I Like Me! - Self Esteem FREEBIE!

I just finished taking an "Inner Critic" questionnaire for one of my grad school classes and it got me thinking. We all deal with certain internal conflicts and issues. Our kids face the same things. They face several obstacles with classmates, students on the bus, and siblings. It's sad to hear of the teasing and bullying going on. Once I started teaching 3rd graders, this was extremely evident to me. My kids are not only dealing with learning and mastering all the new concepts, but also dealing with social issues.

Our guidance counselor is an amazing woman who teaches the kids (and myself) excellent tools for dealing with these issues. For example, "little problems" vs. "big problems." The students can handle little problems such as "He's reading the book I wanted to read," but must see an adult for big problems such as "She pushed me out of the swing." She also introduced them to "the shield." It looks like a shield that a knight would use when jousting, but it really hit home with the kids. She had them write about positive and uplifting things about themselves. When facing hurtful comments, she reminded them to "put up their shield" and remember how awesome they were. Even I use it from time to time.

So here's where all that thinking landed me....this activity. I created this activity to help build friendships and teamwork in my classroom. I'm going to use it next year and have my students keep it somewhere special to remind them of what great kids they are.

Click the picture to download the activity.