Explore an "island" this summer!
- Helix Academy
- Jun 13
- 2 min read
This summer, take a vacation to your child’s “island of competence.”
“Islands of competence” are a child’s areas of particular strength. Focusing on islands of competence can help students experience success, build self-esteem, and develop resilience. How can you help your child find and develop their island of competence? It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
FIND IT - Notice when your child feels the most energized, motivated, and confident. This can give you clues to locate your child's "islands of compentence."
NAME IT - Children don't need constant praise for every little thing, but they do need to know that their adults notice and appreciate the things they are good at. Naming your child's strengths helps them to understand, appreciate, and build on them.
EXPAND IT - Try out new activities related ro your child's strenghts.
How do island's build resiliance? Here's a personal anecdote:
A few months ago, I was having one of those days. You know the ones. I spilled my latte before the first sip. It felt like everyone on the road was trying to run me over. A student had melted down seemingly out of nowhere. And now, I realized I was home late and missing the key ingredient to make dinner. I felt like a failure.
So, what did I do? I made biscuits. You see, growing up in the South, biscuits are serious business. And here in California, no one seems to make them right. But I make excellent biscuits. Biscuit baking is one of my islands of competence.
When I bit into that first biscuit, I instantly felt better. I couldn’t possibly be a failure - I hadn’t failed at biscuit baking. From that place of relative strength, I could look at my day more objectively. It was just a bad day - and I could get over it.
My island of competence helped me tremendously that day. It gave me the chance to succeed at something, and that success helped me recover my self-esteem. And baking biscuits gave me resilience. It was a coping strategy.
Celebrating your child’s strengths can help them build this resilience for themselves. Together, we can unlock the power of these islands for your child.
Learn more about islands of competence:
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