How STEM Mental Health Books Build a Growth Mindset in Kids (At Home & in Class)
Simply put, a growth mindset is a belief in the ability to improve with practice and learning. Scientific research has proven that children with a growth mindset are less likely to let setbacks define them, and are more likely to make large improvements over time. Parents should explore many growth mindset activities for kids to help support their development.
In a rapidly changing society it is more important than ever to support children's mental health, and to foster resilience, grit, and a growth mindset from an early age. Children are natural scientists, and by using their affinity for understanding how things work, STEM books for mental health are an effective way of introducing mental health and wellness in a concrete way.
The Brian the Brain series does just that, a solution for how to teach growth mindset through STEM. Using fun and engaging stories to introduce big topics to small humans, each book contains lessons such as "How the Brain Works," "The Parts of the Brain" and "How the Brain Learns." Each book features content applicable to children's lives such as why to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep, calm down techniques, and how to learn from mistakes.
Key Takeaways:
A growth mindset helps kids bounce back from setbacks and improve over time.
STEM education provides a concrete way to teach mental health and resilience.
Brian the Brain books make complex brain science fun and relatable for kids.
Growth Mindset: What It Is & Why It Matters for Kids
American Psychologist Carol Dweck made the observation that there were two kinds of learners divided not by talent, or by ability, but by their internal thought patterns. Some children quickly gave up when faced with a challenge, while others embraced the challenge, even enjoying it.
Carol coined these two ways of thinking "growth mindset" and "fixed mindset," and she started studying the concept further.
Carol found these patterns of growth mindset vs fixed mindset thinking not only in education but also in sports, business, and relationships, realizing that a growth mindset was essential for the development of character, grit, and to realize one's full potential.
Having a growth mindset offers a protective factor in children's mentally health. Carol found that students who struggled with mental health problems such as depression were less likely to let their grades slip and relationships suffer when they had a growth mindset.
Key Takeaways:
A growth mindset means believing you can improve with effort and learning.
Children with a growth mindset embrace challenges instead of fearing failure.
Research shows that mindset impacts not just learning, but also sports, relationships, and mental health.
STEM & Mental Health: How They Shape Child Development
Children have a natural curiosity for science and how things work. They are hands-on learners who easily understand concrete observable topics. When learning more abstract concepts such as mental health or emotional understanding, children understand these concepts better when they are connected to something concrete. By showing children how their brain works concepts such as brain health and learning become concrete and observable.
Tying in hands-on activities such as drawing or painting the brain helps develop children's individual creativity and problem solving skills while teaching important STEM concepts.
When it comes to academic learning, mental health and wellness is an integral part. Studies show that between 10-30% of college students show signs of depression. The statistics are staggering, and it is essential that we teach children how to care for their mental health from an early age. Furthermore mental wellness increases the brain's ability to learn and remember, making mental health inseparable from academic learning.
In the Brain the Brain series mental health topics are introduced alongside STEM learning. This creates a powerful lesson in each book that both teaches about the science of the brain while also supporting mental health.
key Takeaways:
Kids learn abstract concepts better when they connect them to something concrete.
Understanding how the brain works makes mental health concepts more tangible.
Mental wellness directly impacts learning, memory, and academic success.
Want a free lesson plan? Download it here: https://travelingchalkboard.com/brain-the-brain-head-space-lesson-plan/
How can storytelling build resilience?
Time spent reading to children is an incredible way to bond and spend one on one time while also de-stimulating. The types of stories parents read to their kids can contain powerful narratives that teach their children new ideas, foster important values, and help their children process emotions and things that have happened in their daily lives. All told, stories are a powerful tool in building resilience.
In the Brian the Brain series, scientific concepts are taught in a meaningful and engaging way. Children watch Brian overcome obstacles and learn a breathing technique to calm down. In Mindset Go Marta has to tackle difficult challenges and learn from her mistakes in order to make progress.
Overall these stories include practical strategies to overcome challenges kids face every day. They also open up important conversations that help kids become comfortable talking about the brain, mental health, and their own struggles.
Key Takeaways:
Stories help kids process emotions and build resilience through relatable characters.
Books like Brian the Brain teach practical strategies for overcoming challenges.
Engaging narratives encourage kids to talk about mental health in a safe way.
Practical Ways Brian the Brain Books Foster a Growth Mindset at Home and School
At Home:
Parents should read the Brian the Brain books often with their kids. They can read them at bedtime, during quiet time, or as part of a family discussion/ homeschool lesson. Use the books to discuss how the brain works, connect different actions to parts of the brain, and to introduce growth mindset topics like "the power of yet."
Model lessons from the book for your kids. When you make a mistake or are feeling frustrated, say "I just can't do it yet," or "oh well, mistakes are learning."
Play games or do activities together. One fun game you can play is "brain actions red light green light." This game helps kids connect to the different roles the brain plays. For young kids you might simply say something the brain does (like "move your body" or "listen"), while for older kids you might give them a part of the brain and have them try to remember the associated action (say temporal lobe and they pretend to listen). They must do the action when you say "green light" and stop when you say "red light."
You can also try drawing the brain and have your kids come up with a fun name for their own brains! This is the activity I did with my students that inspired the name "Brian the Brain!"
My top suggestion to foster resilience in your kids is to talk about brain plasticity (how the brain changes as we learn). The topic is introduced in "Brian the Brain Mindset Go!"
In the Classroom:
If you are a teacher please contact me about my complementary lesson plans that connect to each book topic. Each lesson plan includes engaging worksheets and discussion topics designed to help you seamlessly work mental health education into your classroom.
Read the books together as a class. Each book is designed to introduce a different topic to your group, and I recommend reading one book per week, and then looking for opportunities to reinforce the learning throughout your school day. Make sure you model the lessons for your students because children pay better attention to what you do than what you say! This way children will learn the lesson content from the book, and then throughout the week they will learn to apply it during class to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills.
After reading each book, plan a group activity that involves collaboration. Have your students discuss topics such as "problems I have overcome" or have them complete a group challenge that involves them thinking outside the box. This activity can be directly related to the book topics or it could be worked into another part of the curriculum. Make sure that the activity is challenging so that your students have to overcome difficulties as a group to foster communication skills and emotional intelligence.
Fostering an inclusive environment where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities is really important to your class's success. Do this by modeling mistakes regularly. When you make a mistake say "oh well mistakes are learning" and own up to it. Also making mistakes on purpose (spelling a word wrong) will make sure the kids are paying attention while also modeling that mistakes are ok.
Be careful when you word your feedback to your students. While giving feedback that rewards effort (wow you worked so hard on that painting) has been associated with fostering a growth mindset, feedback to rewards result or natural talent can actually foster a fixed mindset and hold your student back (you are very smart).
Key Takeaways
Model a growth mindset by embracing mistakes and showing perseverance.
Games and activities make brain science fun and interactive for kids.
Praise effort, not just talent, to help kids develop resilience.
Real-Life Examples of Kids Benefiting from STEM Mental Health Books
After doing a neuroscience workshop with a group of students at Masters Academy in Alberta, the teacher reflected that she often doesn't have a lot of time to focus on one topic. Having the free lesson plan material along with the author visit really helped the STEM concepts sink in.
Mother of two, Jolie Palmer, says "I think the biggest way your books have made a difference to my kids is their mindset shift. They think about their body and the parts that are comprised inside of it more now. They realize there are things they can do to improve and maintain their internal systems to improve themselves as a whole.
Also your last book helped the kids stop blaming themselves for not being good at something new they are trying. Now they realize that they need to practise and repeat things they want their brain to learn how to do. It's been a very helpful shift."
Local teacher Liz Oosterhof said, "I am constantly returning to the message of the books when talking to my students about strategies to improve their growth mindset. I find my students are using “yet” statements in interactions about their academics and physical abilities too! I overheard students talking after gym class about their basketball game. One student was disappointed about not being able to score baskets as easily as others. Another student said “you can do it with practice! You just can’t do it yet!”
Key Takeaways:
Parents and teachers have seen real mindset shifts after using Brian the Brain books.
Children gain confidence in their ability to learn and improve.
Teaching kids about brain plasticity helps them see mistakes as learning opportunities.
Why is Fostering a Growth Mindset Essential in Kids?
Fostering a growth mindset early in kindergarten and elementary school is essential for kids' long term mental health. STEM education makes the topic of mental health fun and easy to implement even from a young age.
Reading the Brian the Brain series frequently alongside hands-on activities is an effective way to teach about the brain. After introducing concepts like brain plasticity and growth mindset be sure to model the behaviours you want to see in your kids.
Order copies of the brain the brain series from my online store or from Amazon.
Don't forget to download copies of my free companion lesson plans.
Want to take it one step farther? Book an in person or virtual author visit for your class!
Check out our full series and begin empowering your child with the tools to succeed, grow, and thrive both academically and emotionally!
Key Takeaways:
Teaching growth mindset early helps children thrive emotionally and academically.
STEM mental health books make learning fun, engaging, and effective.
Want to empower your child? Start with Brian the Brain books today!