For the last couple of weeks we have been working on using perseverance.  We began by talking about what it means to have perseverance: not giving up, working with mistakes, and continuing to try even when something is challenging.   Children shared examples of times they have shown perseverance and what it felt like to accomplish something after lots and lots of trying.  Some examples included learning to ride a bike, learning to swim under water, and learning to ski.  We then read several picture books about working with mistakes and persevering including Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg and The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.

We have talked about how learning something new will almost always require a bit of perseverance, but with effort and persistence we can accomplish many things.  We have also brainstormed strategies to help move forward when something feels hard or we feel stuck, including walking away for a few minutes, taking some deep breaths, or asking a friend for ideas.  We now have a perseverance chart in our room.  Children report to me when they have shown perseverance and they add a sticker to our chart.  This has helped to bring awareness to the myriad ways we all show perseverance throughout the day from sitting quietly on the rug,  to zipping a jacket before we go outside, learning new letters and their sounds, pumping on the swings, crossing the monkey bars, and building things both in the forest and in the classroom.   We will continue to focus on using perseverance across settings throughout the year.