Natalie Costa – Creator of ‘Power Thoughts’ Empowering Children to Tap into their True Potential

Sue in conversation with Natalie Costa

With over ten years experience in teaching and education, Natalie is all too familiar with the struggles, pressures and demands that both teachers and children face. She has observed how easily children become disengaged when they are faced with a difficult task; how quickly they feel they CAN’T do something, simply because it’s a challenge, how anxious and overwhelmed they feel with the ever increasing demands from the curriculum and from society as a whole, feeling the pressure to conform to what everyone else is doing, and the pressure to ‘fit in’.

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She has witnessed children giving up too quickly and beating themselves up because they have made a mistake and got things wrong. Their confidence is diminished because they didn’t get the correct score or they are not part of the ‘in-crowd’. She has seen children play small, unwilling to trust themselves to “have a go”, and as one child shared, “My worries make me feel as if I’m a tortoise stuck in a shell.” Natalie developed Power Thoughts to change that! Power Thoughts is a teaching, coaching and mindfulness based service which is aimed at empowering children to tap into the ‘power’ of their minds. Lessons enjoyed by all. Confident attitudes. Finished tasks. Test results getting better and better. A noticed reduction in bullying and disharmony. Enthusiastic and curious questions asked by shy pupils. What’s YOUR version of YOUR perfect classroom?

As teachers we strive for positive improvement and to deliver for our students despite mounting pressure and curriculum changes, and yet, young people are struggling to connect with learning…

Over 92% of children are afraid of the ‘F-word’. Failure. They are afraid of getting things wrong and making mistakes. Faced with an ever demanding curriculum and a society that rewards good grades, good looks and popularity, many of our children are feeling anxious, overwhelmed and struggling to connect with their learning.