Circle of control board - circle of influence - circle of concern - Growth mindset

A beautiful way for kids to ponder and learn what is within their control (circle of control), what things they can influence but need to let go of the outcome (circle of influence) and what things are out of their control (circle of concern).

Kids (particularly of elementary age) hear and understand a lot of things around them. They hear the news, they see concerned parents, but they can't yet articulate all their fears and the anxiety builds up over time. 

Everything in our life falls into these 3 categories. The everyday situations we face, the people, the environment, our mood, our words all relate to these 3 categories. 

Working with the circle of control is beneficial for children in many ways: 

1. It develops a deeper understanding of the issues they face. 
2. Perhaps most importantly, it helps promote a positive mindset as it brings more awareness to what they want in life and how they spend their time.
3. It reduces anxiety by bringing some logic to things out of their control, helping to calm their mind and allowing them focus on things they can control.

This material can be used in any setting and with all ages. I use a variation of this in my everyday journaling. I designed this to be used in an elementary classroom.

How to use this in a classroom?

1. You can do this as a circle activity with a lot of students or 1-on-1 with a student who is anxious.
2. Take the board and set all the flower pieces aside.
3. Explain each one of the circles - control, influence and concern (you can use the printable that comes with this board). Give them an example and show WHY they belong in a certain circle. 
4. Take each flower and read the problem. Ask the students if they think they can control that particular issue. Encourage them to split the problems into multiple segments, there might be segments they can control but others they cannot. Show them how they can "influence" the outcome by working on the segments that they can control but the final outcome is outside of their hands.
5. Go through each flower and address the problem.
6. Ask each of them to write what is bothering them.. their concerns and put them in a jar. 
7. Read one by one and sort them into circles, address the concern and ease their anxiety. 

This gives us a great starting point for a deeper conversation on developing skills to solve the issues arising in a child's everyday life as they grow older.

This board comes with: 

1. Base made of maple. Measures 11"x11"
2. Problems (the flowers) made of cherry

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