Sometimes getting through the school year can be tough. Everyone hits a wall at some point and loses motivation — and that’s just as true for your students as it is for you sometimes! To breathe some new life into your classroom and help your students keep their eyes on the prize, some inspiring quotes for kids can be just the thing you need. We’ve collected our favorites here for you to refer to when you need a little extra help boosting your kiddos out of a slump.
Creative Ways to Use Inspirational Quotes for Children
What should you do with these motivational quotes for children? Try one or more of the following ways to incorporate great thoughts into your classroom culture.
- Motivational Bulletin Boards: Display a swath of quotes all at once, or create a rotating “Quote of the Week” bulletin board in a place of honor in your classroom. Get kids involved by having them bring their own quotes or illustrate the one you’ve chosen.
- Writing Prompts: Quotes for kids about life get them thinking, so they make excellent writing prompts for journaling or practice essays. Choosing quotes in kid-friendly language takes some of the pressure off, too.
- Parent Newsletters: A great quote makes the perfect header to highlight a theme or goal in your letters home to parents. If you have some empty space to fill, you can also offer your thoughts on what the quote means to you — adults need writing prompts, too!
30 Quotes for Kids to Use in Your Classroom
Inspirational kid quotes are everywhere, but some are better than others. Here are our favorites for you to use to help your students through a rough patch and encourage them to keep plugging away.
- “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
- “Friendship … is not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” – Muhammad Ali
- “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
- “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.” – Andrew Carnegie
- “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill
- “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
- “Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” – Benjamin Disraeli
- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
- “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” – Albert Einstein
- “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epicetus
- “Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference.” – Claire Fagan
- “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
- “Survival can be summed up in three words: Never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” – Bear Grylls
- “Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for mathematics, the cultural world is one country.” – David Hilbert
- “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
- “Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.” – Rudyard Kipling
- “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.” – Blake Lively
- “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
- “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell
- “The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on.” – Barack Obama
- “No one is perfect … that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Wolfgang Riebe
- “You always pass failure on the way to success.” – Mickey Rooney
- “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss
- “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain