Think downtown… big, modern skyscrapers bursting with promises of success.

Now, think about the process of building that masterpiece.

What came first?

There was all the planning, and then the foundation was built. Without that foundation, the building is nothing.

Not even one story can stand without a decent base, never mind the edifice you have pictured.

This can be visualized for your child using children’s building blocks. The elementary, tall towers don’t stand very well without a wider, thought-out base.

Let your children play around with different building strategies until they work this out themselves, giving them a few hints if and when necessary.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THIS SEEMINGLY JUVENILE EXERCISE?

As I’ve written before, lectures tend to go in one ear and out the other.

Hopefully, this little game, plus a short explanation, will solidify the essentiality of self esteem.

Nothing, not even a dog house, can last very long without proper foundation and grounding. But you’re not aiming for a dog house. You should be aiming for the top of that skyscraper and beyond!

Our next four blog posts will be focused on self esteem and how to foster this vital quality in our students, from smaller children through teens.

For children with exceptionalities, keeping that self esteem up can be a rough road, but it a road that is travelable, navigable and reaches great places.

Consider this series a chain of pit stops on your way to fostering a can-do-it feeling.