12 Practical Growth Mindset Activities You Can Do At Home
That teach children to embrace the learning process and recognise the power of feeling challenged!
Feeling challenged is daunting, overwhelming and frustrating for many of us. Yet for others, it is exciting, motivating and sometimes even exhilarating! So what is it that causes this significant disparity?
The answer, my friend, is Mindset.
Mindset is the set of beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world around us. These beliefs start developing from birth and are a result of both nature (genetics) and nurture (the surrounding environment).
As parents, carers and educators, there is not a lot we can do about genetics, but we do have significant control over the environment. We have the power to control the people our child is surrounded by, the places our child visits and the media our child consumes. We have the power to choose positive mindset-focused learning and growth opportunities for our children and create intentional conversations around self-belief, self-confidence and resilience.
This power that we hold is a significant force in shaping our child’s mindset. However, it can be difficult to know where to begin and to feel confident within ourselves that we are doing and saying all the right things.
That’s why I have put together this list of 12 simple hands-on activities you can do at home to teach your child to embrace the learning process and understand the power of feeling challenged. These activities are the perfect place to start as they are designed to open the conversation around growth mindset, create opportunities for you to teach your child about the powers of their brain and show them how with practice they can improve and learn new things.
As Dr Carol Dweck, a renowned growth mindset researcher found in her studies, when a child has a growth mindset, they know and understand that their skills and abilities can be improved with hard work, effort and persistence. It’s our job as their parents, carers and educators to lead the way into this mindset.
I have included language samples with each activity that you may like to use as part of the growth mindset teaching process.
Each activity can be conducted with common household items and require very little time to prepare. The bonus is, while you are focusing on building your child’s mindset, you are also getting them off the couch and helping to strengthen their motor skills!
Activity 1: Paper Aeroplane Challenge
Have a paper aeroplane challenge, allowing your child opportunities to go back and refine their design after each flight. They may like to research different designs or simply use trial and error.
A paper aeroplane challenge is a fun way to show children that sometimes we just need a different strategy to achieve success.
Language suggestion: “Look at how seeking a new strategy helped you to improve your results!”
Activity 2: Putt-Putt Sock
Noone wants golf balls being slogged around their home, but a ball made from socks is just as fun and totally safe! Using some plastic cups and gift wrapping rolls, you can increase the difficulty as you play by having your child step further away from the ‘hole’.
Use this activity to show children that practice and persistence are what helps us to achieve our goals.
Language suggestion: “You didn’t get it in the hole right away, but after a little bit of practice you nailed it!”
Activity 3: Ten-Pin Bowling
Collect your empty toilet paper rolls and grab another sock ball, then get bowling!
Allocate points to each ‘pin’ and use this fun game as a way to teach your child that achieving success (in this case, winning), takes time and patience.
Language suggestion: “It took a long time to reach 100 points but you persevered and got there in the end. We can achieve all of our goals if we just stick with it!”
Activity 4: Indoor Obstacle Course
Everyone loves an obstacle course! Move some furniture around, set some rules and start the stopwatch!
This activity creates the perfect sample of how when we do the same thing over we are able to refine our technique and skill to master it at a higher level (or in this case, a faster speed!).
Language suggestion: “Wow, you got faster each time! That shows your brain was making new connections and each time you ran the course it was easier for your brain to remember what to do!”
Activity 5: Coin Toss
A fun game to play with pocket money and some plastic cups. Allocate point values to each cup and have your child set their total point goal. Then get tossing!
A great way to demonstrate the power of goal setting and explain that sometimes we fall off the path, but with perseverance, we can get back on track and still reach our goals.
Language suggestion: “Your goal was 80 points and you hoped to get there with just three coins. It took you four coins to hit your goal which was a little slower but you still got there in the end!”
Activity 6: Hot Balloon
Who doesn’t enjoy a little bit of hot balloon?!
Use this activity to demonstrate that when the balloon is dropped it bounces back up. In life, sometimes we will also feel as though we are falling (or failing), but just like the balloon, with a little support, we too can bounce back up and keep going.
Language suggestion: “Oops! You dropped the balloon to the floor. Luckily the balloon is resilient and it bounced back up. It needed a little help to get back up high though and that is okay because we all need a little help sometimes!”
Activity 7: Domino Run
How long can you make your domino run?! From straight lines to curves and bends, all you need is a set of dominos for this one!
Use this activity to teach your child that every time we do something we have the opportunity to make it a little bit better or try a little bit harder. Whether it is creating domino runs or practising our handwriting, when we engage our brains we can improve a little with each attempt.
Language suggestion: “Your second domino run worked better than your first because you took a little more time to think about how you were going to position the dominos!”
Activity 8: Sock Shoot-Off
A ball of socks and a waste paper bin can create hours of fun for the whole family.
‘Shooting hoops’ opens up opportunities to test different techniques including angles, distances, heights and sizes. You can use a fun family game of Sock Shoot-Off to teach your child that sometimes we have to keep looking for alternative paths to take us to our goal.
Language suggestion: “You totally missed when you stood over to the left, but once you moved around a little you hit every basket! We have to always remember to keep moving until we reach our goals.”
Activity 9: Origami Challenge
A calming activity that requires focus and concentration.
Doing origami creates the perfect opportunity to discuss the importance of keeping your eye on the end goal and making small steps (or in this case, folds) to help us get there.
Language suggestion: “It feels like a lot of folds, right? Remember that every small fold you make is getting you closer to your end goal.”
Activity 10: Playdough Challenge
Most kids (big and small!) love playdough so why not turn the timer on and see what they can create in different time spans (eg. 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes). You may like to provide keywords as inspiration and a theme to guide their creations.
Use this activity to show your child how their creations grew with more time and teach your child the concept that while we may overestimate what we can achieve in one year, we underestimate what we can achieve in 10 years!
Language suggestion: “You made a great attempt in 1 minute, but look at how much you were able to build in 5 minutes! Sometimes we just need a little more time!”
Activity 11: Balancing Tape Run
Similar to the indoor obstacle course, you can use a Balancing Tape Run to teach that practice makes progress. Stick the tape down, set the rules and start the timer.
Engage your child in discussions around accepting feedback, trying new techniques and learning from others!
Language suggestion: “Walking sideways along the tape was a little tricky and your feet got a bit tangled but once you listened to the feedback and tried my new suggestion you were able to fly along that stretch of the tape! We all need to get advice and feedback from other people sometimes. Everyone has something they can teach and everyone has something they can learn!”
Activity 12: Great Fort Challenge
A good solid fort is one of those things all kids will continue to play in for days which makes this one perfect for rainy weather!
A Great Fort Challenge is a wonderful way to teach our children that sometimes we need to search for more tools to achieve our goals.
Language suggestion: “When you first started with just the blanket and pillows, you weren’t having much success getting it to stand up, but once you went searching and found the broom and the box your fort became so much stronger! Sometimes we just have to go out in search of some more tools to help us achieve what we envision.”
