All of these images SHOULD have something in common with your primary school learners.
Can you tell me what it is?
No. It’s not future career options.
It’s their essential TOOLKITS and EQUIPMENT.
Every school day, you send your learner in with their school bag. Pencils, pencil case, water bottle, PE kit, books, spare clothes, tissues etc.
In the classroom, they have all the equipment they might need for effective learning. From displays to number blocks, calculators, rulers, reading books, paint, paintbrushes and aprons.
You get the idea.
Is that all they need? Are they well-equipped for learning with these essential items?
Think about premiership footballers, famous dancers, formula one mechanics, famous artists, surgeons and doctors. Do they go to their important jobs, armed with their essential kit and they’re ready?
No.
They need more than that.
As do your learners.
They need to know how to focus. They need to practise and learn – a lot. They need to know how to overcome nerves. They need an accurate hand or foot – and know what to do if they haven’t got it that day. They need to know how to be in the right mood. They need know how to be calm. They need to know when to push. They need to know what to do when faced difficult challenges, events and people. They need to know how to work with others so the team is the most effective it can be. They need to know when to speak up, not to speak, shout and listen. They need to know how to learn more. They need to know how to improve and who to go to for that additional knowledge.
Having an internal toolkit that supports with all of these things, should be taught to every child at school. It’s a toolkit for well-being. There is a well-being curriculum in your child’s school for sure, but how effective is it? Is it supporting your child right now? With negative mental health issues on a dramatic rise in our children and teenagers, schools are addressing their well-being provision more than ever before. Funding is filtering through to schools and providers to improve well-being amongst its pupils. This is great news.
In the meantime, what can you do to help your child?
Take a minute to read this classroom scenario to show how the teaching of well-being for learning can improve your child’s ability to learn and learn happily:
“I don’t know how to use commas in my writing. I’m putting them where I think they go but my teacher keeps telling me that they’re wrong. She explained how to use them again but I wasn’t listening because I know I can’t do it. I did try though.” Amelia, Age 8. If we taught Amelia about her thoughts – the negative self-limiting ones that told her that she can’t use commas, then she might not have switched off to the additional help. She might have told the teacher that her concentration wasn’t as good as it could be and could she please go through it when she was a little a fresher in the brain (whilst demonstrating breathing deeply to improve concentration). She could have asked for a friend that does know how to use them, to give her a little lesson. She could have controlled her own learning and given herself another shot at learning how to use commas. Being aware of her thoughts and outcomes could have dramatically changed her achievement. Does this learner want to use commas correctly? Of course she does! Every child wants to learn most things and be good at them. In this example, Amelia gave up trying because of her belief that she couldn’t do it. Do you think that she’s happy with not knowing how to use commas? Not really, but with so much to learn, she’ll accept that this is something she will NEVER be good at. And from there, you have a learner that believes she can’t do it. Even with the teacher telling her that she can.
How old do you think your child is when they start to believe they can’t do things or that they’re never going to be any good at them? I’d argue that these beliefs set in early – as soon as a child can talk and learn from others. Watching how people act/talk around them and things people say to children will shape their beliefs too. Parents, teachers, friends.
Now I’m not saying that every child will be good at everything, of course not, but what I am saying is that this child is going away from this comma-learning situation feeling good about the fact they tried (because that makes her feel better and deflects away from the feeling of failure) but ultimately accepting the fact that she can’t use commas and she’s choosing to be OK with that. Next time comma-learning comes up in class, Amelia will be at a disadvantage before she’s even started because she believes she can’t do it. She couldn’t do it before, so it must be true that she can’t do it now.
What needs to be taught to help Amelia?
What does she need to use from her well-being toolkit to not limit herself?
Imagine if Amelia had seen/heard/said/believed these MANTRAS at home and in class:
If you couldn’t do it before, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it now. You are older, wiser and cleverer than you were back then. Today is a new day for learning.
It is possible. You CAN do it.
Amelia needs to believe these mantras. She needs to be aware of them and exposed to them regularly. Being told them once, or on the back of not being able to do something, will not help her.
Breathing techniques, awareness of thoughts and positive affirmations/mantras are just some of the strategies and techniques I use to support your primary-school children.
I work with parents and schools, on developing well-being toolkits for learning. Providing the help needed so your child can feel happy, calm, confident and capable.
If you want to start adding to your child’s well-being toolkit today and give them strategies for dealing with things that worry them, access my FREE Release The Worries Video Series here.
If you want more and want to invest in a toolkit for your child that has many different well-being for learning tools – including breathing techniques, positive affirmations, identifying limiting beliefs and dealing with emotions – the HAPPY LEARNERS FOR LIFE COURSE is perfect for you. It will equip your learner (and you) with the necessary skills to happiness and success during their primary school years and beyond.
I’m off to make a cup of tea now which is my reward for writing this. Self-care is so important in my own well-being toolkit.
Jo x
P.S. What is in your OWN well-being toolkit?
Is it empty, lacking, worn-out or non-existent?
The work I do is aimed at schools and parents just like you, for the benefit of your child, but I promise I won’t tell anyone if YOU benefit from it too. Comments and shares will spread the word and help more families to have a fully stocked, well-equipped well-being toolkit for learning.