It might a good practice at this point to know that little eyes are always watching our behaviour too. Think for a moment. How do you react when something doesn’t go right in the classroom? Do you give in immediately and call another teacher or perhaps yell, scream, kick (yes I may have done this once or twice myself) if the printer in the room won’t work for example?!?! I think it’s a mindful practice to always keep in the forefront of our minds that we aren’t just a child’s teacher we are their role models to how to react to life’s situations and circumstances in their future ….(but no pressure!)

Ways to help children who throw in the towel:
???? Demonstrate resilience yourself; think about how you handle a difficult situation when your students are in front of you and watching.

???? Set small strategies for the child to focus on when an easy task starts to become a little harder; take a deep breathe, pause and count to 10;

???? Set expectations that are realistic for the individual child.

???? One that MANY teachers suffer from ourselves is needing every minute detail to be absolutely perfect. Is this you or sound familiar?? It’s an impossible standard many adults place on themselves but it’s important to show a child that giving it a go, and seeing a commitment to the end is much better to master than perfecting ‘perfect’, because what is perfect anyway??

???? Finally, demonstrating and pushing through ourselves in the tough times shows children that true grit, determination and commitment make for a successful student in life. As Vince Lombardi once said, “Winners never quit and quitters never win!!” ????