The Incedible Power of a Growth Mindset

 


“This is Hard. This is fun.”  – Carol Dweck

This weekend, the boys and I created our own robot. I am talking electrical engineering kind of robot building. We included batteries and used red and black wires. We even added electrical tape. It was hard. And it was exhilarating. Together, we constructed a mini bot that had an on/off switch, a 3-volt motor, and moved in a circle.

With this awesome invention in mind, I should make a few confessions. First,  I have always put myself in the category as “not the science girl.” It wasn’t my thing  growing up. Second, I not only put myself in a category of not being a science person, but I had a belief that intellegence was fixed. Therefore, I believed, you could try hard and do the best you could with what you were given, but your smarts were never going to change. 

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Play’s Magical Role in Innovation and Creativity

“Play is the highest form of research.” – Albert Einstein

It’s 4:00. My children have been at school all day. As they walk down our driveway, their legs are heavy. I wonder if they will even make it inside. They toss their backpacks on the floor, tear their shoes off, and run into our playroom. I am shocked. While my annoyance that they didn’t put their backpacks on the hook and now their stinky shoes are thrown in four different directions, my curiosity causes me to pause. I watch. Both my sons, do not want to eat, they do not want to watch shows, they wanted to play.

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