Chapter 2

Self

These pages are about you: sticking with hard things, noticing how you feel, and learning how you learn best.

10 activities inside

Before you start: Remember a time something felt stretchy and you kept going anyway. What helped you keep going?

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Self · Agency 15 min · pencil ★☆☆

My mission planner

Scan for the app

You can make things happen! Pick one mission, big or small, and plan it.

Choose something you want to change or make.
Fill in each part.
Do step 1 this week!

My mission:

Why it matters to me:

Three small steps (and who could help):

How I will know I did it:

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Agency is the feeling “I can make a difference”. Breaking a goal into steps makes it real.

What might get in the way?
What could you do if step 1 doesn’t work?

Extend it: Check in after a week: tick off done steps and pick the next one.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Agency 15 min · pencil ★★☆

Write the missing branch

Scan for the app

In this story, Zara gets to choose. One ending is written. The other one is up to you!

Read the start and both choices.
Read Ending A.
Write Ending B: what happens if Zara picks Choice B?

1.Start: Zara finds a puppy alone in the park. It has a collar but no name tag.
2.Choice A: She asks the park keeper for help.
3.Choice B: She knocks on doors near the park.
4.Ending A: The keeper knows the puppy! Its owner runs over with a big smile.
5.
Ending B:

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Stories with choices show kids that their decisions change what happens next.

Which choice would you make? Why?
Could there be a Choice C?

Extend it: Tell a story out loud together where the listener picks what happens.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Determination 10 min · pencil, colored pencils ★☆☆

21-day streak tracker

Scan for the app

Pick one small thing to do every day for 21 days, like reading for 10 minutes.

Write your habit on the line below.
Color a box each day you do it.
Missed a day? Don’t quit. Just don’t miss two in a row!

My habit: ______________________________

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Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Small, steady effort beats big bursts. A streak makes progress easy to see.

What helps you remember each day?
How did it feel to get back on track after a miss?

Extend it: Do a streak of your own alongside and compare at the end.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Determination 15 min · pencil ★★☆

Challenge ladder

Scan for the app

Pick a hard thing you want to do. Break it into 5 levels, from easy to amazing.

Write the big goal on Level 5 at the top.
Fill in Levels 1 to 4, each a little harder.
Tick each level when you reach it.

Example: Skipping with a rope: Level 1 is 10 skips. Level 5 is 100 skips without stopping.

Level 1 (easy start):

Level 2:

Level 3:

Level 4:

Level 5 (my big goal):

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Big goals feel possible when they are broken into small steps. Each level is a win.

Which level will be the trickiest?
What will you do if you get stuck on a level?

Extend it: Stick the ladder on the fridge and celebrate each new level.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Learning how to learn 15 min · pencil, your notes or book ★★☆

Brain dump and check

Scan for the app

Pulling things out of your memory helps you remember them for longer.

Pick something you learned this week.
Write all you remember. No peeking!
Then check your notes and fill in the gaps.

What I learned about:

Brain dump (everything I remember):

After checking, what I forgot:

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Remembering on purpose (called retrieval practice) is one of the best ways to learn. Rereading feels easier but works less well.

Were you surprised by how much you remembered?
What will you do to remember the tricky bit?

Extend it: Do a 2-minute brain dump in the car or at dinner about any topic.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Learning how to learn 15 min · pencil, a toy ★☆☆

Teach it to a toy

Scan for the app

Teaching something is a great way to learn it. Your toy is ready for class!

Plan your lesson in the boxes.
Teach it to your toy out loud.
Tell a grown-up which part was hard to explain.

What I will teach

The big idea in one sentence

An example

A question to ask my toy

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Explaining something shows kids what they really understand, and what they need to check.

What part was hardest to explain?
Can you teach it to me in one minute?

Extend it: Swap: you teach the toy something, and your child checks you got it right.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Resilience 15 min · pencil, colored pencils ★☆☆

Bounce-back comic

Scan for the app

Kofi built a tall tower. It fell down! Draw what happens next.

Panel 2: what Kofi thinks or feels.
Panel 3: what he tries next.
Panel 4: how he bounces back.

My tower fell down!

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Resilience is learned by seeing that a setback is not the end. Drawing it helps kids picture coping steps.

What helps you when something goes wrong?
Can you think of a time you bounced back?

Extend it: Share your own setback story and how you bounced back.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Resilience 15 min · pencil ★★☆

Worry thermometer and reframe bubbles

Scan for the app

Everyone has worries. You can talk back to a worry with a brave, kind voice.

Write a worry. Color how big it feels.
Write what your brave voice says back.
Color how big it feels now.

My worry:

How big is it? Color the thermometer up to your number.

My brave, kind voice says (like “I practiced, I can do this”):

How big is it now? Color again.

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Naming a worry and its size makes it easier to handle. A kinder, truer thought often shrinks it.

Did the number go down?
Who could you talk to when a worry feels big?

Extend it: Share one small worry of your own and reframe it together.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Deep attention 15 min · pencil ★★☆

Spot 12 differences

Scan for the app

Look very carefully. 12 things are different in the second picture.

Look slowly, one part at a time.
Circle each difference in the second picture.
Count how many you found.

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Slow, careful looking builds focus, a skill that gets rarer as screens get faster.

Did you have a plan for searching?
Which difference was hardest to see?

Extend it: Move 5 things in a room. Can your child spot them all?

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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Self · Deep attention 10 min · pencil, timer, any small object ★☆☆

Five-minute slow look

Scan for the app

Pick a leaf, a shell or a shoe. Look at it for 5 whole minutes.

Set a timer for 5 minutes.
Look and draw slowly. Notice tiny things.
Tell a grown-up 3 things you never saw before.

Look for: lines and marks, shadows, edges, the colors.

My slow drawing

Grown-up corner

Why it matters: Artists and scientists both practice slow looking. It trains patience and noticing.

What did you notice in minute 4 that you missed in minute 1?
Was 5 minutes long or short?

Extend it: Do a slow look together outside and compare drawings.

My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy

One thing I learned: ________________________

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