Building Self Esteem in Children: Raising Self Esteem in the Class

Consistency and Creativity together is Key to Successful Self Esteem Building in the Classroom

Consistency and creativity is key to successfully teaching the class all parts of the curriculum as well as supporting their self esteem. They will keep small misunderstandings and distracting behaviour from later becoming a greater lack of knowledge and very difficult behaviour. Feeling stupid and constantly getting into trouble for bad behaviour are two things that lower self esteem in any children greatly.

Some children will kick against new kinds of activities and you have to stand firm and mean it when you say, "lets do this problem solving together” of it is "time to do our relaxation." Consistency teaches the class that there are defined ways to do things. By learning that steadily over time they begin to find the structure you are providing relaxing and helpful. It gives a shape to the day and allows classes to know what to expect and to relax as they learn. However consistency has to go along with creativity to give lightness to the structure. The safety of the consistency and the fun of the creativity make great partners in self esteem building in a classroom.

It also helps if there is an ethos of creativity and consistency in the whole school If one teacher is too creative and another is too structured and the integration of the two things isn’t seen as important this can interrupt the success of the approach to building self esteem. The whole community agreeing on the balance between these things makes for a successful team. This can be especially difficult if some of the staff just don’t like the idea but on the whole staff in primary schools can see the advantages of each and are more than willing to develop the ideas.
Try using the following ending to sessions or classes so that it becomes a ritual for the children. Rituals are great for bringing about a feeling of safety. Then try the second set of suggestions to help develop creativity

Wrap upsr
You ask: Who participated today - the children shout back 'I did'

Who learned something new today - the children shout back 'I did'

How did you feel - the children shout back 'I felt great'

What's our plan for tomorrow - the children shout back 'Work well and have fun'

Air Writingr
Once participants have heard you say a term, ask them to stand and take a deep breath. Then, have them write it in the air as they say or spell it out, using their index fingers as pencils.
Variations
? Perform air writing to a soundtrack of some great music. Try the instrumental “Java” by Al Hirt or James Brown’s “Make It Funky”.
• Air write with elbows, knees, heads or feet instead of index fingers.
• Let a volunteer lead the activity.