Reasons to use affirmations in the classroom

What are affirmations?

Affirmations are positive phrases or statements that you repeat to yourself, either out loud or in your head such as I am enough, exactly as I am, I am smart, I am creative, I can do difficult things. Affirmations are usually spoken in the present tense, often using statement like I am or I can. Using affirmations helps us to reprogram our minds to think more positively and to change our perspective and mindset. We are only capable of one singular thought at any one time, so by using a positive affirmation, we are thinking, saying and subconsciously processing a positive message to replace any negative ones.

Using positive affirmations often allows us to begin to reprogram our brains by repeatedly using positive and empowering words. The words you speak or think about yourself matter and if we can change these to words that are kinder and more supportive, we have the power to change our mindset and our self-esteem. Affirmations can not only have a great impact on our own lives but on the lives of those around us too. When you start to consciously and repetitively choose your thoughts, you begin to form long lasting, positive habits.

Why use affirmations in the classroom?

Just as I have mentioned all of the benefits above of why we should be using affirmations everyday, these too also apply to why our children and students should be using them. Affirmations seems to have become a bit of a buzz word lately but how amazing would it be if our students grew up with positive affirmations just being a way of life, that they, the next generation would just speak more kindly to and about themselves, that on the regular they would have trained their brain to just think more positively.

Positive affirmations for kids can be an effective self-regulation strategy to help them persevere during difficult or stressful situations. They can boost a child’s self-worth and help them to develop a growth mindset and a more positive outlook on life. Using them on the regular can over ride a child’s negative thinking patterns.

A child does not have to believe the positive affirmation for it to have an impact on their negative thoughts, when repeated often enough, the positive affirmation will become the dominant thought. Every time we do something our brain is forming pathways, the more we do this , the stronger those pathways become, the stronger they are the easier and more likely it is that our thoughts and behaviours will follow it. Using positive affirmations allow kids the space to speak and think more positively about themselves. Over time, with plenty of repetition this becomes easier and the more natural way of thinking for our kids.

10 Benefits of Affirmations for Children

• Helps children deal with stress
• Improves children’s overall attitude
• Cultivates a growth mindset in our classrooms
• Reinforces that mistakes are okay and that challenges can be overcome
• Builds confidence in children
• Motivates children
• Raises children’s self-esteem and self-worth
• Encourages children to take chances even when there is a risk of failure
• Helps children to cope with strong feelings such as sadness, fear and anxiety
• Builds resilience in our students

How do I use affirmations in my class?

There are so many different ways to use affirmations in the classroom but a tried and tested method for me is choosing a different positive affirmation daily and focusing on that together as a class. You will see from the photos that I have developed my own set of affirmation cards specifically for children. This deck of cards includes 52 different affirmations that can be used each day.