Think positive thoughts...

     Let me ask you a question. When in school, what are your thoughts when you are given a new task to learn? Are you the kind of student who thinks, "I can do this," or are you the kind of student who thinks "Oh no! I don't know how to do this. This is too hard!" And then, maybe, look for ways to get out of working? In middle school, I see many students who are not sure about trying new things. Sometimes they are afraid they will get a bad grade. Sometimes they think other kids will not like them if they can't do the work.

     I want to make a suggestion. What if you practiced thinking positive messages? Last year, some students were having trouble with their negative thoughts. Here is what we did. The students made a list of positive messages to use when they had a difficult task. We wrote them down on poster board and hung the list up in the work area. When the students began to feel stress, they looked at the list to remind themselves of positive messages. The students also helped each other to remember.

     The following statements are the ones we wrote down. Which positive messages do you like best? The next time you begin to think "This is too hard" or "I can't do this," tell yourself: "STOP". Choose a positive message to replace the negative one. Can you think of some new positive messages to add to the list? Type your ideas in the comment section. I will read your ideas and share them with the class. Good Luck and I will see you on August 15th!

Z.H., P.W., and J.J.'s List:

When I have to learn something new, I will tell myself:

1. I'm gong to try.

2. I have the ability to learn.

3. I will tell myself (in my head) that I will try to do it because it is a new thing.

4. New things are hard to learn sometimes.

5. I can learn new things.

6. I am confident.

7. Maybe if I try, I can be good at it.

8. I CAN do it!

9. I can ask for help.

10. We can help each other on the parts we don't understand.

11. My teacher is here to help me.