As educators, it frustrates us to no end when we see our students falter in their confidence. We wish we could just shake them and magically press a button to help them believe in themselves! But building confidence or self esteem is not a quick or easy task. It requires persistence and dedication to help children reframe their thinking and self-talk. Intentionally incorporating activities for building confidence requires work and energy that we often don’t have!
A big part of my journey has been dedicated to finding efficient and effective methods to build self esteem for kids. Now the list I’ve included below is not the end all be all, but rather a few easy activities for building confidence that I have found to be the most powerful. I hope they impact and transform your relationships as they have done for mine.
why is self esteem important in child development?
Before we go into these easy activities for building confidence, we first need to answer the question, what is the definition of self esteem and why is it important? Merriam-Webster says that self esteem is “confidence and satisfaction in oneself.” Self esteem and confidence are related; they’re synonymous. If children have high levels of self esteem, they’re more confident in their abilities and being.
So why is self esteem important in child development? It’s important because high levels of self esteem will better equip children with the perseverance needed to endure through setbacks and failure. Elementary students with high self esteem will bounce back from their mistakes more quickly. They will persist through learning difficult concepts and achieve their personal goals. Once their self esteem grows, they will approach any situation with greater levels of confidence, regardless of whether it’s academic or relational. Therefore as educators, high self esteem or confidence is the key to supporting our students’ learning. It provides children with the optimal framework and foundation for such transformative learning to occur.
how to build confidence in kids?
However, how do we build this confidence in our students? Depending on who you ask, everyone will have their own opinion on how to build confidence in kids. Personally, I believe that the most important step in building self esteem is to first create a positive classroom environment. This serves as the optimal foundation from which you can then build upon as you incorporate activities for building confidence. Now before you worry about what you need to do or change, chances are that you’ve already cultivated this classroom culture. If you’re taking time to read a blog post about easy activities for building confidence, you’re an educator who values a positive classroom environment that welcomes and empowers your students. If you’re still curious about how to create a welcoming classroom environment, here are some blog posts to help.
Tips for Setting Up a Warm and Welcoming Classroom
How to Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment
what are some easy activities for building confidence?
social emotional learning crafts
These activities for building confidence can be categorized in three ways. The first are crafts that incorporate social emotional learning. Social emotional learning activities can take many forms, and are often more quick and simple than educators realize! My favorite is this rainbow craft that lets students practice gratitude and self-love. It comes with the sentence stem, “I shine so bright! I love my brain because…” and gives space for them to list the reasons why their brain is so special. Hanging below the rainbow are stars and hearts. Each one proudly showcases “I can” statements that highlight skills and capabilities. Nothing builds self esteem for kids more than having them identify and state such affirmations, and hearing them out loud will easily become one of your favorite, most cherished teacher moments.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, you’ll soon experience the memorable conversations this craft uncovers. As students create this rainbow craft, there will be a handful who are unsure of what to write. Whether they’re afraid of making a mistake or really don’t believe in themselves, there are irreplaceable moments just waiting to happen as you navigate through and combat their self-doubt, replacing it with life-giving affirmations to uplift and mold their minds. The pinnacle of building self esteem truly culminates in moments like these, as you shape and transform your students’ confidence.
how to save time with activities for building confidence
Now I don’t want a lack of time to prevent your class from missing these significant moments. I get it – teachers are always meeting deadlines, juggling between meetings, performances and other expectations; the list seems endless. Here are a few steps I’ve taken to ensure that I have enough time for everything. I like to break apart this craft into smaller steps, each lasting around 15-20 minutes. This makes it more feasible for me to find time throughout the day, whether it’s part of our morning work, right before recess, or whenever I have some extra time.
For this social emotional learning craft, I would break it apart into 3 days. On the first day, my class and I would have a discussion on reasons why we love our brain. I would record the answers on the board to support them as they write, and give them time to complete their sentences. On the second day, we would have another conversation highlighting our skills. I would again record the answers and give them time to write their “I can” statements on the stars and hearts. Finally on the third day my class would color and decorate the craft. I find that breaking apart the activity like this helps my students. It lets them manage their time better and fully understand the depth of the craft’s purpose.
social emotional learning read alouds
The second category in easy activities for building confidence includes social emotional learning read alouds. Read alouds are my favorite way to introduce any topic as they seamlessly transition to meaningful class discussions. Students are given real life examples and situations they can refer to, helping them understand complex topics. Your class is introduced to a shared experience in which you can then build upon and develop high self esteem. You can even take these social emotional learning read alouds one step further and incorporate English Language Arts standards. (As teachers, we love saving time and making our lives easier!)
There are an abundance of read alouds to choose from, but here are some of my favorites that build self esteem for kids: I Am Enough, Remarkably You, Giraffes Can’t Dance, A Bad Case of Stripes and I Like Myself!
affirmation mirror
The last category in easy activities for building confidence touches upon using an affirmation mirror. An affirmation mirror is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a mirror that is decorated with positive affirmations. Some examples include “I am capable,” “I am smart,” and “I am a friend.” It shapes their reflection within the framework of positive self-talk.
I’ve incorporated this into our classroom morning routine and have found that this simple step transforms the tone for the rest of the day. Every morning I greet students individually by name with a wave or elbow bump. Then, they stand in front of the affirmation mirror, choose one affirmation for the day and repeat it while looking at their reflection. Sometimes, my students get ambitious and even state multiple! As heartwarming as each interaction is, every so often an extra special moment arises. When someone is unsure and hesitant, I take this chance to remind them of their strengths and intentionally select an “I am” statement for them.
want more ideas on activities for building confidence?
Regardless of which activities you choose or how often you incorporate them, your care and affection will always be more than enough for your students. No amount of crafts or read alouds will ever replace the safe space you provide and the genuine connections you form each day. Hopefully these recommendations spark your creativity and make your life a little easier. I’m rooting for you teacher friend!
Top 3 Growth Mindset Activities
