Mindset Matters in Kindergarten

School:: Laurel Oak Elementary
Subject:: Character Education
Teacher:: Julie Debar
: Kindergarten Team
Students Impacted:: 160
Grade:: K
Date:: August 29, 2019

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Florida License for Learning License Plate Fund - $527.55

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 160

The kindergarten teachers at Laurel Oak Elementary are so thankful for the support we have received in funding this grant. With this grant we were able to purchase picture books and activity buckets that taught our students how to have a growth mindset. Our students worked together to solve problems, persevere through challenges, and never gave up. We would use the key ideas expressed in the picture books to communicate with the students a different theme or idea that related to having a growth mindset. Then the students would take that learning and apply it through collaborative groups, working together, using the activity buckets. In kindergarten this looks a lot like play, but when a specific challenge is given with each bucket, students need to rise above and believe they can accomplish any task before them. It is hard to put a value on this grant because when a child has a fully developed growth mindset, they accomplish so much more then they even thought possible. Thank you for being the reason our students are developing their positive growth mindset. These books and activity buckets will be used for many years to come.

*The photos I have will not let me save it in the correct format. If you would like to see them, please let me know and I will gladly make a hard copy and mail it to you. Thanks for your understanding.*

Original Grant Overview

Goal

To educate kindergarten children about the ways that their brain learns and grows. Young children naturally have a growth mindset before entering kindergarten. A growth mindset is a way of thinking that allows the children to dream and believe that anything is possible and they can achieve anything they set their mind to. Kindergarten expectations have changed significantly over the years, often expecting children to accomplish and process information that is not developmentally appropriate. When a child is confronted with challenging tasks, their growth mindset begins to weaken and they feel like they become limited in who they are and what they can do. Our goal is to teach the children how their brain has the ability to grow knowledge and persevere through difficulty in order to be successful in a given task.

What will be done with my students

To help children understand how their brain works and keep their growth mindset, we will be using a series of picture books and challenge buckets that specifically focuses on these key ideas. The picture books chosen will teach the children the following themes that promote a growth mindset: how our brain works, perseverance, problem solving, creativity, positive thinking and collaborating with others. Kindergarten students will also have weekly opportunities to work together to accomplish challenges found in the activity buckets. Students will learn to share ideas, create a plan and work together to solve the problem in each activity bucket. All challenge buckets are hands-on and require total participation of all students.

Benefits to my students

These books and challenge buckets will be used year after year in each of the nine kindergarten classrooms at Laurel Oak Elementary. Nurturing a growth mindset in our kindergarten classrooms will give our children the tools and skills necessary to accomplish any challenge. They will become problem solvers, encouragers, and champions for themselves and others.

Budget Narrative

The funds from this grant will allow me to purchase 15 growth mindset picture books and 7 activity buckets.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Mindset Matters	$10.35
2	Bubble Brain & Activity Book	$19.31
3	After the Fall	$14.39
4	The Invisible Boy	$14.39
5	The Most Magnificent Thing	$15.11
6	The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes	$13.59
7	Rosie Revere Engineer	$15.19
8	Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun	$13.92
9	Making a Splash, Growth Mindset for Kids	$8.99
10	Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicyle	$15.67
11	Creatrilogy Book Set: The Dot, Sky Color, Ish	$40.50
12	I'm Not Just a Scribble	$17.99
13	You Can Do It Bert	$15.29
14	Your Fantastic Elastic Brain	$15.16
15	Making Friends is an Art	$10.95
16	Tinker Toy - 100 Piece Building Set	$39.99
17	EMIDO - Building Discs	$17.95
18	VIAHART Brain Flakes	$19.99
19	KEVA Contraptions Planks Set	$54.95
20	IQ Builder STEM Learning	$34.97
21	150 Piece Magnetic Block Set	$35.99
22	Marble Run Starter Set - 130 Piece	$29.99
23	15qt Storage Containers	$52.92
	Total:	$527.55

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