Vision boards aren’t just for grown-ups anymore!
In case you’re not even sure what a vision board is, let’s start with a definition. Basically, it’s a board that has some visual representation of your vision on it.
Beyond that, it can really be anything you want it to be. The “board” can be anything from a standard size piece of white paper, to a large, hardback, presentation-style poster board.
The “vision” can be a combination of pictures, drawings, and/or photos that focus on anything from what your immediate life goals are, to your one-year vision of how you want your life to be, to your “ultimate” life’s dreams.
You’ve probably heard of vision boards. You might even have one yourself.
But have you ever thought of what a child’s vision board would look like? Or why she’d even want to have one? Or what value there might be in creating a vision board alongside her friends?
Let’s face it, most kids likely don’t have a vision that goes beyond what they can do to have fun today, and how they’re going to convince mom to buy them some candy.
Why Should a Child Have a Vision Board
If your child is old enough to understand the concept of a vision board, he’s old enough to have one.
This doesn’t have to be some serious affair that commits kids to any certain path in life. In fact, it shouldn’t be. It should be about fun. About teaching kids how to dream about what they want and then go after it.
And you’re really never too young for that.
If you’ll teach your child to be conscious of what he wants out of life, of what values are important to him at a young age, he’ll develop a habit of always making decisions based on these values.
As he gets older and has more choices, as well as more responsibilities, chances are he’ll avoid some of the bad decision making that many of us fell victim to in our younger years!
Creating a vision board is a fun way for your child to discover and express his values without it feeling like work, or another dry, boring, and unintelligible lecture from mom.
How to Create a Child’s Vision Board
While a vision board can be anything you want it to be, there are some best practices for creating them in a party atmosphere.
Here’s the supplies you’ll need:
Giant poster board: They’re two for $1 at your local dollar store.
Magazines: You can usually get a nice variety of old magazines from the library for a cheap price. Ask your child’s friends’ moms to save any they have for you, as well as other neighbors and friends. Go for things like National Geographic and Conde Nast. Avoid the Target Christmas catalog, this is not the kind of visioning we’re doing. :)
Glue sticks and scissors
Markers and colored pencils: Vision boarding is a fun activity during a character party. Have the kids talk about what qualities they like about the character. They’ll come up with words like, “strong,” “fearless,” “helpful,” and other positive characteristics.
They can use the markers and pencils to fill in the spaces between the pictures on their vision board with the words that really resonate with them.
(Optional) Access to a computer and printer: If a child is really set on something they don’t have a picture of, you can always find one on the computer and print it out for them. However, the main focus should be on finding things from your magazine collection.
Here’s the directions you’ll give:
Ask the children:
- What things do you want to DO in life?
- What places do you want to GO?
- What do you want to BE?
- What’s important to you?
You may even want to have these questions posted on the wall to remind them to cut out pictures and choose words with the answers to these questions in mind.
Allow them to be as serious or as silly as they want to be when making their vision board.
Why This Makes a Great Party Activity
If you ask your child to do this with you at home, she may roll her eyes and think you’re weird. She may resist it as work, as something she doesn’t want to think about. She may claim to have no idea what to put on her vision board.
If you do it at a party — it can be a birthday party, a specific vision board party, or any kind of party — the children are likely more comfortable talking with their friends about their dreams (even at a young age they realize their friends are cooler and more understanding than mom and dad!)
They will also feed off of each other as they discuss the answers to your questions, and come up with things they never would have thought of on their own.
Like most things when you’re a kid, and even as an adult, vision boarding is more fun with friends. And, once they experience the power of this exercise, they’ll be much more likely to actually want to make another one with you at home.
Ready to start planning your next party? You bring the vision board supplies and kidspartycharacters.com will provide your child’s favorite character to spark his creative mind. We also have packages that include kids’ favorite party activities such as face painting, which would be a fun addition to the kids’ vision boarding experience, and further help them bring their vision of what they want to become to life.
Head over to kidspartycharacters.com and start planning your next party today.
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