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Teaching Growth Mindset and Looking for Activities for Kids? You’re in the Right Place!

If you’re looking for effective growth mindset activities for kids, you’re in the right place! Teaching children the power of a growth mindset can have a lasting impact on their academic success, resilience, and overall love for learning.

Fostering a growth mindset in kids is one of the most impactful ways we can help them succeed, both academically and personally. Teaching children that intelligence and abilities are not fixed, but can be developed through effort and perseverance, equips them to overcome challenges and embrace learning opportunities.

In this post, we’ll explore what a growth mindset is, why it’s essential, and share 10 engaging growth mindset activities for kids, along with 10 fantastic books that help teach this powerful concept.

What Is Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, persistence, and learning from mistakes. This idea, introduced by psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, encourages children to embrace challenges and see failure as a natural part of the learning process.

In contrast, a fixed mindset limits a child’s potential by leading them to believe that abilities are static. For example:

• Fixed mindset: “I’m not good at this.”
• Growth mindset: “I’m not good at this yet, but I can improve with practice.”

By teaching children about growth mindset, we help them develop the confidence to tackle new challenges and build resilience.

Why Is Growth Mindset Important for Kids?

Growth mindset is essential because it helps kids:

• Build resilience: Children learn to persevere through mistakes and challenges, understanding that effort leads to progress.
• Embrace challenges: With a growth mindset, kids are more likely to take on challenges and push past frustration.
• Develop a love for learning: They become motivated to explore new things without the fear of failure.
• Improve academically: Studies show that children with a growth mindset achieve better outcomes over time because they see learning as a continual process of improvement.

Benefits of Growth Mindset Activities for Kids

Engaging growth mindset activities for kids provides hands-on ways to internalize these powerful concepts, helping them understand that effort, not innate ability, leads to success. These activities encourage persistence, resilience, and creativity, which are essential for overcoming challenges. In addition to building confidence and a positive attitude toward learning, growth mindset practices have been shown to improve academic growth, leading to better performance on tests and a greater willingness to tackle difficult subjects.

By incorporating these activities into your daily routine, you create an environment where kids feel empowered to keep trying, learning, and achieving their goals.

Engaging Growth Mindset Activities for Kids

Here are ten simple yet effective growth mindset activities for kids that can be easily incorporated into your classroom or at home:

1. The Power of “Yet” Wall

Create a “Power of Yet” wall in your classroom or at home. Have children write things they can’t do yet (e.g., “I can’t solve fractions yet”) on sticky notes and place them on the wall. As they achieve these goals, update the wall to celebrate progress and reinforce the idea that growth takes time.

2. Mistake Celebrations

Dedicate a weekly session where kids share mistakes they’ve made and what they learned from them. This celebrates learning through mistakes and encourages kids to see errors as opportunities to grow.

3. Growth Mindset Role-Playing

Present different scenarios where kids might experience frustration, such as “I can’t solve this puzzle.” Then, have them practice switching to a growth mindset response like, “This puzzle is hard, but I’ll try a different approach.” This helps kids reframe setbacks in a positive light.

4. Challenge Cards

Create a set of challenge cards with activities designed to push kids out of their comfort zones, like “Build a tower with only 10 blocks” or “Write a story using 10 new words.” These tasks encourage persistence and creative problem-solving.

5. Gratitude for Effort Circle

At the end of the day, gather kids in a circle and ask them to share something they worked hard on. This activity helps kids recognize the value of effort over outcome, reinforcing that the process of learning is just as important as the result.

6. “What’s the Next Step?” Reflection

When a child gets stuck, help them work through the challenge by asking reflective questions like:

• “What’s one thing you’ve tried?”
• “What’s another way you could approach this?”
• “Who could you ask for help?”
  These prompts encourage kids to focus on the next steps and avoid feeling defeated by obstacles.

7. Growth Mindset Charades

Play a game of charades, where kids act out different growth mindset behaviours, such as “trying something new” or “learning from a mistake.” This activity helps kids internalise the concept of growth mindset by recognizing and mimicking these behaviours.

8. Storytime with Growth Mindset Themes

Incorporating books that teach the principles of growth mindset is a powerful way to reinforce these concepts. Here are 10 growth mindset books that can spark meaningful conversations with kids

10 Growth Mindset Books for Kids

1. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
   This story follows a young girl who has an idea for the most magnificent thing, but when things don’t go as planned, she learns the importance of perseverance and problem-solving.
2. Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak
   This book explains how the brain grows and changes as kids learn new things, making it a great introduction to the idea of a growth mindset and the power of learning from mistakes.
3. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
   A beautifully illustrated story about a young girl who learns to embrace creativity and the idea that everyone has the ability to make their mark, even if it’s not perfect.
4. What If… by Samantha Berger
   In this book, a girl named Samantha refuses to give up on her art despite constant setbacks. It’s a wonderful story about resilience and determination.
5. I Can’t Do That, Yet! by Esther Pia Cordova
   This story introduces the concept of growth mindset with the simple but powerful idea that with practice, effort, and perseverance, anything is possible—yet.
6. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
   This story helps kids understand that making mistakes is an essential part of learning and that we can’t let fear of failure stop us from trying new things.
7. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
   Rosie is an inventor who faces setbacks but continues to pursue her passion for engineering, illustrating how hard work, creativity, and learning from failure lead to success.
8. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
   This beloved book about a giraffe who is initially discouraged by his inability to dance is a perfect example of how perseverance and self-belief help overcome challenges.
9. The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
   This book focuses on embracing the process of learning new things, celebrating the journey of trying and growing, rather than focusing solely on the result.
10. How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
    A little boy who dreams of catching a star learns that persistence and creativity help him achieve his goal, even when things don’t go as planned.

Tips for Encouraging Growth Mindset Every Day

1. Model growth mindset language: Use phrases like “I made a mistake, but now I know what to do differently.”
2. Praise effort over outcomes: Instead of saying, “You’re so smart,” try saying, “You worked really hard on this, and it shows.”
3. Reframe failures as learning opportunities: Teach kids that setbacks are a natural part of the learning process and an opportunity to try new strategies.
4. Celebrate progress: Acknowledge small achievements to reinforce the value of persistence and effort.

By incorporating growth mindset activities for kids into your daily routine, you help foster a positive, resilient attitude towards learning. These activities make the growth mindset concept tangible and memorable, inspiring children to embrace challenges, learn from mistakes, and develop a lifelong love for learning.

Ready to start fostering growth mindset in your kids? Download the Resources today and watch their confidence and perseverance soar!