Ever thought of bringing positive affirmations into your preschool classroom? I’m sure you’ve seen the swanky classroom affirmation mirrors on Instagram and thought they looked cute; but have you ever wondered why are teachers including positive affirmations in their classrooms? 

Students need to know that self-talk is a very positive part of self-regulation, and even our youngest learners should be able to pick out positive attributes of themselves. The benefits of positive affirmations are plenty, and bringing positive affirmations into your preschool classroom can really set your young learners up for success. 

Before I get carried away with my looooooove of positive affirmations for preschoolers, I want to make sure you get  your hands on my Free Guide to Planning and integrating Social Emotional Learning into your preschool classroom. Made with you in mind, I’ve got just the plan for you to save you time! Click on the image below to download it today.

What are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are positive statements that help you challenge and overcome negative thought patterns. When you repeat them frequently, you will believe them and, hopefully, start to change your mindset. 

Many believe that affirmations are just “wishes.” But affirmations are like exercises for our minds and our outlook on life. Repeating positive affirmations can help reprogram our thinking patterns, and eventually, we will begin to think and act differently. 

Why Positive Affirmations Work

Affirmations are a type of positive self-talk. They can help alter your subconscious thoughts; repeating these supportive and encouraging phrases will give the term power. What does that mean?  By repeating the words over and over again, you are hearing them more often, and when you hear something often enough, you start to believe it. 

How Positive Affirmations Work

You know that little voice in your head telling you that you can or can not or should or should not do something. This is your subconscious. Over time our subconscious gets clogged with negative thoughts and opinions about ourselves, and these negative thinking patterns can affect our mental health. 

Affirmations can help you change those negative subconscious thoughts. As you say the affirmations daily, you will start to believe those positive thoughts and make them a reality.  

The Scientific Benefits Of Positive Affirmations

There are many benefits of positive affirmations, and having our preschoolers start with positive affirmations and positive thinking at a young age will help them develop excellent self-talk skills, coping skills, and more. 

Benefit #1: Decreases Stress

Although we hope our preschoolers do not have too much stress in their lives, self affirmations are known to help decrease it. Dr. Andrew Newberg and communications expert Mark Robert Waldman believe one word can influence and regulate physical and emotional stress. 

Benefit #2: Reduces Anxiety 

Preschoolers are often very anxious and are usually out of their comfort zone when going to preschool. For some, it may be the first time they have been away from mom or dad for an extended period. Daily positive affirmations can help reduce the panicky feeling and overall anxiety. 

Benefit #3: Controls Negative Thoughts

We’ve all had littles who have repeatedly said, “ I can’t do it” or “I’ll never get this right.” These negative thoughts can turn into self-sabotaging ideas. How students talk to themselves can affect them in many aspects of their lives. If they constantly say, “I’ll never be able to kick the ball, ” they will eventually stop trying to learn how to kick it. Using positive daily affirmations will help keep these negative ideas at bay. 

Benefit #4: Develops Positive Coping Skills

Coping skills are hard for preschoolers to understand because they often cannot and do not get how to cope with stressful situations. You may see toddlers and preschoolers cry, scream, or just shut down when facing new challenges, places, or problems that stress them out.  When you and your students practice positive affirmations, those words can start to put their minds at ease and show them everything will be alright. 

Benefit #5: Increases Self-Esteem

When a preschooler has lower self-esteem, they have less motivation to succeed, and you may see them withdrawn from learning activities or not putting their best effort into school work. Low self-esteem has also been linked to mental health issues, and we want to help our students with their self-esteem whenever possible. Positive thinking puts a wall around the person and protects them from thoughts that may affect their self-worth. 

Benefit #6: Improves Mood 

Positive self-talk helps relieve the bad mood bug. When we are feeling blue, saying positive things to ourself can improve our moods.

These are just a few benefits of positive affirmations. They have also been known to help someone find love, improve problem-solving, and change the outcomes of different situations. 

What Are Good Daily Affirmations?

When using positive affirmations with preschoolers, it is best to keep them short, simple, and sweet. Remember you want these sentences to put positive thoughts in their minds. 

Here are just a couple of examples that would be great for preschoolers to say to themselves inside the classroom: 

• I am adventurous.
• I am kind.
• I am funny.
• I am talented.
• I am honest.
• I am smart.
• I am loved.
• I am special.
• I can do hard things.
• I am responsible
• I am respectful.
• I am ready to learn.
• I am a good friend.
• I believe in myself.
• I make good choices.
• It’s ok to make mistakes.
• I am in control of my feelings.                       
• Today is going to be a great day. 

This little bit of positive thinking can greatly impact a child as they build their self-image and start to figure out and navigate their feelings. 

How To Include Positive Affirmations for Preschoolers In Your Classroom

You can do some simple things to set up your preschoolers for success when it comes to using positive affirmations. 

Set up an Affirmation Station in Your Classroom

Remember those mirrors I was talking about earlier in the post? You should definitely think about putting one up in your classroom! 

Grab a mirror and place positive affirmations around the mirror. This mirror will allow your preschoolers to look into it and repeat some affirmations to their reflection.

An affirmation station can be a great addition to your calm-down corner. A calm-down corner is super easy to create, and I absolutely love having one in my classroom. I created it in just 4 easy steps, and I have seen so many great benefits of having it available to my learners. 

Including Positive Affirmations in Your Morning Meetings

You may decide to introduce the power of affirmations to your class during your morning meeting. Discuss what that affirmation means and what it could look like in your classroom and throughout your day. You can create a Powerpoint with daily affirmations to say together. You may decide to play music with it or just pick one to focus on per week. 

You should display the affirmations somewhere easy to see for all students. You’ll probably be revisiting it all week even after you have moved on to new positive changes. 

The Benefits of Positive Affirmations for Preschoolers

These positive thoughts can help improve a student’s mental health and self-esteem and help squash negative feelings and thoughts. 

No one is ever too young to start their day with positive affirmations. There are so many known health benefits, and getting our youngest learners on the right path regarding positive learning and thinking is very important. 

If you want to learn more about helping your preschoolers with self regulation: 👇🏼

💖 How to help preschoolers with self-regulation: 5 Teacher Approved Tips

💖 16 Awesome Picture Books to Help Teach Self-Regulation in Early Childhood

💖 Mindful Exercises for Kids: 6 Easy and Effective Activities for the Classroom