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Well, we have a special fourth grader with us today.
Dhanvi, I'm so happy that you could take the time out to visit with us.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am nine years old and I was born in January 25th.
I love to paint, sing, and play soccer.
My dream is to become a doctor one day because I love to help people.
I also enjoy doing makeup and listening to Taylor Swift, who's my favorite singer.
I think my hobbies make me a fun and a creative person.
Oh, I love that.
You know, Taylor Swift is really quite a leader, a big leader, as we say, I think to all of us.
I think she does amazing things as an artist and for the world itself.
What makes you a good example to other people around you?
Being positive and helping others.
I think I'm a good example.
I always try to stay positive even when something gets tough.
During soccer practice, if I miss a goal, I remind myself to keep trying and encourage my teammates.
I believe I'm good.
Example, because I love to help my classmates.
When someone is confused about their homework, I offer to explain things to them.
I think helping others is important that shows we can all grow together.
I love that.
And I think our world right now really needs more of that to be connected and united rather than divided.
In soccer, which was a sport that I didn't play, I always did track.
But do you have a position already?
Or are you guys still learning how soccer works so that you might be a forward player for a few games or practices and then you might be a goalie other times?
How does that work right now in fourth grade?
We're just practicing and we're just playing some matches right now.
And so when you say you have a positive, you try to stay positive.
I love how you say that, because soccer, as with anything new or something that you stick with for a long time, there's just a lot to learn.
And it takes a while to really become proficient or good, very good, at the different parts of the field.
So I can only imagine.
I've watched it and I see how fast that ball goes and often how quickly other players can come toward you.
I can imagine that being positive inside your mind is just, and how you show that to your teammates is a really good example.
Do you have a specific experience?
It could be in school, out of school, where you've done something by yourself and you've shown others through your own actions and made an impact.
In art class, my teacher asked us to draw poetry like off the face.
And then she asked me to go up in front of the class to tell them how to do it.
And I took a piece of paper and I started drawing in front of the class, showing them how to create a face.
And I added details and explained to draw with light colors first and then dark colors.
And, looking back, I thought I should have asked my classmates to draw along with me, because if they were just watching they would get confused and I learned better off.
They were practicing while I was showing them.
Sometimes this may be a good thing that you didn't stop to ask them or have them draw, because Sometimes we're more visual and maybe we need to see the whole process from beginning to end before we can start it on our own.
I think, you know, that's really, I'm proud of you.
That's almost like a big responsibility to be asked to share something like that in front of all of your peers.
So I think that's really wonderful.
And the fact that You're even thinking of maybe different ways you could have done it if you did it again.
Shows that you really care about how you do something. and how it affects other people around you.
Do you have someone that you admire in your life as a leader and why?
I admire both of my parents, because my mom is always there for me and encourages me to chase my dreams.
My dad is a great role model too.
He really works hard in his business, but he always makes time for us.
He teaches me how to show value and responsibility to stay positive.
Oh, I love that.
You're a very fortunate girl.
I think we all need people around us to show us the way in all of our different ages and stages in life.
And I love that you have such a close relationship with your parents.
And already at your young age you realize many of the different values and responsibilities that they're showing you.
And with your dream of becoming a doctor someday.
That's all gonna help you as you grow and as you mature.
The qualities they both have like kindness, hard work, and support each other really inspires me.
I want to be like them by helping my friends, the community, and my family.
Staying dedicated to my goals.
Something tells me that you will.
I think that's great.
And I think when we have goals, we have things that we want to do or would like to do in our life.
That helps us pay attention to how we carry ourself every day.
You know, each day is another step in those directions.
So you know, as I've heard from you in the beginning, that life is very busy and we are always being pulled in different directions.
It could be the friend's direction, the school direction, the homework direction, the soccer direction.
What is some of your advice, honey, for how we can stay true to ourselves?
One big challenge is peer pressure.
Friends might want you to do things that you don't feel like doing, like skipping homework.
Another distraction.
There is so many fun things like video games, social media that can pull you away from what you really enjoy doing.
Being busy and challenged too with school and activities.
There's not always time for things about what makes you happy.
Find supporting friends and you could tell them like happy things that you like to your family.
Those are great suggestions.
Sometimes, when you feel like you're so busy and you don't have time to do some things that make you happy, what's something that you do for yourself.
I talk to my parents about it.
I think it's important for all of us when that happens that we have people that we know like trust and love, that we can confide in and share our feelings with.
That's wonderful.
If there are listeners that would be interested in connecting with you for example, they might hear your episode and some of your answers and maybe they just would like to reach out and just say you really helped me, because I never realized how much I needed to work on my positive thinking.
Is there somewhere that they could get in touch with you?
You can reach out to me on Instagram.
Well, I would like to thank you so much for joining us today.
It has been so delightful to meet you and hear about your goals and what a great model you are to everybody around you.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Listen to Mitch and Claire's picture book recommendations.
For more information and some cool discussion questions, visit thelittleleaderspodcastcom or at the Little Leaders Podcast on Instagram.
Our first picture book spot is on Why is Free Yet a growth mindset alphabet, written by Shannon Anderson and illustrated by Jake Sova.
We hope you enjoyed as much as we do.
Mistakes aren't just mistakes.
They're growth spurts.
Developing a growth mindset, a belief that learning is a process that requires dedication and hard work, not just talent.
Not just talent helps kids learn from their mistakes, build resilience and strive to be a little better every day.
Y is for, Yet uses ABCs as a framework to introduce growth mindset and all of its possibilities from A to Z or Ability to Zanny.
Kids learn new vocabulary that expands their view of themselves as learners.
Our next picture book spotlight is on Dream.
You'll Be written by Joseph T Garcia and illustrated by Kimberly Barnes.
This dreamy picture book takes children on an inspirational journey through all the wonderful things they can become.
Motivational rhyming text by Joseph T Garcia and whimsical illustrations by Kimberly Barnes show kids that they can be anything they dream of, and non-traditional jobs for boys and girls are encouraged.
Dream You'll Be is the perfect conversation starter for parents and their children who are wondering what they might want to be when they grow up.
The Little Leaders Podcast is written, edited, and produced by me, Tina Shepardson.
Thank you to Mitch and Claire, our little co-hosts, for today's picture book recommendations.
And leave us a rating or review.
Your time and effort helps others discover us and attract new listeners.
Our podcast artwork was created by Tara Hannon.
Music is from Pond5.
And podcast hosting is by Libsyn.
Take care, everyone.
Keep reading and keep leading.
