Young children can create simple visions for themselves, but they will likely need a little guidance from teachers. Find images of children engaging in different actions and encourage children to pick one or two of the actions that they want to focus on. You could include images that depict:
- A child comforting another child- Call this Kind Friend
- A child working to complete a task – Call this Hard Worker
- A child solving a problem – Call this Problem Solver
- A child being helpful – Call this Helpful Buddy
- A child painting – Call this Creative Thinker
- A child taking a deep breath – Call this Calm Kiddo
- A child engaged in any other action that you want to see more of in your learning environment
Engage in one-on-one conversations with children about what they see in the pictures. Share the names of the pictures and talk about the actions the children are taking. Encourage children to choose an action or characteristic that they want to focus on. This is a form of personal vision. Children can to pick a new vision each day or even each week.
This activity could be set up as an interactive bulletin board on the back of a storage shelf. You could also place the images on a poster that is located near the cubby area. Try to catch each child as they enter the classroom to have the conversation about the vision they have for themselves that day!
Use the language from these images and conversations when you notice children engaged in the actions throughout the day. For example, “I noticed that you were being a Helpful Buddy during clean-up time today. Thank you!”
Show us pictures of your Vision Bulletin Board on our Facebook page here.
For the main article Creating Vision Statements, CLICK HERE
For the article Setting a Vision for Your Classroom, CLICK HERE
For the article Vision Setting with Families, CLICK HERE
For the article Program Vision Setting, CLICK HERE
