Helping Children Finish the School Year Strong (and Thrive Through Summer)
Simple Positive Education Ideas for Parents and Teachers
As we approach the end of the school year, it’s easy to slip into survival mode. But these final weeks – and the summer holidays beyond – are a golden opportunity to build skills that can help children flourish, not just academically, but emotionally and socially too.
Positive education, championed by experts like Professor Martin Seligman and Dr. Karen Reivich, reminds us that wellbeing and learning go hand in hand. By weaving simple practices into the everyday routine, parents and teachers can help children finish strong and set the stage for a thriving summer.
Here are some evidence-based, practical ideas you can start using right away.
1. Gratitude: Ending Each Day on a High Note
Research shows that practicing gratitude can boost mood, improve resilience, and even enhance physical health (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). As the school year winds down, create a simple gratitude habit:
- At dinner or bedtime, ask children to name three good things that happened that day.
- For older children, challenge them to explain why each good thing happened — this builds emotional literacy and critical thinking too.
- Teachers might end the day with a “gratitude wall” where students add a sticky note each afternoon.
Small moments of reflection can leave a lasting emotional imprint.
2. Acts of Kindness: Building Connection
Kindness is one of the quickest routes to wellbeing. Studies by Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues show that performing small acts of kindness increases happiness for both the giver and receiver.
- At home, create a “kindness challenge” — how many kind acts can your family spot (or do) each week?
- In school, encourage a “secret kindness mission” for the last few weeks — small, anonymous good deeds brighten the classroom atmosphere.
Kindness also strengthens friendships and makes tricky transitions (like changing classes or schools) feel less daunting.
3. Positive Emotion Goal-Setting: Teaching Emotional Self-Regulation
Building on the work of Professor Barbara Fredrickson, you can help children set simple goals around positive emotions.
Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory shows that even small moments of joy, interest, or pride can help people build stronger minds and healthier bodies over time.
You can teach children this powerful idea with a simple summer challenge:
- Day 1: Pick one positive emotion you want to feel — for example, joy, calm, pride, inspiration, or awe. Plan one thing you could do tomorrow that might help that feeling happen.
Example: “I want to feel proud, so I’ll try finishing my LEGO tower,” or “I want to feel awe, so I’ll go outside and look at the stars for ten minutes.” - Day 2: Carry out the plan! Afterwards, talk about how it felt. Did the activity spark the feeling they hoped for? Was there anything surprising about it?
- Day 3: Rest — no special plans needed. Let emotions unfold naturally.
- Day 4: Start again with a new positive emotion.
You can also broaden their choices by suggesting different sources of inspiration:
- Overcoming challenges: Watch films or read books about people who have faced adversity with courage. Ask how it made them feel.
- Awe and wonder: Learn about the stars, the ocean, mountains, or even the power of music. Awe stretches children’s minds, helping them to see themselves as part of something bigger.
Repeating this simple cycle teaches emotional awareness, planning, and reflection — essential tools for building emotional self-regulation.
4. Strength Spotting: Helping Children See the Best in Themselves
Dr. Lea Waters, author of The Strength Switch, highlights how noticing and nurturing children’s strengths can be transformational.
- Over dinner or after an event, casually highlight strengths you see: “You showed real persistence finishing that puzzle” or “I noticed how thoughtful you were helping your friend.”
- Teachers can finish the year with a “strength celebration,” inviting classmates to spot and share each other’s strengths.
When children learn to see their own strengths, they develop resilience that lasts well beyond the summer.
A Final Thought: Keep It Light
Positive education isn’t about perfection. It’s about planting small seeds of gratitude, kindness, emotional awareness, and strength – seeds that will grow over time. The end of the school year and summer holidays are perfect moments help children to nurture those seeds with love and attention.
If you’d like more ideas, videos, and free resources, visit my YouTube Channel and Website.
