Certificate: I Did It!
Toddler · 2–3A free printable certificate reading "I Did It!" — for working hard and never giving up. This one is for closing something off — a set of tracing sheets worked through, or a maze that took three attempts. Award it for effort on something difficult rather than for a neat result. Print it on A4 or US Letter and have your child write their own name on it if they can. Name the specific thing on the certificate rather than leaving it generic: children are considerably more motivated by praise that says what they actually did.
Marking something finished
A certificate is not a colouring activity — it is a way of closing one. Children who have worked through a set of tracing sheets or finished a maze they found hard respond to having that acknowledged in a form they can keep and show someone.
There is space for a name, which is worth having the child write themselves if they can.
What to award it for
Effort on something difficult rather than a neat result. A child who kept going at the diamond sheet has done more than one who found the circle easy, and recognising the persistence rather than the outcome is what makes the next hard thing more likely to be attempted.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I award this for?
- Effort on something difficult rather than a neat result. A child who kept going at a hard sheet has done more than one who found an easy sheet easy.
- Does a certificate actually help?
- It does when it names the specific thing. Children are considerably more motivated by praise that says what they did than by praise for being good at something.