Every teacher I know would love their students to be a little more self-directed. Students that embody self management make our lives as educators SO MUCH EASIER. It’s hard for kids! Building in some explicit instruction on what it means to be self directed and grasp self management can do wonders for your classroom community.
Us teachers play a crucial role in shaping the minds and hearts of our students. While we often focus on teaching academic skills, it’s equally important to foster their self management skills. Self management is all about developing the ability to regulate your own behavior, emotions, and impulses. It empowers students to take charge of their actions and make responsible choices. By cultivating self management skills, we offer them with the tools they need to succeed not only academically but also in their personal and social lives.
Here are a few reasons why self-management is so important.
Academic Success
When students can manage their time effectively, set goals, and stay organized, they become more focused and productive. Self-management skills help them prioritize tasks, stay motivated, and handle challenges with resilience. This frees up us teachers to support other students, see what students can complete more independently, and have students take more ownership.
This “Focused Me” activity is such an empowering way to get students thinking about self management. What does a focused version of myself look like? Without explicit prompting, many kids don’t naturally think this way! Giving opportunities to reflect on themselves as a learner is so helpful.
“Concentration is the secret of strength.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emotional Well-being
Self management enables students to understand and regulate their emotions. It give them strategies to cope with stress, manage conflicts, and maintain positive relationships. By developing emotional intelligence and self-control, students can navigate social situations with more confidence and more empathy. Win/win.
This “Relaxation Rainbow” activity makes such a cute and powerful display for kids, and opens up the door for talking more about coping skills and emotion management.
I also love this calm coloring set of coping skill activities. This is such a relaxing, refreshing activity that can help students focus on something, maintain healthy levels of power and control, and still keep it all low stakes.
“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” – Deepak Chopra
Independence and Responsibility
Self management skills empower students to take ownership of their learning and their personal growth. It can help to instill a sense of responsibility as they learn to manage their own behavior and make wise decisions. This independence prepares them for the demands of growing up and fosters a lifelong learning mindset.
Helping kids understand how their body responds gives them more responsibility over their emotion management. This flap book activity gives them some time and prompts to really think about how their individual brain and body reacts and responds to different emotions. So, so powerful – and can be informative for teachers, therapists, and families to learn about the kids too!
“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Denis Waitley
When we prioritize teaching self management skills, we empower our students to become self-directed learners, responsible individuals, and confident contributors to society. Essentially – we all win.
Looking for tools to help this experience bloom in your classroom? This self management kit allows for students to engage in identity activities in a hands on way! The activities and crafts make really awesome displays to show off in your classroom or office space. They are perfect for bulletin boards, door decorations, or hallway displays!
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