We’re excited to announce a new experience for our families to explore: the Let Grow Experience. Let Grow is leading the movement for childhood independence.

Let Grow believes today’s kids are smarter and stronger than our culture gives them credit for.

Somehow current culture has become obsessed with kids’ fragility and lost sight of their innate resilience. This concern grew out of good intentions! But treating kids as fragile is making them so. In fact, kids are “anti-fragile” — built not just to withstand some challenges, but to grow stronger once they do.

The founders of Let Grow reject the idea that our youth are in constant physical, emotional, or psychological danger from frustration, failure, kidnappers, bad grades, disappointing playdates, and/or the challenges of working out frustrations with peers.

As Let Grow Co-founder Prof. Peter Gray explains: “Children who have more opportunities than others for independent activities are not only happier in the short run, because the activities engender happiness and a sense of trustworthiness and competence, but also happier in the long run, because independent activities promote the growth of mental capacities for coping effectively with life’s inevitable stressors.”

That’s why Let Grow is creating a new path for parents, schools, and America itself. Their programs, outreach, and thought leadership focuses not just on explaining where our culture took a wrong turn but on real-world ways to get kids back to having some adventures, solving some problems, and blossoming.

Starting this month, The Cottonwood School’s SELF Talk Newsletter will introduce and provide a monthly Let Grow challenge for your family to explore. February’s theme is all about leadership. This month, your child can choose a project that gets them stepping into the role of leader by taking initiative and getting things started! Leadership can happen in so many different contexts – on the sports field, at home around family, around your friends, in a public setting, or even in how one chooses to interact online. Explore more of February’s Let Grow Experience.

🤩WOW!!!!🤩 We had some beautiful photos of acts of kindness creations, ideas, and art submitted during The Great Kindness Challenge week last week! All students who submitted photos of their art, checklist completion photos, or kindness creations received a Great Kindness Challenge Certificate and were entered for a chance to be nominated as one of Cottonwood School’s 2025 Kindness Ambassadors! Students completed the vote for Kindness Ambassadors during Mindset Monday Zoom classes and the winner will be announced in next week’s SELF Talk!

If you missed the Great Kindness SELF Talk issue with checklists and printables your student can submit, see last week’s SELF Talk!

Email SELF@cottonwoodk12.org for Kindness creation submissions and questions.

“If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” – Les Brown

Throughout this unit, we’ve explored how understanding our feelings and making positive choices can sometimes be challenging, but it’s all part of growing and learning. Encouraging one another through shared experiences helps us stay 100% Accountable! At this stage, students are becoming more adventurous and open to trying new things, though they may still worry about the outcomes. By embracing accountability, they learn that growth is a continuous journey where mistakes and setbacks are valuable learning opportunities.

Younger elementary and middle school students are often inspired by interests outside of academics, and we aim to support their development in all areas of life. This lesson reinforces the idea that being accountable starts with recognizing that growth is an ongoing process, self-improvement should extend to every part of their lives, and we continue to Grow Through Life.

For high school students, this lesson encourages them to reflect on personal growth and how it connects to achieving their goals. By focusing on self-improvement, students can build greater capacity for success and positively impact the world around them.

Mindset Mondays will be offered every Monday that school is in session. This year we are working through Course 1, which means returning students will be learning fresh and new content. One of my favorite things about the 7 Mindsets curriculum is each year continues to provide new and different information. I look forward to seeing your students in class as we explore the 100% Accountable Mindset!

You will find the class times below. Classes are arranged by grade levels as follows:

Grades K-2: 9:30 am Zoom link

Grades 3-5: 10:30 am Zoom link

Grades 6-12: 11:30 am Zoom link

You can also go directly to your Clever dashboard and click on the Mindset Monday tile to join the class easily!

The lessons are approximately 45 minutes long and designed to be interactive group lessons; however, because we recognize the importance of students attending comfortably, each student may choose their level of participation in the lesson.

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his [her] future by merely changing his attitude.” – Oprah Winfrey

Each lesson includes an engaging slideshow, video, and activity. Click on the link that matches your student’s age or grade. You’ll find a fun icebreaker, a video lesson, and some discussion questions you can use to invite your students into conversation. There’s also an activity to bring the idea alive in your student’s life. Have fun connecting and learning how to Grow Through Life!

Grades: K-2
Grades: 3-5
Grades: Middle School
Grades: High School

This year, I am excited to bring your students Mindful Movement classes *in person* a few times each month! We have been having SO MUCH FUN moving together! Join me and fellow students as we practice mindful movement together! All ages of Cottonwood students are welcome, including parents!

February Mindful Movement classes will focus on providing opportunities for students to practice the movements of the PFT as well as supportive breathing while completing aerobic activities. The dates are as follows (weather permitting):

Wednesday at the Rocklin Park Day on February 19, 11-12 pm

Wednesday at the Elk Grove Park Day on February 12pm

Movement classes are open to all Cottonwood students in all grades. If your student is in the younger grades, please be prepared to support their movement, if needed. We will have some mats available to borrow; however, students can feel free to bring their own, along with their own water bottles or hydration preferences, and dress in movement attire. Please refer to the Wednesday Weekly for information and updates on Park Days.

No need to register ahead of time!

As a result of our school’s active participation in The Great Kindness Challenge, I am excited to share that we continue to be recognized as a Kindness Certified School! I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for the positive impact you’ve made at our school, in our community, and in our world. Thank you for being a part of this movement!

• The Great Kindness Challenge was from January 27-31, but let’s keep the kindness flowing!!! Please share with us any random act of kindness activity your family participates in! Send in your photos to us to celebrate all the Kindness that is created!

Email SELF@cottonwoodk12.org for submissions and questions.