Using positive affirmation activities for kids in your classroom is so powerful for building self-esteem, self-talk, and a growth mindset! Keep reading for ideas on how to use positive affirmations in your classroom. Perfect for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade!

Positive affirmations are so important to creating a safe space for your students!

If you’re a Simply Kinder + member, instantly download the Affirmation Mirrors & Activities here! Not a member yet, learn more here!

This Activity Goes Well With These Simply Kinder Resources:

Check out these related articles:

• Growth Mindset
• Teacher Approved Growth Mindset Videos
• Books about Growth Mindset

What are positive affirmations?

According to an article in the Huff Post by Dr. Hara, “Affirmations help purify our thoughts and restructure the dynamic of our brains so that we truly begin to think nothing is impossible. The word affirmation comes from the Latin affirmare, originally meaning “to make steady, strengthen.” -Read more here

Thus, it’s important to practice positive self-talk with our students to help them grow in awareness, build self-esteem, and possibly even rewire their brains to break a habit of negative thoughts.

Positive affirmations are so powerful!

Affirmation Activities for Kids

Spend time each day modeling positive self-talk by sharing an affirmation with your students. Discuss what it means, and when they might need to say it to themselves.

Teaching in the moment is even more beneficial. For example, if an assignment is proving to be difficult for students, stop, practice a cool-down method (such as deep breathing) and then show the affirmation mirror and model how to use it!

You can model by saying, “When I feel frustrated, I stop and choose a positive affirmation to help guide me through it. Say, “I am smart. I am growing. I will figure this out.”

Repeat it with me!

Create a culture of success, perseverance, and motivation in your classroom!

Peek inside the Affirmation Mirrors & Activities:

Go beyond just setting up an affirmation mirror with writing activities and more to support your social-emotional lessons!

This set includes everything you need to get this set up in your classroom:

• Affirmation Mirror: Color cards to hang around your mirror with 24 affirmation words and 6 different me cards.
• Affirmation Posters: Full-size color posters to display in your classroom and a black and white set to have students color and take home
• Cheat Sheet: One-page card with all of the affirmations in a folder on your desk, send them home, or display them around your room.
• Graphic Organizers: One per affirmation so you can brainstorm in words or pictures what that word looks like.
• Draw Yourself In Writing Pages: Open-ended writing page where students draw themselves in and write a story for each affirmation word.
• Sentence Starter Writing Pages: One page per affirmation word where students trace the sentence starter and add additional sentences.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

Start by highlighting one word a day and watch your students change how they speak to themselves and each other.

1. Use the poster on your board and have students color their own poster.
2. Have a rich conversation about ways they can show that word throughout their day and life and have students complete a brainstorming map with pictures or words.
3. Write a story using one of the writing pages.
4. Move the word to the outer frame or wall and do another word the next day.

Make this into a daily routine and watch your classroom community become stronger! 

Positive Affirmation Video for Kids:

Use this video to help reinforce positive affirmations:

Positive Affirmations

Incorporate these positive affirmation activities in your classroom regularly to help students believe in themselves and focus on the good!

Great for teachers too!

Share how you’re using positive affirmation in your classroom inside the Simply Kinder Teachers Facebook Group here!