Affirmations in the Classroom

Last summer I wrote apost about affirmation posters in my classroom, and shared these pictures:

Teacher Mom is also an artist and calligrapher--you can tell which posters she made!

I got the idea for these posters from Quantum Learning--here's an excerpt from the post in which I originally shared these pictures:

One small piece of Quantum is the affirmation posters that were all over the room.  Quantum research says that even when kids are just looking around the room, their brains are constantly taking in and processing information on the subconscious level.  They suggest putting posters with positive, first-person affirmations on your walls. From the Quantum website: "These supportive and inspiring posters can set the tone for a classroom and help create an environment of trust and safety – the kind of place where students learn best. In a students’ study areas they’re a good reminder of the things they need to remember about themselves."    

Last year I had these affirmations up all over my classroom, and while I pointed them out from time to time, I mostly counted on the students' absorbing their messages by "osmosis." :)  This year I decided to try a different approach.  After seeing this picture on the Clutter-Free Classroom blog...

...I decided that an "accent space" like this would be a PERFECT spot to display my affirmation posters.  Besides creating a designated space in the room for these signs, another thing I did differently was display just one poster to start out with.

Since school has started, I have referred to the message on this poster literally every day.  We have talked about what it means, about what "best effort" looks like, and about how it feels to take pride in your work.  I point it out and have the kids read it with me before we start a task or assignment, and display it on the board along with a morning message every day.  They have it memorized, have internalized it, and I hope that they will carry it with them always.  Friday I was laminating construction paper folders the kids had decorated to keep their Word Work activities in throughout the week, and came across this folder:

Yup, this girl has gotten the message.  Mission accomplished.  I plan to add another poster in a couple of weeks, and continue to do so throughout the year.  Hopefully by June these kiddos will have a bunch of positive phrases to carry around with them in their pockets and to remember every day. :)

How do you inspire positive thinking in your students?  Besides the affirmation posters, another thing I do is have the kids write "Bring it on!" at the top of every test.  :)