Teaching Conscious Language in the Classroom with Positive Affirmations
By: Becky Cummings
Are you conscious of your language? Do you think about the words you say and how they affect your life? Do you pause and think before you speak or correct your language to make better choices? Most of us do not. Our words spill out on autopilot from the unconscious part of our brain. When you become conscious of this and teach it to yourself, your students, or your children, it is a major game changer!
When I first heard of conscious language it sounded complicated. I met someone that had devoted his entire life to learning it and teaching it. He could take photos of your eyeball and show you how new language choices change the color of your irises. I was fascinated to learn about the power of words and became a little obsessed.
During the first few weeks of school be sure to read, My Magical Words, from The Magic of Me series. I wrote this book to teach kids ages 3-8 how to use affirmations, but it could work in the upper grades as well. It helps kids understand why we say affirmations, how to say them, and gives 12 examples to start with such as, “I am smart, I am helpful, I am kind, I am proud of myself” and so on. Their self-confidence and self-love will blossom!
The best way to dive into conscious language is to take baby steps for yourself and bring your students along for the journey. What you first must accept is that you are the creator of your life. You are always creating, consciously or unconsciously. When you begin to shift your language, thoughts, and actions, you can be more purposeful with what you create.
Although these concepts seem advanced for kids, they are important to learn early. I explain it with a simple analogy in my book, The Magic of Me: A Kid’s Guide to Creating Happiness. You can teach kids that their words are like seeds they are planting in a garden. They can grow fruit trees, beautiful flowers, or weeds, depending on the type of seeds they sow. When one consciously chooses what to plant, the results that follow are amazing! Positive affirmations are an easy, effective way to introduce and practice conscious language.
Here are some tips to help you bring these into your classroom.
- Speak only what you choose
- State what you choose in the present tense as if you have it right now
- State it positive (do not use words such as NOT, DON’T, NO, etc.)
- Begin with, “I am…”
- Be specific (you will bring this into your physical reality faster)
- Feeling as if you have your affirmation (you bring this into your physical reality faster)
Introduce the book by telling kids,
“Do you know that your words have magical power? What you say about yourself is important. That is because what you say you feel, what you feel you believe, what you believe you become!”
There are many great activities you can do to make this part of your class culture. I will be sharing some on my blog such as affirmation jars, kids’ journals and more. Be sure to sign up to be part of my readers’ club on my website to get them sent to you. One fun activity to begin with is affirmation crowns. Click here to get the free printables.
Affirmation Crown
Teacher Supplies
- White or Astro bright paper
- Card stock paper
- Stapler or Glue
Student Supplies
- Pencils/pens
- Crayons/Markers
- Scissors
- Glue
Assembly
- Before starting assembly, students will decide which affirmations they would like to use with their crown.
- Crowns need to be cut on the dotted lines for affirmation strips to be thread through properly.
- Once students have decided on which affirmations, they will cut out the strips on the dotted lines and then glue their strip as one long strip.
- With teacher guidance students will thread their affirmation strip through the cut lines on their crown. Students will then glue their strip together to form a circle with the crown facing the front.
Have kids wear their hats at morning meeting once a week and share a moment when they experienced affirmations. Perhaps you spend a week or two where you begin each day wearing them and chanting a few to practice. Maybe one day students wear their hats to lunch or recess and are challenged to teach a kid from another class about positive affirmations. There are endless ways to enjoy the crowns.
Soon you will be able to apply this way of speaking to other occasions. When students say things such as, “I can’t, I don’t know,” you can help them to rephrase their language. For example, if a student says, “I can’t cut this line,” offer them another way to say it such as:
- I am getting better at cutting lines.
- I am learning how to cut lines.
- I am practicing cutting lines.
- I try my best at cutting lines.
- I choose to improve my cut lines.
This takes practice because negative speech is a habit. Slowly you will be able to help children shift to a higher language choice when they speak about themselves and others. It is an exciting process that will be a game changer for you and your class! But conscious language can’t be a taught in a day or even a week. It must be built into the culture of your class, as part of your social and emotional curriculum. Creating a community of conscious learners takes intention and time, and it truly begins with us, the educators. When it does become the standard for your students, everything shifts automatically – test scores, student behavior, etc. Get ready for the upgrades, get ready to reexperience the joy of teaching!
