7 Mindsets for Learning Coaches
November 2020
November: Attitude of Gratitude
Attitude of Gratitude - Focusing Students on the Positive
The Attitude of Gratitude Mindset teaches us the importance of seeking the positives from
every experience and being thankful for all that we have. Through this mindset, we learn that
we can use the positives or the negatives of our lives as the foundation on which to build.
Choose the positives, and we are on our way toward extraordinary success; choose the
negatives, and we embark on path toward disappointment, resentment, and suffering. In these lessons, we guide students to focus on all the things they have, leaving no time to be distracted by what they don’t.
The 4 critical components of Attitude of Gratitude:
1. Treasure Yourself – We create the wonderful lives we want by harvesting the great things within us. There are often things we don’t like about ourselves, but we must recognize that we’re made of far more wonderful things than not. We need to recognize our own worth and see our uniqueness as something to treasure and develop so we can live the extraordinary lives we’re meant to live.
2. Be More Grateful – We all have the choice to focus on the good or the bad in life. If we focus on the positive things, they expand and guide us down the path to our dreams. If we spend our time in regret, jealousy, and anger, then the negatives multiply and we likely find our dreams sidelined and our goals unattained. We must simply be more grateful, reflecting as much as possible on the good things we have in our lives now, as well as those that are coming to us.
3. Thank It Forward – One of the best and quickest ways to feel better and become happier is to do something for someone else. And the easiest as well as one of the most powerful things we can do for someone is express gratitude for who they are and what they mean to us. Thanking someone provides two wonderful gifts: it makes the other person feel good, and it makes us happy at the same time.
4. Elevate Your Perspective – People who have achieved great lives point to moments of great adversity and challenge when they learned a critical lesson or built the essential skill that allowed them to be successful. Knowing this, we understand why it is important to seek the positives from all situations, even those that seem completely negative. When we do this, we get better, learn, and grow in essential ways that help us to live richer and fuller lives.
Top 5 Dos and Don'ts at Home:
1) Do practice gratitude every day, even if it’s only to tell your children how grateful you are to have them in your life. If you have a journal, write down the things that you’re thankful for every day, both the big and small. Verbalizing what you’re grateful for is a powerful way that both you and your children can avoid taking things for granted and remain thankful for all that you have.
2) Do say “thank you” regularly. Showing your gratitude to neighbors and teachers with a kind note or word is one small way to show your appreciation for them. Teaching your children to do the same is important in helping them to feel gratitude for the lives and friends that they have.
3) Don’t let the bad times be all bad. Become an “inverse paranoid” and believe that the universe is conspiring to do you good, and the bad times and obstacles are there to teach you something useful. Try saying to yourself, “I can’t wait to find out what good will come from this!” This helps you look at all situations as leading toward positives in life.
4) Do write a thank-you note to your children for what you appreciate about them. For example, you might write and leave a note that says, “Thank you so much for picking up your room today without me even asking. You are an incredible kid, and I am so thankful to have you in my life!”
5) Do treasure yourself and take care of yourself as a role model for your child. Many parents treasure their children but not themselves. Think about how you are living your life. Are you maximizing your potential? Enjoying how you spend your time? If parents are not able to live extraordinary lives and let themselves shine for all to enjoy, what kind of lives are we modeling for our children?
NOVEMBER IS MILITARY FAMILY APPRECIATION MONTH
Veterans & Military Families Month was established in 1996 by the Armed Services YMCA, with the U.S. Government recognizing the occasion every year since. Each November, the President signs a proclamation declaring November National Veterans & Military Families Month, and with hundreds of thousands of service members deployed overseas, recognizing the daily sacrifices made by active duty, Guard, and Reserve military families has never been more important.
There are many local and national services provided to show appreciation during National Veterans & Military Families Month and beyond. Here are just a few:
- Every year you should be able to download a ‘Military Family Month’ packet from the Armed Services YMCA at www.asymca.org. The packet typically contains: a Military Family Month Poster; a Message from the President; a letter from the National Executive Director of the ASYMCA; Military Family Month Program Suggestions; and Guidelines for the annual art and essay contests.
2022 Discounts for Military Family Appreciation Month
- Sesame Street for Military Families Free App – Addresses topics such as deployments, homecoming, self-expression and injuries.
- Military children can find comfort in a free custom made photo transfer quilt or pillow through this program for children of deployed service members – Operation Kid Comfort.
- Many Military Families are eligible for a free YMCA or Private Fitness membership through the YMCA- DoD Initiative with the Armed Services YMCA.
- Sears Heroes provides gift cards for military families at Home Registry Sign ups. Signups usually happen in Late Fall- Sears Heroes.
- Home Depot offers a 10% in-store discount for those with valid military ID, but the company is also recognized as an important employer of military spouses. A Home Depot employee-run resource called Military Appreciation Group, “is dedicated strictly to supporting active military associates, deployed reservists and their families” according to the Home Depot official site.
- College campuses with ROTC units may host parades featuring trainee Reserve officers marching, displaying the colors, holding drills, etc. These events may be organized on campus, or ROTC units may partner with local organizers for events in the community.
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to military families for the support they provide for our service members on a daily basis. Your sacrifices on behalf of our country are truly inspiring.
Elementary School Learning Coaches! Make sure to remind students that the Bison Mindset Minute happens once a month for all grade levels! Check out the specific day and times below.
High School Learning Coaches! Make sure to remind students that the Bison Mindset Minute happens every Wednesday at 11:45am!
REMEMBER: Take time for self-care EVERY day!
If you have a middle school or high school student who could benefit from LLIT group, please contact Raeshelle Sharpnack.
Raeshelle Sharpnack,MA
Student Family Resource Coordinator
c: 405-259-7770 text or voice
Questions?
Social Emotional Learning Student Support Specialist
p: 405.259.9478 ext. 3196
t: 405.696.0910