Uncovering Hidden Passions with Vision Boards for Kids

When my girlfriends and I sat down on New Years Day to make our vision boards together, I thought, "Gosh, why don't we ever make vision boards for kids?"

What I thought was a cute little craft ended up revealing a lot more about me than I expected. So the next day, my daughter and I made vision boards together.

We both ended up learning a lot about ourselves, finding hidden passions and setting goals based on what we learned.

What is a vision board?

A vision board is a visual display that documents your hopes, interests, and goals for the future. The idea is that by displaying these goals and ideas visually, in a place where you'll see it each day, you'll do just a little more to work toward those goals.

If you're into the idea of manifestation, some people believe that just by putting those goals and hopes into the universe, you have a higher chance of making them your reality. Now, I'm not guaranteeing any magic, but I think that there is some merit in setting goals and keeping them top of the mind, especially for kids!

What do I need to make kids vision boards?

After I made by own vision board with my girlfriends, I kept the magazines and supplies out for my daughter. Here is what we used:

• magazines- make sure they're kid friendly like Highlights or Parents Magazine
• glue
• scissors
• a piece of cardboard or card stock, as big as you choose

And after this project, keep those magazine for an environmental print collage.

How do you make a vision board?

Flipping through the magazine, kids look for pictures and words that stand out to them. A dog? A child baking? Running shoes?

Kids will cut out the items that they're drawn to and think of why that item is significant. For example, I selected running shoes to because this year I want to run a race! My daughter chose cookies because she would like to practice her baking skills.

Cut out those meaningful pictures and words, and glue them collage style on your background of choice! Viola!

A great time to make vision boards is when starting a new chapter in life: a new year, a new school, moving to a new place, etc.

What are the benefits of creating vision boards with kids?

Besides being a fun craft where children practice their cutting skills, vision boarding has lots of emotional learning in it for kids.

Imagine this: flipping through magazines, you are choosing items that you like and cutting them out one by one. At the end take a look at all the items. Is there a theme standing out for you?

Once I had selected all the meaningful pictures and words, I noticed many pictures were of food and of colorful items. Though I hadn't intended it, I realized through this exercise that I want to focus more on cooking and baking this year. Additionally, my images showed me that I am seeking to add more color to my life and my home.

My daughter gleaned that she has a passion for baking, and her goal for the year was to learn how to bake a dessert all on her own. Her cute theme of fuzzy animals, were more than just a hint at wanting a pet... She realized that she wanted to help animals and began collecting coins to donate to the local animal shelter's wish list.

How illuminating was that?! We certainly didn't expect to learn those things about ourselves. By organizing these pictures and displaying them in our home, we continue to pursue these passions and goals.

When kids make vision boards, they also work on on goal setting, exploring their passions, and potentially trying new things.

What are some questions you can ask kids to guide them in making their vision boards?

Kids might feel a little daunted by the task of creating a vision board when presented with the materials. Here are some questions to help guide them as they begin to search for what inspires them:

1. Which of these pictures makes you feel happy? Calm? Excited? (Here are some more feelings activities to build this vocabulary!)
2. What page in the magazine feels like one you just want to jump right into?
3. Is there anything that you see that feels like it was just made for you?
4. Did you notice yourself being drawn to any words in the magazine?
5. Was there a sentence or phrase that stuck out to you or made you feel like they were talking just to you?

These questions will guide children to find pictures and words they are passionate about without having to set goals right away. That's the beauty of the whole project. The goals illuminate themselves once kids gather all their cut outs and put them together!

Reflection questions to use after making vision boards

After the kids are done putting together their vision boards, that's the time when you can review and reflect on them with questions like...

1. Is there a pattern in your pictures?
2. Are the words on the board related in any way?
3. What really stands out to you about your kid vision board?
4. Are there some goals that you want to make for this new chapter based on what you noticed in your vision board?
5. Where would you like to display your vision board?

I highly recommend displaying a vision board somewhere that you and your child will walk by frequently. We chose our kitchen window so that we will walk by it each day multiple times. Seeing the pictures gives us more intention as we go about our day and reminds us to take time out of our lives to pursue the passions and goals we set forth.

So, have your ever made a vision board? Have you ever thought about making vision boards for kids? Whether it's an at home or whole class project, you can't go wrong!