"I IS KIND. I IS SMART. I IS IMPORTANT."

My exercise instructor is amazing, and she has two young daughters that she often mentions. A little ritual she uses every day is to ask her daughters, “What are you?” They repeat, “I am kind. I am smart. I am important.” What a positive reaffirmation! I asked her if she thought of that, and she said, “No, I borrowed it from THE HELP.” (I saw that movie years ago, so I recalled the scene…google it if you’ve never watched the movie. It will touch your heart and give you goose bumps!) 

I think teachers should “borrow” this idea and use it each morning to start their day. 

                               
Group Reading
Write it on a poster, and have the children read over it with you. This will help them make print connections, learn to track from left to write, etc.

Vocabulary
After several weeks, you could encourage children to suggest a different synonym for “important” each day. For example: “I am special.” “I am awesome.” “I am incredible.” Refer to children frequently during the day using the adjective. Keep a list of these “Wonderful Words” for children to use in their own writing.
*After exploring synonyms for “important,” do the same for “kind” and “smart.”