Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

Over the past couple of years I've been reading and hearing a lot about fixed versus growth mindsets and am fascinated by the topic. If this is the first time you've heard of this, I am so happy to be able to share the following 10 minute video from RSA Animate. It is the most straightforward introduction to the topic I have found and I think everyone (really!) can benefit from watching it:


Having grown up in the self-esteem boosting 1980s, my mindset was definitely influenced by praise that affirmed intelligence over effort and that worldview is definitely not something I want to pass on to my children. Therefore, I have been personally challenged by all my reading on the topic. Changing the language we use when praising the youngsters (and adults!) in our lives can be really challenging but I think that it is essential if we're going to help our kiddos become life-long learners. Of course, some people have cultivated a growth-mindset and some families are already great at encouraging effort and curiosity. In my interactions with thousands of families over the decades, I must say that I find growth-mindsets to be the exception rather than the rule. It is so easy to slip into praising naturally intelligent children for their smarts. Encouraging a child to work through a difficult math problem or diagraming a complex sentence takes a lot more time and patience. Even trying to get my two-year-old to not give up when his block towers fall over can be exacerbating. It's so much easier to just quickly build him another tower and restore his sunny spirits. Sitting out his tantrum, encouraging him to build the tower again, praising the fact that he hasn't given up, this takes more time. Yet, those 10-15 minutes of patience are more than rewarded when you see something "click" in his mind and he starts stacking those blocks, pride beaming in his face.

Children are all brilliant at seeing through empty praise. While trying to use growth-mindset language, it is important to not fall of the other side of the horse and praise every effort. Not all effort is praiseworthy and saying "Good try" at every turn will not encourage a child. Instead there should be an emphasis on future challenges. Angie Aker provides two great examples in her article on Upworthy:

FIXED MINDSET: "You finished that puzzle so quickly — what a smart kid!"GROWTH MINDSET: "I'm sorry I wasted your time with an easy puzzle — let me find another one that will give us a bigger challenge. I know we can do it!"FIXED MINDSET: "You got an 80% on your test." (And then moving on to the next chapter immediately.)GROWTH MINDSET: "You got an 80% on your test; that means you are well on your way to knowing this stuff! If you review the ones you missed and take the test again tomorrow, I bet you'll get closer to a 100%."

In choosing curriculum, I believe that it is important to look for programs that encourage this growth mindset. Charlotte Mason-style approaches naturally encourage inquisitiveness as does notebooking. When you get away from rigid standards that rely on simplistic answers and instead encourage reasoning, discussion, and the development of analytical skills, you will develop students who are much better equipped to succeed.

I would love to hear from you! Have you heard the terms growth mindset and fixed mindset? Have you implemented some of these practices in your homeschool? Did you grow up in an environment that encouraged the development of one type of mindset over another? Comment below!

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Teaching Early American History!

Today we get caught up with Jessica from jessicalynette.com as she gives us a look into the first six weeks of using our Early American History, A Literature Approach for Primary Grades. Her thoughtful approach to reading through the literature slowly, taking time to process character lessons, and delving deep in to a period are so refreshing. Enjoy! Post original published here. 

This year, for the first time ever, I am following a set schedule for our history reading- using the engaging books and useful guidebook published by Beautiful Feet. You can read my intro post to this living books approach to history here. Now that we are finishing off our first term (6 weeks) I wanted to write an update on how it is working for us.

Term one led us through the lives of Leif Erikson and Christopher Columbus with the beautiful D’aulaire books and the thoughtful questions from the guidebook.

“There was once a boy who loved the salty sea. He would be a seaman when he grew up. He would not be a weaver like his father, who sat all day in a dark, little shop weaving yarn into cloth. A ship would be his shuttle, the waves his warp, the wide and bounding sea his loom.”

That is just a taste of the beautiful language these books contain that paint such vivid images for your mind and dance you through history with living books.

Here is where I must offer up my secret confession:

I was terrified about the pace.

I know many whom stretch these books into two years.

But can I be honest? The pace is much slower than what we normally do.

Two books (which was 18 lessons) over the course of 6 weeks seemed painfully slow.

I had previously read the boys Leif the Lucky as a bedtime story in one night and I wasn’t entirely certain what to think of this slower pace that the manual lays out.

I dutifully followed the reading plan laid out in the guide, and while narration and conversations have always been a part of our family culture, I have been pleased with this slowing down and marinating of the characters. We have labored, adventured, and talked over these men for 6 weeks. I feel as if we know them more intimately.

“Having found the book which has a message for us, let us not be guilty of the folly of saying we have read it. We might as well say we have breakfasted, as if breakfasting on one day should last us for every day! The book that helps us deserves many readings, for assimilation comes by slow degrees.” -Charlotte Mason

I had formatted, printed and bound all of the resources from BFB for the Early American History books and we have kept pace with working through them.  My third grader is not overly enthusiastic about coloring in the pictures, but my second grader enjoys doing that as I read. I have really enjoyed the questions that the guide shares to stimulate conversations. A lot of them focus on the character of a person, and I am convinced that this is a powerful way for us to learn. In fact, it is point number 11 in our list of 13 ways to help protect our children from the addiction of pornography. Connect them to great men of the past – talk about the strengths and weakness. Cause and effect.

The Early American History guide book has done an excellent job at extracting deeper conversations with our sons about the character of Leif and Columbus and I am looking forward to us finishing off the life of Columbus (an oral presentation is required) and studying the life of Pocahontas, the details of Jamestown, and some of the pilgrim stories in term two.

Thank you Jessica! Love this glimpse into how you are making BFB your own! Your workbooks are genius. Be sure to check out Jessica's blog where she talks about home education, Charlotte Mason, developing character, and much more. 

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.