Family Adventure

GOAL:   Help family members develop a Growth Mindset

The ADVENTURE:

Choose from the activities below to help family members develop a growth mindset

TIPS:

 Be supportive and interested in what your child is passionate about.

Provide resources to help them explore and develop their interests.

   Post family members' visual representations of the dreams and goal somewhere prominent in the house where kids will see it frequently

Perseverance and passion may sound unteachable, but they aren’t. It takes time and consistency, but by enjoying the following activities with your child from time to time it will help them develop inner grittiness and a growth mindset. Research has shown that a growth mindset leads to a life of  happiness and success.

Choose from the following activities to enjoy as a family:

   Find Your Purpose! Research indicates that students are more motivated to succeed when they have a core purpose. Have each family member identify their goals and purpose in life. Then discuss the steps that would be required in order to achieve those goals. The more clearly they can see their goals the better. You can encourage them to create vision boards to create a visual.

   Grit Interviews!  Children learn pessimism or optimism from the adults in their lives. Provide opportunities for your child to learn from positive resilient adults by interviewing grandparents, neighbors, community leaders and other people they know that have worked hard toward a long-term goal.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• What is a goal you set that you were able to achieve?
• What did you have to do to accomplish that goal?
• What is a challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?
• Did you ever feel like giving up? How did you get past that?
• How did you feel when you accomplished the goal?

Be sure to share your own resilience stories as well. It’s helpful for kids to understand that even adults make mistakes, but they can try again and ultimately reach a goal. Children who hear stories about grit from people they admire, including their parents, they'll want to mirror these values in their own life.

   Share stories of people with 'Grit'. Study famous people and their failures to show that perseverance through failure can lead to great success. Some examples to get you started include Michael Jordan, Colonel Sanders, J.K. Rowling, and Abraham Lincoln. Point out that if any of these famous people had given up when they experienced failure they would never have achieved their fame and success. “Luck” is an illusion; success is about hard work and persistence toward something you’re passionate about.

   The Grit Pie Exercise. The pie represents an obstacle someone is facing. Each slice of the pie represents a 'cause' of the problem. Help kids learn to analyze each slice of the pie and determine if their thoughts about the problem are permanent or temporary, and whether they blame themselves or someone else.

Use the “grit pie” activity to teach optimism and help family members become aware of their thoughts.

   Learning Grit through Literature. Read classic stories of perseverance like The Little Engine That Could, The Hugging Tree, or Dr. Seuss's Oh, The Places You'll Go! As you read the books help family members form connections to their own lives. Explore family members' challenges and response to failure and how they can live with grit.

   The Resilience Building Phrase: 'The Hard Part!'  When a family member feels discouraged and ready to give up ask them, "What's the hard part?" Once your child has identified what is difficult for them, repeat the information back in your own words. This helps your child identify their biggest challenge, allowing them to break it down into a more manageable task.

After the challenge has been identified ask the family member to identify what they could do to overcome or solve 'the hard part'. They'll likely arrive at an answer and realize problems can be solved if they persevere and takes the time to think the problems through. Helping family members find “the hard part” and navigate a way to overcome the challenge is a powerful way to help them develop grit.

Remember: Don't give your child the answer! Just help guide them to it.

Here are some questions to help you guide family members through the process:

• What are you feeling?
• What is the problem?
• What are some steps you could take to resolve the problem?
• What would happen if . . .?

   The 'Hard Thing' Challenge.

❏ Each family member chooses something 'hard' to do.

❏ Each family member must finish what they start.

❏ No one gets to choose a 'hard' thing for anyone else. Everyone must choose their own challenge.

The “Hard Thing Rule” combines passion (because you choose what to pursue) and perseverance (because you promise to stick with it), and your child will experience success or improvement with something challenging which will build their confidence and teach them the benefits of grit.

   Share Your Passions!  Inspire family members to find hobbies and interests they're passionate about by enthusiastically sharing your own passions. As you show your excitement about activities outside of working and parenting and devote time to developing these passions it will make you happier and more fulfilled, and will also set a great example for your family about pursuing your passions. It will also encourage other family members to openly share their own passions with you.

   Use examples from nature to teach grit.

Read the following poem:

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

        Did you hear about the rose that grew

        from a crack in the concrete?

        Proving nature's law is wrong it

        learned to walk without having feet.

        Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,

        it learned to breathe fresh air.

        Long live the rose that grew from concrete

        when no one else ever cared.

Let each member of the family share what the concrete in their life is. What are their obstacles? What can they do to break through the concrete like the rose did in the poem? You can use other examples from nature like the chicken pecking its way out of the egg; the butterfly working its way out of the cocoon; a root with less water will go deeper in search of water; or other examples from nature you are aware of.

Community Engagement Adventure

The Grit Interviews are a great way for youth to be involved in the community. However, there are  other ways to take this adventure to your community.

Share a concept you learned from this Adventure with a friend

Plan a neighborhood story time to share your favorite 'Growth Mindset' books like 'The Little Train The Could,' 'The Hugging Tree', and 'Oh, The Places You'll Go.'

Invite friends to join you in the 'Hard Thing' Challenge

What ideas do you have for taking this Adventure to the community?