranger? What are we going to tell the stranger when we give them the letter?

Email address:

Children feel really delighted when they receive mail or emails. In oder to make the child feel connected to the community, we suggest that you either leave your email address or create an email address together just for this purpose. You can even choose a symbolic email address together: i.e spreadinghappiness@#####.com Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Design a card and a letter on the CoAuthor app

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Choose a nice quote from your letter

Write name/ nickname/ team name of CoAuthors

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Choose a title for your card

Choose a drawing from your book or a photo from your iPad

Leave an email address if you want to receive a response. Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


Reflection after giving away the letter

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To add some layers of complex thinking after you give away the letter, have a conversation with the child about this unique experience. Here are some questions, and feel free to come up with your own:

What does this experience make you wonder about?

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How do people feel when they are happy? What else can we do to spread happiness? Did our letter really make the person we gave it to happy? How did this experience make you feel?

Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


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s s e ni p p a H g n i d a e r p S

.......................... :y b d er o ht u A o C


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You can use our frames to design a tiny book if you can't download CoAuthor

Add a title to the letter You can invite the child to start the letter with Dear ..... You can invite the child to make a drawing about their letter. You can add an email address in the last page.

Printable by CoAuthor - www.coauthorapp.com


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