Resilience Week 2026
Wednesday: Busting through
Conditional Thinking
It was a wonderful Wednesday!
Today we learned how conditional thinking can keep us from feeling grateful, content or happy. We explored ways to escape the trap and choose a better way forward!
Rubber Band Grabbers
Kids used these "high-tech" tools (a rubber band and yarn) to lift and stack cups to make pyramids! It's a good challenge, and allows for skill-building and communication.
Sticky Note Challenge
Today's sticky note challenge was to think of healthy ways to handle change and see what they remembered from yesterday. They remembered really good strategies like getting a good night's sleep and talking to a trusted adult. One friends wrote, "Don't think about it," and I agree that taking a break from thinking about the change can be a big relief! We don't want to avoid ever thinking about it but sometimes a fun distraction can really help! When it's time to face the future again, the best steps are: write down your concerns, list all the positives and visualize yourself (by drawing a picture) adjusted to the change and enjoying the positives.
Busting through Conditional Thinking
Today's Adventures in Wisdom™ story was about Beaver Ben who is never content with what he has. He constantly complains and focuses on how what he has isn't good enough. It makes it hard for friends to want to be around him -- and he's plain miserable!
Wyatt the Wise Wizard™ helps Beaver Ben to see that his conditional thinking is keeping him from happiness.
To escape the trap, he needs to acknowledge what he doesn't have control over and identify what he does. He does have control over his attitude!
Choosing to be grateful for what he already has, and determining what he can do to improve his situation, allows Ben to be the leader of his life. He will feel more confident, content and happy!
Escaping the "If ... Then" Trap!
Kids got to explore some of their own conditional thinking. We worked on taking a look at something that we feel unhappy or frustrated about. We wrote down what was out of our control and what was in our control. Then came up with a positive way to move forward. It was amazing to see the kids escape the Trap!
Examples include:
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Choosing to be grateful for what they already had or got to experience.
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Choosing to feel strong and advocate for themselves.
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Choosing to take pride in a job well done.
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Choosing to look for the positives in an upcoming change.
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Choosing to take care of their body so they can be more resilient.
Group Games
Today we played Fruit Salad, Coseeki and 4 Corners! Games are a fun way to release energy after a learning module!
Journaling
Writing is a powerful way for kids to organize the new information they've been receiving and explore what it means to themselves personally.
The room got very quiet as they contemplated today's prompt: How I can be the Leader of my own life.
I loved reading their responses!
Summary Poster
The kids got to add to the poster "I can break free from conditional thinking by ..." Responses included, "Thinking about what makes me happy," "Choosing to be happy" and "Be kind to myself."
Be sure to use the daily Take Home Sheet as a way to discuss with your child what he/she has learned. It helps to reinforce and internalize these healthy new strategies when they can teach it to you and the rest of the family!
There's no such thing as a one-time quick fix -- repetition and practice are key!
