Make A Vision Board With Your Kids

Visualisation can be a powerful mental exercise that helps you define what you want, perceive it and believe that you can make it happen. There are stories of it working on a grand scale (ever heard about how Jim Carrey wrote himself a $10 million acting check before he became famous?), but you can also use the technique to help your kids envision their dreams and goals.

Vision boards can be a really positive, encouraging way for kids to learn to believe in themselves. It’s the tactile, visual version of “You can do anything you set your mind to”, because it serves as a regular reminder of what they hope for the future and how they can accomplish it.

Gather your supplies

To make a vision board with your kids, you’ll need a few basic supplies, as well as access to a whole bunch of images for them to choose from. Here are a few suggested materials, but you can go as basic or creative as you’d like:

• Poster board, cork board or a sheet of cardboard

• Markers

• Stencils

• Scissors

• Glue, glue sticks, tape or thumbtacks

• Magazines

• Newspaper

• Computer and printer, if possible, to print out any images or words they can’t find or draw

Help them envision

Kids are mostly creatures of the moment, but creating a vision board is a great opportunity to talk with them about both short-term and long-term dreams and goals. That doesn’t mean we want to force a 10-year-old to pick their future career right this second, but they can start thinking about what inspires them or what they’d like to accomplish.

Here are a few questions to get them started:

• Which famous celebrities, athletes or leaders inspire you? Why?

• What are some of your favourite words or phrases?

• Where would you like to travel when you get older?

• What kind of place would you like to live?

• What kind of impact would you like to have on the world?

Pull it all together

Encourage them pack the vision board full with bright, colourful images, drawings and words. Journalist and blogger Jennifer Borget made a really beautiful example here with her then-five-year-old daughter. You can also search through Pinterest with your kids for additional inspiration and ideas.

Make sure to emphasise that visions change over time — the goals and dreams they have now may adapt as they get older, and that’s OK. This is just a starting point for thinking about who they are and what they want to accomplish.