As requested, here are resources for growth mindset in homeschool high school.
Resources for Growth Mindset in Homeschool High School
We discussed developing a growth mindset in this post. Now, let’s discuss some resources that will help parents of homeschool high schoolers develop this important life-preparation skill.
For review: A growth mindset is basically the idea that a person can develop skills and talents to help them bounce back from and overcome difficulties in life.
There are three basic steps for developing growth mindset, according to Carol Dwek, a professor at Stanford University,, who popularized the concept of growth mindset. She explains that the way teens can learn a growth mindset by learning these three skills:
- Work hard (in order to do this, teens learn how to reframe their situations by reminding themselves that “while I haven’t figured this problem out YET, I will find the help and resources to do it…”) Check out our post for more growth-mindset self-talk ideas.
- Develop strategies (this finding and using tools, learning to manage time and resources, etc)
- Get input or help from others (asking for help, searching for resources)
We homeschool parents love resources, so let’s discuss some simple resources for helping homeschool high schoolers develop a growth mindset.
What are some tools that can help build a growth mindset in homeschool high schoolers?
Here is a simple introduction to easy-to-use resources to help your teens with growth mindset. We’ll share:
- Quote ideas
- Book ideas
- Movie ideas
Quotes can help teach a growth mindset in homeschool high school. Here are several:
Memorizing quotes is a great way for teens to be inspired and develop new thought patterns that can become default settings when they face problems. Here are a few ideas. What would you add?
- Thomas Fuller, a churchman and historian in the 1600s, said, “All things difficult before they are easy.”
- Author G.K. Chesterton, an author and friend of C.S. Lewis said: “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”
- Samuel Johnson, an author in the 1700s said: “Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.”
- Pastor Chuck Swindoll said: “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you react to it.”
- Download 7Sisters’ freebie collection of quotes for teens to memorize.
Books about bouncing back can help:
The great thing about homeschool high schoolers reading a book that inspires growth mindset is that they can add it to their booklist! Here are a few ideas, what would you add?
- Failing Forward by John Maxwell
- Any of the novels on which the movies listed below were based
- Poetry collections by authors like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Robert Burns (who else would you add?)
Resources for growth mindset skills:
These are freebies that help teens develop strategies for growth mindset:
Movies that Inspire Growth Mindset in homeschool high school
There are some great movies that inspire growth mindset by showing likable characters who face difficulty and find ways to overcome or persevere through them. One of the nice things about a good movie is that the character LEARNS the growth mindset through the process, so you will experience his/her ups and downs, hopes and despairing moments, and the get-back-up-on-your-feet moments.
C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were masters of this “get-back-up-on-your-feet moment” in The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. You will see their main characters in moments of despair, then they find the strength (or were given aid) so that they could do what is called “re-gather their resolve”. They bounce back.
In the bouncing back (finding their growth mindset), the main characters usually also find an “old truth” (as Lewis and Tolkien would say).
Old truths are good things humans have long known, things like:
- Good overcomes evil
- Believe in yourself
- Look out for others
- Look for help from others
- It is good to grow Biblical characteristics like fruit of the spirit, justice or mercy
If you would like to teach your teens a little about growth mindset through “re-gathering resolve” and “return to old truths” check out two of our inspiring guides: The Chronicles of Narnia (for High School) Literature Study Guide Bundle and our Myth-Fantasy Short Story Writing Guide (that teaches teens to write a short story in the style of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien).
Now, back to the movies. We asked our 7thSisters at our 7Sisters Homeschool Facebook group: What are your family’s favorite movies that show growth mindset (healthy self-talk, resilience, overcoming adversity). They had some great suggestions.
I have not seen all these movies yet (notice how I threw that work “yet” in there? SO growth mindset of me!), so can’t tell you if they are the right fit for your family. My homeschool graduate kids have taught me to do an initial check about a movie on imdb.com for a description and sometimes some clips. A website that provides reviews from a Christian perspective is PluggedIn.com. Did you know there’s an alternative to Netflix that give faith-based movies? It is called Pureflix. (BTW- we are not affiliates of any of these, we just like good resources.)
Our 7th Sisters’ growth-mindset movie suggestions (in no particular order) are:
- Rudy
- It’s a Wonderful Life (my favorite movie of all time)
- Remember the Titans
- I Can Only Imagine
- Lord of the Rings
- God’s Not Dead
- Spare Parts
- Pursuit of Happiness
- The Blind Side
- Same Kind of Different as Me
- Wonder
- Castaway
- Facing the Giants
- Fireproof
- Queen of Katwe
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
- McFarland, USA
- Cool Runnings
- Freedom Writers
- Hidden Figures
- Resources for Growth Mindset in Homeschool High School
What would you add to this list of resources? Leave a comment below!
7Sisters email subscribers receive periodic practical encouragement, special offers and NO SPAM EVER.
Click the image above to periodically receive real homeschool value in your inbox.
