Dorothy Dodds Elementary

GROWTH MINDSET

CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR MINDSET 

This month, we will be talking  about having  a growth mindset--a belief that with hard work and effort, we can do anything we set our minds to.  We will learn and practice the difference between closed and open mindset - closed is believing that you can’t do something, can’t get better, can’t succeed, while open is believing that you can get better at something by trying your best and you can succeed. 

By talking about the words that someone with a closed vs. open mindset might say to themselves, students learn that the words we say to ourselves when something gets hard are very important!  If we say “I can’t do this” or “it’s too hard,” we most likely won’t get anywhere. If we say “This is hard, but I’m going to keep trying,” or “I can’t do this...yet,” it changes everything. 

The more open our mindset is, the less stress we will feel when presented with a challenge. We also discuss how our mindset is in our control, and by changing our words, we can easily change our mindset.

Mindset is an important topic to discuss and practice with your child. As our children grow and experience new challenges, encouraging open mindset may be the key to getting them through!

Literature to help the mindset discussion

What do you do with a Chance? by Kobi Yamadu

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds 

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires 

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein 

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg 

Making a Splash: A Growth Mindset Children’s Book by Carol Reiley

The Book of Mistakes by Corrina Luyken