pat on the back notes for kids who are trying their best

Let’s face it, friends. Life for kids can be pretty tough.

It’s hard to be a kid these days–harder than it was for us.

School was hard enough for me way back when, even without all the new pressures of social media. I can’t even imagine how the presence of Instagram, Snapchat, Musical.ly, and everything else would have colored my middle school or high school experience. I don’t even want to think about it.

So honestly, any time we can give our kids a pat on the back for trying their best, we should.

 

The magic formula for school success is simple:

the right tools and teachers + effort from kid + support from families = school success

Here’s the skinny. . .

Pat On the Pack Notes For Kids Who Are TRYING:

Good tools and teachers are key. 

I think providing kids with strong teachers and the right tools–like special study guides JUST for them–along with ample support from family and a bit of drive from the kids–is the ultimate recipe for school success.

If you haven’t already checked them out, the Big Fat Notebook is the revolutionary study guide series just for middle school students from the brains behind Brain Quest.

These books are:

• designed to help your child better understand middle school concepts;
• written as ‘notes’ from the smartest kid in class;
• an all-in-one reference for each subject taught in middle school: Math, Science, American History, English Language Arts, and World History;
• filled with each subject’s key concepts, put into a kid’s own words–easily digested and summarized;
• packed with doodles, drawings, and bright text (which middle schoolers love!);
• full of a bunch of cool, catchy, and creative ways to remember content–shortcuts and quizzes to help kids learn.

Check them out. And know that there’s one for each subject, so whichever subject your child needs a bit more support in, grab that one first.

Buy your own Big Fat Notebook here: Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Indiebound  |  Workman

Tweens and teens need all the help they can get.

Sure, they need to learn by falling down, getting back up again, and again and again. But sometimes, they also need to hear from a loved one that their effort is noticed.

We absolutely cannot expect perfection. Nothing is perfect, right?

But we can certainly celebrate small successes. We can celebrate trying.

And when kids are in middle school, they need to celebrate every, single little success they can.

These Pat on the Back Notes do just that.

With simple sayings like:

• Thanks for your help today. It means a lot.
• I know some days are hard. Thanks for trying.
• Thanks for picking up around the house today.
• I noticed that you really spoke kindly to your siblings yesterday. Thanks.
• You are trying. We see it.
• Thanks for picking up around the house. It’s appreciated.

these notes can be used for just about anything you need.

There are a ton of little notes in the download, and there are blank ones for you to write your own.

Tweens and teens aren’t big into ginormous, embarrassing notes from parents, so these are teeny. Stick one in your kid’s phone case. Or planner. Or wallet. Or student ID.

You can download the Pat on the Back Notes here:

 

What do you think? Will these Pat on the Back Notes help your family’s formula for school success? I’d love to hear what you think!

 

yi: This post was written as part of a sponsored partnership with Workman Publishing, the creators of the Big Fat Notebooks, but as always, my opinions are my own, influenced only by my experience as a parent and educator and by my three awesome kids.