50 Inspiring Quotes for Kids This School Year

Social-emotional health is something that is extremely important to me, so I’m always looking for ways to help my kids build confidence without being overbearing. Last year, I started the tradition of writing a simple quote each week in my daughter’s planner. I didn’t think much of it at the time — just figured I really enjoyed reading quotes, and thought it would encourage her during a year when she was struggling.

But following the school year, she did something amazing…She cut out every single quote, paired them with the hearts from her Valentine confidence countdown and information she received from Girls On The Run, and put them in a book she created and named her “happy book.” She said she likes to look at it when she is feeling down.

When she showed me, it really sent the signal to me that she craves Words of Affirmation, and I should be sure to work those into her life when possible.

I mean, don’t we all need/enjoy reminders that we are loved and wonderful just the way we are? Her teacher even joined in and would write quotes as well. It made her feel so special.

This year, I plan to continue to write planner quotes, so I am planning ahead by having quotes I’ve collected ready to rock so I don’t have to search too hard on a busy weeknight.

Take a peek at the list I’ve compiled, and feel free to add your favorites in the comments. I tried my best to ensure they are attributed properly. Some are silly, some are deep, but all are meant to inspire!

Let’s all pour some love into our kiddos this school year and give them some weekly encouragement, whether it’s a planner quote, quick lunch box note on a Post-It, or a little doodle! Small things really can make a difference to a child and their confidence.

50 Inspiring Quotes for Kids This School Year

1. If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito. – African Proverb
2. Why fit in when you were born to stand out? – Dr. Suess
3. No one is perfect; that’s why pencils have erasers. – Wolfgang Riebe
4. Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow. – Albert Einstein
5. Be kind to unkind people. They need it the most. – Ashleigh Brilliant
6. People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou
7. Don’t just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it. – Jim Rohn
8. The time is always right to do what is right. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
9. With great power, comes great responsibility. – From Spiderman
10. Dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them. – Josie Bisset
11. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. — A.A. Milne
12. Be silly, be honest, be kind. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else. – PT Barnum {in The Greatest Showman}
14. To succeed in life, you need three bones: A wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone. – Reba McEntire
15. Change the world by being yourself. – Amy Poehler
16. Nothing that’s worth anything is easy. – Barack Obama
17. If you judge people, you have no time to love them. – Mother Teresa
18. Find out who you are, and do it on purpose. – Dolly Parton
19. Just be yourself, there is no one better. – Taylor Swift
20. Life is like a box of chocolates…You never know what you’re going to get. – Forrest Gump
21. Just keep swimming. – Dory
22. Be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Ghandi
23. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible!” – Audrey Hepburn
24. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky
25. Being different isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re brave enough to be yourself. – Luna Lovegood
26. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it ‘The Present.’ – Bill Keane
27. We can do hard things. – Glennon Doyle
28. Make each day your masterpiece. – John Wooden
29. If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it. – Muhammed Ali 
30. Never look down on anybody unless you’re helping them up. – Jesse Jackson
31. Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world. – Malala Yousafzai
32. Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game. – Babe Ruth
33. Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader. – Anonymous
34. Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. – Oscar Wilde
35. Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. – Lee Brown
36. Do, or do not. There is no “try”. – Yoda
37. Whatever you are, be a good one. – Abraham Lincoln
38. The wisest mind has something yet to learn. – George Santanaya
39. Life is a big canvas, throw all the paint on it you can. – Danny Kaye
40. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. – Charles Swindoll
41. Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James
42. Believe you can and you’re halfway there. – Theodore Roosevelt
43. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart. – Helen Keller
44. You are enough just as you are. – Meghan Markle
45. Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. – Mae Jemison
46. Every great dream begins with a great dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. – Harriet Tubman
47. By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before. – Edwin Elliot
48. Wherever you go, go with all your heart. – Confucius
49. Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are. – Stephanie Lahart
50. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. – Maya Angelou

Feel free to add your favorites in the comments.

I hope you all have a wonderful school year!