Unconditional self-acceptance doesn’t come easy. The rise of social media has been a big deterrent to acceptance among kids. Fight back against negative self-esteem with these amazing activities! They’re perfect for guiding your kids toward building strong relationships with themselves. Help them build a sense of independence by highlighting their positive qualities and teach them how to block out disheartening opinions and negative perceptions about themselves to try and live their best lives.
1. Body Positivity Builder
Sedentary behavior can negatively impact body image. This simple worksheet gets your kids to love their bodies! Discuss all the good things our bodies do for us. Then, inspire them to find activities that make a contribution to behavior changes to stay strong and healthy.
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2. Self-Regulation Activity
Regulating emotions can be difficult for kids. Practice mindfulness by teaching your kids deep breathing techniques and meditation. Get outside for some exercise to combat sedentary behavior and boost those endorphins to help regulate emotions!
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3. Self-Esteem Origami
This adorable self-esteem game is perfect for kids of all ages. Simply cut and fold the origami model, pick a number, and then alternate opening horizontally and vertically. Pick a new number and read the compliment underneath!
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4. I Like Myself
This beautifully-illustrated book shows kids how to defeat negative perceptions about themselves, learn all about what really matters, and how to set good future intentions. Discuss how good self-esteem builds strong relationships between friends and family.
Learn More: Amazon
5. Writing My Own Story
Practice creative writing skills with your very own I Like Myself book! The template gives kids space to write who they are, positive affirmations, and what they love about themselves. Afterward, they can draw a picture of themselves wearing their favorite fashion item!
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6. Self-Portraits
If your kids are more artistic, turn their I Like Me books into beautiful self-portraits! Give them a blank template, yarn, and lots of colorful markers. Set up a mirror so they can depict themselves accurately. Display them for everyone to see!
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7. Positivity Shields
Protect your kids from negative perceptions and disheartening opinions about themselves with this fun art activity. Cut out words and images that describe your kids from magazines and allow them to decorate their positive qualities shields. Then, they can stand tall and tell everyone how awesome they are!
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8. Love Yourself
Set aside time during the study period to work on building your kids’ unconditional self-acceptance with this reflection worksheet. They’ll reflect on their emotions and set goals to accomplish the next week. Keep them in a journal for a sense of privacy.
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9. My Culture and Traditions
Celebrate the diversity of cultures in your class! Kids can write or illustrate the squares about their culture. Have them wear their favorite cultural fashion items and present their snapshots to the class. For extra fun, have everyone bring in their favorite food!
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10. My Heart Map
Explore what makes your kids happy! In each section, draw one thing that makes them joyful. Reflect on why these things make them feel like that. This is a great way to help kids recognize their emotions and focus on the positive qualities they bring to the class.
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11. Rainbows of Me
Celebrate your kids’ uniqueness with this quick coloring activity. As they color their rainbows, talk to them about how we can build a level of trust with people who are different from us. Then, set future intentions to make the world a better place!
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12. Walk in My Sneakers
Build your kids’ empathy skills! Shuffle the cards and have your kids pick one sneaker. Read the situations aloud and discuss each character’s emotions. Ask students how they would feel if they were wearing that sneaker.
Learn More: Heart & Mind Teaching
13. My Behavior Task Cards
These task cards are a great addition to your self-acceptance activity bin. Each of the individual items guides kids through identifying the social consequences of their actions and emotions. The cards give kids real-world situations to work through and learn about the direct and indirect impact of their behaviors.
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14. Self-Esteem Dice
Spend the afternoon rolling the die and talking about all your positive qualities! This simple game is perfect for younger students who are starting to learn about unconditional self-acceptance. Keep rolling until you’ve finished all six sentences!
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15. Self-Love Notes
Allow your kids to grow their sense of independence with a jar full of self-love notes! Work together to write and illustrate cards that highlight positive qualities. Your kids can pick a card each day to build themselves up and destroy negative perceptions of themselves.
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16. Positive Self-Talk Journal
Encourage positive self-love with this simple yet effective journal! Geared toward middle schoolers, the journal pages give kids a sense of privacy that creates a safe space to express themselves. Ask them if they feel comfortable sharing their writings to help build a strong relationship.
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17. Art Choice Activity
For the ultimate self-acceptance activity experience, let your students choose their own adventure! Discuss activities that help build a level of trust between students, set good future intentions, or nurture strong relationships. Start your week off by choosing one activity to complete.
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18. Puzzle Pieces of Me
Foster strong relationships between your students by showing how you all fit together! Have students illustrate their puzzle pieces with their positive qualities. Put the puzzle together and discuss how they help each other get rid of negative perceptions of themselves.
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19. I Am Someone Who
Begin your kids’ self-acceptance journey with a simple list. For the individual items on the list, get your kids to think of the coolest thing about themselves. Once they’ve finished, ask them if they’d like to share one with the class. Respect their sense of privacy if they say no.
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20. A to Z Amazing Me
Work on your adjective vocabulary! For each letter of the alphabet, kids will write a positive quality about themselves. For the harder letters, let them describe their favorite fashion item or a future intention they have for themselves.
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21. Gratitude Jars
Students can write all about the people and things that make their lives awesome on this cute worksheet! Or you can choose to make it a 3D activity by collecting individual items that remind them of those people and things.
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