50 Things You Can Say To Encourage A Child

by TeachThought Staff

There are many ways to encourage a child, but for students of any age, honest, authentic, and persistent messages from adults that have credibility in their eyes are among the most powerful.

The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning has put together the following list, 50 Ways To Encourage A Child. It was designed for younger students (head start/kindergarten), but with the exception of 4, 17, 21, and maybe 40, they’re actually useful for K-12 in general. It all depends on your tone, the situation, and who else is listening.

In addition, they’ve got a couple of other useful documents under their tips for fostering teacher connections series you can check out as well.

See also Sentence Stems To Replace ‘I Don’t Know’ Or ‘I Can’t’

70 Things You Can Say To Encourage A Child

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70 Things You Can Say To Encourage A Child

Ed note: I started to revise this list and decided to do a follow-up post. I left a few of the sentence stems before the list itself.

I respect how you…when…

I noticed when you…and I think…

You’re improving at…which I can tell is helping you by…

There are a lot of wonderful things about you but today I’m noticing that…

I tried…times and failed when I tried to…. Stick with it and you might surprise yourself.

The way you…and…is allowing you to….

You inspire me to be a better teacher by the way you…

• Thumbs up.
• You’re on the right track now.
• You’ve worked so hard on that.
• I heard you say how you feel. That’s great,
• Oh, that turned out very well.
• That’s coming along nicely.
• I’m proud of the way you worked today.
• You’ve just about got it.
• That’s the best you’ve ever done.
• You stayed so calm during that problem.
• That’s it!
• Now you’ve figured it out!
• That’s quite an improvement.
• I knew you could do it.
• Congratulations.
• I love hearing your words.
• What a superstar you are.
• You’ve solved the problem.
• Keep working on it, you’re almost there!
• Now you have it.
• Your brain must be working hard, you figured that out quickly.
• I bet you’re proud of yourself.
• One more time and you’ll have it.
• Great idea!
• You’re amazing!
• Terrific teamwork!
• Nothing can stop you now.
• You have such creative ideas.
• That’s the way to do it.
• Sensational!
• You must have been practicing.
• You handled that so well.
• I like how you think.
• Good remembering.
• You know just what to do!
• You really are persisting with this.
• You expressed yourself so well.
• You did it!
• I knew you two could figure it out together.
• Excellent job saying how you feel.
• I know it’s hard, but you’re almost there.
• Fantastic problem-solving!
• I love hearing about your ideas.
• I know that was hard for you, but you stayed so calm.
• Yes!
• Looked at how you help each other.
• You finished faster because you worked together.
• You kept trying!
• Excellent try!
• You are a creative thinker.

20 More Things You Can Say To Encourage A Child

I believe in you.

I love how you keep improving with practice.

You are capable of amazing things.

You make a difference.

Your effort is what matters most.

I love how you keep going, even when it’s tough.

You are a great problem solver.

I love seeing you learn new things.

You have a kind heart.

You are so creative.

It’s okay to make mistakes; that’s how we learn.

I appreciate how you keep challenging yourself.

Every time you try, you get better.

I’m so lucky to know you.

You are so thoughtful and caring.

You make the world a better place.

I see how much you’re learning and growing.

You are important, and you matter.

70 Things You Can Say To Encourage A Child; image attribution flickr user skokiemonumentpark

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