15 Powerful Self Esteem Activities for Kids to Do at Home and in School
Not every child is born with tons of self esteem. Others seem to come by it naturally, and it’s just not fair!
Even wonderful parents have kids who struggle with self esteem, despite excellent parenting and a supportive home environment. Just like anything else, some kids have to work hard for what comes easily to others.
But there are ways that parents and teachers can work together to help children grow in self esteem.
Here are some self esteem activities for kids that can be used in the classroom or at home.
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Are you dealing with “girl drama” and its effects on your entire household? Do you have a daughter who is dealing with mean girls at school? This post can help.
Self Esteem Activities for Kids and Teens
Enough tips! Let’s dig into these fun self esteem activities for kids and teenagers.
Introduce little kids to some self-esteem building books.
Giraffes Can’t Dance is one of my favorites. It’s about Gerald, a giraffe who thinks he’s a bad dancer. One little moonlight jig cures him of his self-esteem problem!
This is a sweet little book about the number zero, who wishes (quite literally) that she didn’t have an empty hole in the middle, and that she had VALUE like the other numbers. She tries to change, but she just can’t. This is an empowering little book that encourages kids to be themselves.
Big Life Journal
Big Life Journal has a self esteem and confidence kit that I think is incredible! It’s a PDF download, so you just pay and then print! This could be a fantastic summer time choice if you’re looking for self esteem activities for kids and teens.
Add positive affirmations into your nighttime or morning routine.
Positive affirmations can make a huge difference over time if done correctly. Here is a free printable with almost 50 positive affirmation coloring pages!
Play StrongSuit
Here’s a game that you can bust out any time you need self esteem activities for kids. It’s a winner with family therapists, because it involves cognitive therapy, cooperation and problem solving skills. The questions kids must answer work on self esteem.
Create SMART goals together.
SMART goals are the following:
Specific: “I’ll get healthier” isn’t specific enough. Instead, try “I’m going to become a better runner.”
Measurable: Instead of “become a better runner,” improve this by saying, “I’ll be able to run a marathon.” That’s measurable.
Achievable (yet): Is this doable for you? If not, try to pick something you CAN do with enough hard work. If you can’t yet run a mile, maybe a marathon is too ambitious! How about this: “I’ll be able to run a 5K.”
Relevant: Is this something that will improve your life for the better? Is it relevant, or silly and uninspiring? Watching 100 movies might meet all the criteria above, but if it doesn’t get you where you’re trying to go, what’s the point?
Time–sensitive: You need a deadline! Add a time limit to the goal.
Your final result might sound like this: “I’m going to be able to run a 5K by October 31st.”
Sometimes, the best self esteem activities for kids don’t require purchasing anything at all
SMART goals are great for kids, because they learn the life-long skill of goal setting. Also, realistic yet relevant goals give them opportunities for wins which will build self-esteem over time.
Does your child call him or herself stupid all the time? I’ve got a post about that to help you.
Have a Growing Party for each kid on their half birthday.
You don’t need guests, a party venue, or even gifts. Think low-key, meaningful, and non-commercialized goodness.
Cook their favorite food, bake a yummy dessert, and put on music they love.
This night is all about your growing kid, who is learning to do new, fun things! So cook their favorite foods and put on some music they love.
Decorate with their accomplishments and positive qualities.
Make a homemade, construction paper and twine banner to hang on the mantle that includes their accomplishments and positive qualities. It might say, “Most improved tennis player!” “Kindest family member,” “Growing in faith and courage,” and so on. Tie balloons to their chair (even if they’re 16 and rolling their eyes at you).
Have a compliment circle at dinner time.
Have each member of the family tell your growing kid something they love about him or her. Even if it feels cheesy, your kid will secretly love it! Who doesn’t need to hear some encouragement once in a while?
Encourage serving in the community.
One of the quickest ways to raise a person’s self esteem is to get them involved in something beyond their own needs and desires. When we serve other people, particularly in a way that feels unique to our own identities, it helps us mature and gain confidence.
Here are some examples:
- An animal loving middle schooler could get a weekly volunteer job walking dogs at the animal shelter.
- A nature-inspired little kid can grow a wildflower garden with a parent, and start bringing bouquets to nursing homes.
- A high school student who loves to read can tutor at-risk elementary school kids for free.
- A Christian student who loves babies can help out in the church nursery once a month.
Many families struggle with being way too busy. When we’re too busy, we don’t have the margin to serve where we are needed. Talk to your kid about how great it feels to serve, and see if there’s something you can cut from the schedule in order to make it happen.
Here are some parenting tips that will help if you’ve got a kid struggling with self esteem.
Help them with their appearance while recognizing that inner beauty matters most.
We all know that inner beauty matters most, and we want to cultivate that in our kids. But the truth is, MOST of us don’t feel great about ourselves if we’re not comfortable in our own skin.
Listen to your child’s concerns about his or her appearance, and do whatever it takes to help. If your kid is upset about acne, help him or her find a solution that works instead of just encouraging them to ignore the problem. If a kid is upset about being overweight and looking for help, offer to exercise with them and find out if they want to try eating healthier at the table together.
We want our kids to love themselves just the way God made them, but wanting to feel attractive, clean and healthy is totally normal.
Here’s how to help kids create a vision board to get them excited for their future – which is another great activity to promote self esteem!
Self Esteem Group Activities for Kindergarten through 5th Grade
If you’re looking to improve your students’ self esteem, that’s a really wonderful idea! Kids who feel great about themselves are happier and higher achieving. Here are some of my favorite confidence boosters.
Will. I. Am’s “What I Am”
If you teach Pre-K – 3rd, you need this video in your rotation! We watch it before big tests and important events. It pumps the kids up, and it’s a great conversation starter about what makes each of us special. Spoiler alert – it doesn’t have anything to do with test scores.
Compliment Papers
I love this little activity! It’s so simple.
- Each kid gets a neon card stock paper and a black marker. They write their name large in the middle.
- The papers get passed around the room, and each student writes something kind about the person whose name is on the page. I like to set timers to keep them focused, and put on thinking music.
- At the end, each student will have a positive comment about themselves from every kid in the class.
Here are some ways to make sure this activity is effective:
- Don’t begin until you emphasize the importance of making positive comments about inner qualities rather than external stuff. Explain to them that “You always make sure people get included,” is a more meaningful compliment than “I like your shoes.”
- Before the paper makes its way back to the original owner, collect them all for review. Look for papers that are sparse, with lots of repeated, generic compliments. If anyone’s compliment paper makes you feel sad, you can pass it around to all the teachers and anonymously write kind comments.
- Consider laminating them before passing them back out.
Teach SMART goals, and check-in regularly.
Kids are motivated by SMART goals. They really do work. Set classroom goals with your students, and regularly check in on their progress. Help them notice what’s working well for them, and reflect on ways to improve. Here are some great SMART goals for the classroom:
- Raise my math benchmark average score by 5 points by the 3rd 9 weeks.
- Write a five paragraph essay that I can read aloud to the class by winter break.
- Participate in the next pep rally in November by meeting the school’s behavior criteria.
Pull small groups regularly.
If you’re a lower performing student, there’s nothing more defeating than never being able to access the classwork and demonstrate mastery. Most whole group work is targeted at the top 30-40% of students, so kids who come into the classroom well below grade level never feel successful outside of small groups.
Have small groups often, and pull groups at every level regularly. When kids are grouped by current ability and are presented with work they can access, it helps them have enough confidence to take risks.
Small groups are one of the best self esteem activities for kindergarteners through upper elementary.
Get kids the help they need, and quit avoiding hard conversations.
So often, we avoid hard conversations with parents, even when we strongly suspect their child needs support services.
Some kids need to be retained a single time in kindergarten. Others desperately need support for dyslexia, ADHD, behavioral interventions or SPED support. Ask any teacher who has been working for at least a few years, and they’ll have a bad memory of a parent conversation about interventions that didn’t go well.
Practice having hard conversations, and make sure you’re following the laws and campus guidelines. Take the time to role play with a fellow teacher or administrator to make sure you’re comfortable with what you have to say. But whatever you do, never keep silent about a child’s well being to avoid a painful conversation.
Teach Gardner’s 8 Forms of Intelligence
You know about multiple intelligences from your training. But do your kids know them? This “All the Ways to Be Smart” book is a kid-friendly way to celebrate ALL the forms of intelligence. Start the year off right by letting the kids know that you see their unique gifts.
Build community with restorative circles.
Kids who feel like part of a supportive community don’t struggle so much with self confidence problems. Kids who have meaningful friendships tend to thrive. Restorative circles was a game changer for my classroom. They can be a wonderful self esteem activity for kindergarteners all the way through high school.
Yes, it took 20 minutes a week, and it was hard to justify spending that time, especially as we got closer to testing season. Our campus is not one that can be frivolous with wasted time, and still have success on our testing. Every minute counts.
That said, I believe restorative circles saved me time in the long run. Our homeroom class rarely bickered, or wasted time on stupid drama. They genuinely liked each other and felt connected to one another. Kids were able to focus on their work because they felt loved and supported by their peers. That’s a self-esteem booster!
The best self esteem activities for kids and teenagers aren’t one-time events, but rather ongoing practices that build relationships and confidence over time.
Still searching? Check out this great list from Mindfulmazing.
