Crunch Time Motivation Tip #2: AFFIRMATIONS!

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you had a restful weekend… As you already know from my last 2 posts, testing is quickly approaching for my 3rd graders. We have been working really hard all year long and now it’s their time to shine. I’ve shared with you how I motivate my students by having their parents write motivational letters for each day of testing. Feel free to download those letters by clicking here. I’ve also shared 2 sets of motivational motto posters that you can get here and here. They will hang around my classroom on testing day to help inspire my kiddos. So today I thought we’d chat a little about affirmations. Affirmations are usually short, positive statements used to undermine negative thoughts and replace them with positive beliefs. I’m a strong believer in the power of affirmations. I feel that by repeating affirmations, you CAN replace your negative thoughts with positive ones. In essence, you will internalize the affirmation.That is why I use affirmations with my own students. How many times have you heard students mutter “I’m stupid,” “I’m not a good reader,” “I just can’t do it”, or similar phrases? Wouldn’t it be great if you could help those students change those beliefs with affirmations? It can happen. Begin by having students brainstorm what they’d like to improve on. Maybe they struggle with reading comprehension or math word problems. Then have them write out a positive statement in the present tense. For example, “I CAN comprehend what I read!” “I CAN solve word problems!” Have students share their affirmations with a partner in the mornings to start their day off. It’s never too late to begin teaching our kids about the power of words… especially positive thinking. So try it out and let me know what happens. To end today’s post, I’d like to offer one more FREEBIE to help students prepare for testing. It is my Tips 4 Testing bookmarker. I use it to remind my students of what they should be doing while testing. I hope you find it useful in your own classroom. So what affirmations have you created for yourself? I’d love to hear from you… XOXO, Melissa