What ways can we teach kids courage? Courage is defined within a wide range. I read an article about courage recently. The article inspired this post. Enjoy!
Ways to Teach Kids Courage
- Read a book about courage and those people who embody it
- Talk about what scares you and make a list of those fears
- Learn another culture's traditions and celebrate with that culture
- Make a list of daring feats you want to do or have done whether physically, mentally, or morally
- Climb that tree you've been eyeing for months
- Write a poem about your fears
- Learn to swim
- Explore without a map
- Learn to ride a bike
- Pet a snake
- Wear a snake around your neck
- Be different
- Embrace your passion even if no one else is
- Watch Brave even though the bears are scary
- Sit with your anger instead of using your body to show anger
- Do something hard
- Solve a problem for yourself
- Help someone else solve a problem
- Take a deep breath and find your words when you're angry
- Smile at a stranger
- Keep at an activity even though it is challenging to you
- Be truthful
- Practice
- Embrace and learn from failure
- Smile when you're grumpy
- Take a physical risk
- Step out of your comfort zone socially
- Write a poem or a story
- Know when to walk away from a person or situation
- Ask a zookeeper a question to which you've always wanted to know the answer
- Go to sleep on your own
- If you wake up first in the morning, begin your day on your own by making breakfast
- Let your younger brother play with your favorite train
- Teach a classmate something new
- Send a thank you note to someone who has helped you
- Draw a picture
- Paint a picture
- Keep a journal
- Share your journal
- Learn to knit to to sew
- Climb your/a mountain
- Visit a new place (e.g. a park, a town, a country…)
- Meet a war veteran. Learn his or her story.
- Volunteer
- Try something new together with your family
- Play and explore outdoors every day for 30 days straight
- Ask questions, lots of them
- Encourage question asking
- Play with the shy, quiet kid at school, or the one that has trouble making friends
- Sit with someone new at lunch
- Invite a new friend to your home
- Take the elevator to the tallest building in your area
- Fine a purpose or passion like helping save whales or studying ways to help endangered birds
- Invent yoga poses, or simply do the ones you know
- Ask them to define courage
- Remain still and quiet for three minutes
- Practice silence
- Learn about an animal that showed great courage
- Learn real life stories about historical figures such as Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, and Abigail Adams
- Tell real stories of people battling an illness today
- Look at examples of courage through images
- Act out what it mean to be courageous
- Make a list of ways to show courage
- Make a collage of all the people, places and things that represent courage
- Create a piece of art work while listening to the I Have a Dream speech
- Simply listen to Taps and ask the child how the tune made him feel
- Send the child off to do research on someone who acted in a courageous way
- Encourage the child to try something new
- Encourage the child to introduce himself and make a new friend
- Visit an elderly care home to hear stories of generations passed
- Watch video clips of athletes doing daring feats
- Watch a video clip of child making a speech
- Use figurines to discuss people of varying abilities – is this person courageous?
- Try a new hiking trail
- Eat a food you've never had before
- Use a blindfold and take turns leading one another around the yard or your home
- Hold a door for someone
- Choose happiness over self defeat or pity
- Try a new sport
- Bob your head under water
- Swim under water
- Practice gratitude
- Ask someone: “How are you today?” and genuinely listen to their answer
- Apologize (and mean it) in real time
- Apologize after the fact 0f the matter
- Try out for a play
- Choose not to complain
- Invite over a friend you haven't seen for a while
- Write a letter to a teacher or person that has meant a lot to you
- Tell someone what they mean to you
- Learn a new language
- See the “glass as half full”
- Acknowledge your feelings and emotions
- Accept your feelings and emotions
- Be true to your beliefs and passions
- Dine alone
- Learn an instrument
- Watch a movie or read a book alone
- Help an animal in need
- Choose to be kind
- Compliment a chef (even if that is a mom or dad)
Related Read: 100 Phrases to Use to Show Appreciation for Your Child
I hope we inspired you today!
Marnie
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