Give children and students a positive start to their day with inspirational quotes. Inspirational quotes can help motivate children to learn and encourage them to accept mistakes and during the learning process. Start your school day or week with a simple quote or saying. You can choose one quote a week or write a new one each day! You can even ask children to contribute their favorite saying that inspires them. Easily display your inspirational quotes on your classroom whiteboard or an individual white board for distance learning.
Get inspiration for your own whiteboard designs and learn how to create a whiteboard with just a pocket protector and paper in this DIY Whiteboard video.
35 Inspirational quotes
“Happiness depends more on the internal frame of mind of a person’s own mind than on the externals in the world.” – George Washington
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Alva Edison
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present.'” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
“No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Wolfgang Riebe
“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” – Brian Herbert
“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” – Stephen Hawking
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” – Malcolm Gladwell
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” – Joseph Addison
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” – Stephen King
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
“It’s always too soon to quit.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama
“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” – Dolly Parton
“You can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!” – Anne Frank
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” – Jennifer Dukes Lee
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Tough times never last but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” – Dr. Seuss
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
“It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” – Wayne Gretzky
“Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.” – John Wooden
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
Include your daily or weekly quotes in your weekly writing prompts (for grades 2-6.)
- Read quotes aloud as a class and discuss the lesson or goal behind each one.
- List examples of how each quote can help children during their school day.
- Ask children or students to write about how each saying can help them.
Incorporate positive and encouraging quotes and start off your school day with positive thoughts. Student’s emotional health and well-being is an important part of the learning process, especially during irregular and stressful times. Use daily motivational quotes to boost emotional wellness, in addition to other social and emotional learning strategies.
You can find more activities and information for teaching social and emotional learning in this blog: Strategies for Teaching Social and Emotional Learning: Create a Classroom of Superheroes.
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Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.