"It Has to Be Perfect"

This morning B sat down at the table to cut out some shapes. As he sat cutting, he thought out loud, "I don't know what to make with the shapes."

He paused on the triangle he was cutting out and frantically began searching for a circle .

"I need to find a circle to cut out. It has to be a circle because I want to make a t-rex. The t-rex has to be perfect."

Unsuccessful in his attempt to find a circle, he decided to just draw his own and cut it out. He sat quietly cutting around the circle he carefully drew. Just then, he threw the scissors down and crossed his arms.

"I can't do it! It isn't coming out perfect. It has to be a perfect circle!"

B continued to become more and more upset at the fact he was unable to cut the circle out just the way he imagined it. 

"It has to be perfect. It just does. It has to look just like a t-rex!"

B gave up on cutting and began drawing again. He started drawing a t-rex, became upset with how it turned out, and then started the drawing again. He attempted to draw the t-rex a few times before finally giving up entirely. 

"You have to draw it for me. I can't!"

It was at this moment that I noticed B had an entirely different dialogue happening in his head. He was telling himself he was unable to do it to a point where he ended up giving up and becoming visibly upset. Like B, a lot of kids become increasingly frustrated when they are unable to make the perfect drawing, painting, building, etc. How can we ease the anxiety kids show when they are seeking perfectionism? How can we support their ideas without them becoming so frustrated they give up? 

Although we were unable to work through this challenge today, it will be something to educate ourselves about and support kids of all abilities when they are seeking perfection.