Growth Mindset Night: Getting Parents Involved

Growth Mindset Night was an idea that once it was sparked, seemed silly we didn’t think about it before! Having a school-wide initiative is a great thing, but if we aren’t involving the parents we are missing a key component. And yes, it was a step out of my comfort zone to put this together… but it was so worth doing . So if you are feeling anxious about trying this at your school, keep reading and embrace the power of yet. As in, “You just haven’t tried it YET!”

Here are some tips in how you can implement something like this at your school.

1. Put a date on the calendar. (Just Do It, or the event won’t happen. It’s as simple as that. And it is worth it!)

2. Decide if you want to do a Parent Workshop or a Family Night (What’s the difference? A parent workshop along with a children’s activity component = Family Night). It is fun to see parents working with their kids and trying out their new skill of praising progress and effort during a fun challenge.

   

   Parents get a chance to use growth mindset language with their kids during the pipe cleaner building challenge.

3. Ask for volunteers for the evening if you are going to do a family night. One way to use volunteers is for them to lead a children’ activity while the parents are in a training. (this activity can be a craft project or simply watching a movie).

4. Set up a Photo Booth. This was really LOTS of fun. The parents and kids loved it and it can serve as some good PR if the families post their selfies on Facebook or Twitter.

5. Send a follow up email with a survey and the handouts attached. This will generate a continued conversation with parents. This is an email I received from a parent that wasn’t able to attend and requested the handouts.

“Thank you so much for sending me the information from the Growth Mindset workshop.  I had an opportunity to view the videos today.  I am speechless (and if you knew me, you would know that that doesn’t happen too often. LOL).  I will definitely start working on developing my growth mindset.  Thanks ,again.”

Parent Night was tons of fun and generated interest in our community for the things their children are learning at school.