You may be familiar with the concept of slipping a note into a child’s lunchbox as a simple and endearing way for parents to express their love during the school day. What if there was a way to extend this gesture throughout the entire school day, beyond just lunchtime? One inventive mom found an effortless method to achieve this, and when her child’s teacher learned about it, she felt compelled to share the idea with others.

A teacher named Amanda Cox recounted a day when she was in need of pencils and asked her students to contribute any they had in their desks. One student, who had pencils from his mom, sought permission to keep them. Cox gladly agreed, but to her surprise, the student chose to share some of those pencils with his classmates. Intrigued, Cox accepted the pencils and, while sharpening them later, discovered a heartwarming detail.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the student’s mother had taken the time to write sweet messages on the pencils. Impressed by the gesture, Cox asked the student to show her the rest of the pencils, and the heartfelt messages she read on them left a lasting impression. The image below displays the touching notes the student’s mother had written on his pencils.

In case you can’t read the mother’s writing, the messages are:

• you are so talented
• this will be a great year
• you are creative
• you are phenomenal
• never give up
• you can do this
• you are very knowledgeable
• you are a math whiz
• you are intelligent
• proud of you every day
• I love you!
• you have a brilliant mind
• you are wonderful
• you are a problem solver
• follow your dreams
• you are perfect
• I love you!
• I am proud of you
• you will change the world
• you are amazing
• you are the best
• you are important

The teacher was blown away by the mother’s idea to write affirmations on the pencils and by the student’s willingness to share the pencils with his fellow students so they could have a positive message on their pencils too. Cox wrote, “This probably took his mom a few minutes to do but lit up his whole day at school. He wasn’t embarrassed that his mom wrote on his pencils. Thanks to his mom, he was reminded of his self worth and wanted to share the same feeling with his classmates.”

Cox ended her post by emphasizing how important it is for parents and teachers to tell their kids “that they are important, talented, loved, knowledgeable, and so much more.” She added, “Remember that you may be the only one telling and reminding them these things and EVERY kid needs to know their value. This is why I teach.”

Many people commented on Cox’s post sharing how much they love this idea and that they plan to try this idea.

What do you think of the idea of writing affirmations on your child’s pencils? Are you going to try it?