We are back slightly early this month with our worksheets for the Shelf Care Book Club. We have a set of activities to complement the gorgeous book from Quarto Kids, Once Upon a Witch’s Broom, which you will get for free if you join our free kids book club. The worksheets help with perfectionism in children; enabling kids to realise that perfect isn’t realistic, and combating those feelings of just “not being good enough.”
This is a charming book. As with all the books we have chosen for the club, it offers a magical tale, with an important lessons for children.
This book is surprisingly multi-layered in its messaging, helping kids to start to learn about:
- Perfectionism: and the perils of feeling you need to do everything perfectly all the time,
- Black and White thinking: where we think in extremes, and forget that there are areas of grey in between. In fact, there are often grey areas, and it isn’t that things are all “horrible” or things are all “amazing.” It is 100% normal for things to be somewhere in the middle too!
- Not being good enough: A knock-on effect of perfectionism is the feeling of never being good enough. Children get spiral into feeling that whatever they do isn’t quite up to scratch if they strive for perfection all the time. This has, naturally, a negative effect on kid’s self esteem, and finally
- Importance of failure: If we don’t make mistakes, we don’t learn, and adapt, and build resilience for the next time. Failure is part of the learning process, so it’s totally fine to not get it right the first time. In fact, everyone usually does!
Once Upon a Witch’s Broom
This book is about Moira, and a relic that is supposed to be a source of her magic powers. Moira can’t seem to get hers to work. Her potions are more fizzle than sparkle, her spells flop not fly, things go wrong. 😔 Meanwhile, her best friend Lilly is a natural. This leaves Moira feeling a bit down, but, don’t worry. all as not lost…..
This is heartwarming tale and is an addition to Beatrice Blue’s critically acclaimed and best-selling “Once Upon…” series. Perfect for the 4-7 year olds, this 40-page paperback is a spellbinding story of friendship and self-belief.
What are the perfectionism in children activity sheets like?
We could spend A LOT of time on the topics we have introduced above. For example, Black and White thinking is one of the key thought patterns addressed within Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and can be a trap for adults too.
Black and white thinking is something common for those with ADHD. Perfectionism, which can lead to paralysing procrastination. Being proud of the quality of your work is important. However, it should not become so painful that your work, and self esteem suffer. Good Enough is an important concept for escaping the claws of perfectionism.
Cover page colouring, and draw your own “relic”
Our first three activity sheets are the cover, and then the traditional colouring page for the cover sheet. This is a fabulous, and fantastical cover, which your children can go wild with. Older kids will love the intricacy of the cover page. Why not teach your kids its OK to get creative and go outside the lines?
We sometimes have that special toy that we feel safe with; a little bit like the broom, and Lily’s pendant. If your child has one, why not draw it? If they don’t how about imagining what it might be like, or drawing your child’s version of Lily’s pendant?
Being perfect and black and white thinking
Our next two sheets introduce kids the the idea of “being perfect” and “black and white thinking”. These sheets give us an opportunity to talk to them about how perfect and extreme thinking isn’t really that realistic. It is worth reminding ourselves of this too – who ever met the perfect mother for example 😂
You are enough
Are next two sheets are focused on the idea that sometimes we can feel not good enough – and we can chat about this with our kids, and encourage them to realise, as Moira does in the book, that she IS enough. In fact, she is AMAZING! We do have some worksheets on this a little later too.
Feeling better and making mistakes
Our next few sheets talk more about failure, and making mistakes, and how this makes our kids feel. We suggest writing a story about making a mistake and how it can help too.
Failing: First Attempt in Learning!
You are amazing perfectionism in children worksheets
Our final two sheets are positive to help remind our kids just what is amazing about. both Moira, and themselves. Get them to think about their amazing traits, and add them to our sheet.
That’s all – loads of fabulous activity sheets for you – all of which are going to help build confidence, resilience and understanding in your kids of their own internal processes. They might even help YOU too 😂
If you aren’t a member of the book club, then do sign up here as well:
To download these sheets – click on the button or the image below and they are yours for free:
We’ve got other activity sheets that you can check out from the book club too, with loads of wonderful ideas for being kids understanding of their feelings and emotions. it isn’t just the book club where we help with emotions; check out this poem on grief here.
All of our activity sheets in the book club and beyond are so important for positive mental health. Why not take a look at some of the previous book activities? All the books are available in our Amazon Shop too.
Selection of 2023 Shelf Care Books
Here are some of the other books we have featured with activity sheets in the Shelf Care club in 2023. Check out the ideas and activities, and buy the books if you like them!
Sept Shelf Care Book Club: Including argument worksheets for kids
Sorry is a powerful word IF we use it properly; and don't just say it because we THINK we should. We need to mean it!
Navigating loss with The Hare-Shaped Hole: Introducing grief worksheets for kids
A wonderful book to help kids understand loss - so poignant and so important for all those little people out there.
We've Got This eBook: Empathy activities and empathy teaching
Empathy is important for us all to learn - here is a book to help out children do just that.
We have loads of other book activities, so check out this part of the site, and come back again soon, we love having you every month. we do hope you like these perfectionism in children worksheets as well.
Take care,
Helen