Do you have a kid who needs motivation? Have you been thinking about getting your kid to create their own vision board but not sure how to start? You may not realize it but there are actually many different types of vision boards for kids.

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” Walt Disney

This article will cover the following:

  • What is a Vision Board?
  • How to Create a Good Vision Board
  • The 5 Main Types of Vision Boards, Pros & Cons
  • So Which Type of Vision Board Fits Your Child Best?

What is a Vision Board?

A Vision Board is a visual method of displaying your child’s dreams and goals. It is sometimes also known as a Dream Board. Whether you choose to call it a Vision Board or a Dream Board, the purpose of a Vision Board is to help your kid clarify what they want in life and to record it in a visual, tangible form so that your child can look at it and be reminded of his or her goals. It’s also one of the best activities that you can do with your child to create inspiration.

How to Create a Good Vision Board

To create a good vision board, you need to ensure that you have all the materials necessary such as pictures, a board and glue.

You should also have a list of questions to guide your child through the process to figure out what is important to them.

The 5 Main Types of Vision Boards

Most of us have only seen the ‘cut and stick pictures’ type of Vision Board. However, that is not the only way to create a Vision Board!

As you will see below, we have come up with several more ways to create a Vision Board that can be just as fun for young kids to do. We will cover the pros and cons of each type.

1. Cut and Stick

This is the most common and popular type of Vision Board. Your basic materials are a corkboard or craft paper (or something similar), scissors and glue. If you have a whiteboard hung up already in your kid’s room, you could choose to use the whiteboard instead and add magnets or blu tack to stick your child’s pictures to the whiteboard.

Some people prefer their Vision Boards to have pictures only. However, if your child is able to read and is the type that is inspired by quotes, your child can also include words along with their pictures.

In general, the brighter and more attractive the pictures, the more effective it will be in inspiring and motivating your child.

If you have no idea how to start, you could also use a template to guide you and your child in this process.

a. Magazines

To create this Vision Board, your kid collects pictures that represent what they want in their life.

Normally, most kids source these pictures from magazines. This method is popular because it’s pretty easy to collect free magazines from neighbors or businesses if you don’t have any magazines at home.

b. Printed Pictures From the Internet

This method takes more work but I prefer this method to method (a) above. If you have a color printer at home, your child can browse the internet looking for pictures and then print them out when they find the right one.

I recommend that you supervise your child’s online browsing activity because unfortunately, you can never guarantee that your child won’t accidentally come across pictures that were not meant for them or that you don’t want them to see.

c. Photos

Your child can use printed photos to make up their Vision Board. This method particularly suits kids who love photography or have a large collection of printed photos to use for their Vision Board. They can include photos of family members, pets, friends, mentors and other people that they care about or who inspire them.

Pros:

  • The finished result normally looks very good and very ‘artsy’. The only real skill involved here is cutting out pictures and sticking them to the Vision Board. This means that young children can make their own Vision Board too if you can assist with cutting out the pictures.
  • This method is relatively easy to do and you only need simple materials to create the Vision Board.
  • This method is very hands-on for children. By being involved in every step of the creation process, your kid will gain a sense of ownership, pride and accomplishment.

Cons:

  • This method does need some preparation beforehand if you don’t have a color printer. At the very least, you will need to have scissors and glue as well as a board on hand.
  • If you are going to use magazines, it can be a challenge to try to find the exact picture that your child wants to represent what they are looking for. Sometimes, you just won’t be able to find the picture that your child wants from the magazines.

You can see some examples of ‘cut and stick’ Vision Boards on Pinterest.

List of Materials

Here is a complete list of materials that you will need:

Here are some other options for materials:

Fun-looking Corkboards

Traditional Corkboards

Kids Whiteboards

Craft Paper

2. Paint/Color Pencils/Crayons/Marker Pens

This is where your child uses paint, color pencils, crayons or marker pens (or a combination) to create their Vision Board.

This method is less popular because for the finished result to look good, your child needs to have some artistic drawing or coloring talent.

The creation process itself does not require much advance prep. All you need is your child’s preferred drawing medium, paint board or a whiteboard.

Because your child is free to draw or write whatever they wish on their Vision Board, they are not limited in any way and can include completely abstract or unusual goals on their board that you would normally struggle to find pictures for.

Pros:

  • This method doesn’t need much prep in advance. Your child can do it anywhere; on vacation, on a plane, on a train, in a restaurant etc. Your child can basically get started right away.
  • Because this method is mainly free-hand, your child is not limited to what or how they want to depict their dreams and goals.
  • Your child could truly treat this as an art project.

Cons:

  • It can be an intimidating process if your kid is not very confident about their drawing and coloring skills.
  • The end result might not be visually appealing, especially if your child does not draw or color very well.

List of Materials

Here is a complete list of materials that you will need:

Here are some other options for materials:

Paint

Paint Pad

Kids Whiteboards

3. Print

This is my personal favorite method of creating a Vision Board.

To create this Vision Board, your child (or you) designs the Vision Board on the computer or laptop using a graphic-creation software or app. Your child starts by looking online or among their own personal collection of digital photos for pictures that they like (under your supervision of course).

Your child (or you) then arranges all these photos using your graphic-creation software. Your child can add words to go with these photos.

After your child is happy with how everything looks, you can then print it out on ordinary photo paper using a color printer or send it to a professional printer to get it printed on canvas to hang up in the house.

The finished result normally looks extremely professional and attractive and is good enough to be hung up as a wall decoration.

However, this method does require the ability to use Paint, Photoshop or other some other equivalent graphic-creation software or app.

If you decide to print out the Vision Board yourself using a color printer, it is advisable to transfer the printed paper to a harder durable board or stick it up on a pin board so that it lasts longer.

Pros:

  • The finished product normally looks stunning.
  • If you get the picture printed out on canvas, it’s durable and something your child will want to keep for many years. Even if your child achieves everything on the board, the Vision Board will remain a cherished reminder to your child of what he or she has accomplished.

Cons:

  • Won’t suit kids who don’t know how to use graphic-creation software or who have no one else to help them do so.
  • More time-consuming as you need to spend some time arranging everything on the software.
  • If you send it to be professionally printed on canvas, this will cost extra money.

List of Materials

Here is a complete list of materials that you will need:

4. Physical Objects

This method involves the use of actual objects to represent your child’s dreams and goals on a Vision Board. You will need to get a glue gun or craft glue to attach your physical objects to the board.

This method is suitable for kids who are heavily kinesthetic-oriented. For example, to represent writing excellence, your child could attach a pencil to the board.

Pros:

  • This is a very hands-on process and crafts-oriented which makes it extra fun for kids.
  • Your child will gain a real sense of ownership over the final result as he or she will be using his or her creativity to find objects to stick on the board.
  • Great sensory-development and is great for kids who need to ‘touch their goal’ to make the goal become real for them.

Cons:

  • You and your child will need some creativity to come up with physical objects to represent your child’s goals and dreams.
  • The objects will need to be small and light enough to be attached to the Vision Board.
  • The Vision Board will probably be a lot heavier and bulkier compared to the other Vision Boards in this article and less transport-friendly.
  • You have to use really strong craft glue or a reliable glue gun that is appropriate for the different kinds of materials that you are attaching to the Vision Board.

List of Materials

Here is a list of materials that you will need:

5. Vision Book

A Vision Book is similar to a Vision Board but instead of visually presenting your child’s dreams and goals on a board, you do it in an unlined notebook or journal.

Books are so much more convenient to carry around compared to boards. Your child can put it in their school bag or handbag and this means that they can carry around their Vision Book with them and look at them whenever they want.

Your child can separate their goals into different pages. For example, the first few pages can be school goals, the next few pages can be friendship goals, and then, sports goals etc.

Another huge bonus is that the Vision Board can serve as a Master Book where your child can include an action plan, business plan, schedule, calendar or other related useful stuff. It is a huge bonus to be able to keep everything in the same place rather than have separate things lying around.

Just like a Vision Board, your child can decide whether they want to use pictures, draw or physical objects to represent their goals. Your child may also prefer to swap the book for an A5 ringbinder file to hold the pictures, drawings or objects instead of using glue.

Pros:

  • Easy to carry around.
  • You can convert the Vision Book into a Master Book where everything is in one place such as action plans.
  • Most kids are familiar with the feel of a book and may prefer that rather than a board.
  • Your child can organize their goals by pages.
  • Books are also more suitable if your child wants to record their goals in writing form.

Cons:

  • A Vision Book cannot be hung up or openly displayed for all to see like a Vision Board. This may result in less accountability or your child may experience the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ problem.
  • The size of the book makes it harder for your child to use larger pictures or objects.

List of Materials

Here is a list of materials that you will need:

So Which Type of Vision Board Fits Your Child Best?

Have you figured out which vision board type fits your child best? If you can’t decide, consider the following:

  • What is your child’s preferred learning style? What tends to motivate them? For example, a ‘Cut and Stick’ Vision Board is highly visual but you can choose a Physical Objects style that makes it more touch-friendly?
  • Does your child enjoy painting and drawing?
  • Can your child draw reasonably well?
  • Can your child use graphic-creation software?
  • Does your child want to use words to describe his or her goals?
  • Would it be better for your child to have the Vision Board hanging up at home or to be able to carry it with him or her?

Bear in mind that your child is free to use several or all the above methods together to create their Vision Board. There are really no rules.

The important thing is to choose a method that gives your child a real sense of ownership and pride and gets your child involved as much as possible with the creation process. You should also aim for a visually appealing result so that your child will be inspired and motivated when he or she looks at it.

For more information about Vision Boards, you can see our e-book on Vision Boards.

Happy Creating!