The Power of Dream Boards

Have you ever said, “I have to see it to believe it?” The beautiful-but-messy life as a mom can often force our eyes to focus on what’s immediately in front of us. Our kids, in the moment. Our home after a full day. Our wash-rinse-repeat calendar planners.

We are thankful – a thousand times Heck Yes! – but getting a fresh vision of what can still be, can be absolutely life-changing. That’s where our Dream Board comes in!

Some also call it a Vision Board. Think of it as a fun, family-friendly twist on setting goals and working together to make those dreams happen. It’s literally helping us to see it so we can believe it.
What exactly is a Dream Board?

Our Dream Board is really just an old corkboard I’ve repurposed, plus a bunch of brightly colored push pins holding up pictures of our dreams and goals. A large piece of poster board or foam board works fine too. Or, you can go all out and get the ultimate Vision Board Kit by Terri Savelle Foy.

There’s really only one rule when creating your Dream Board… and that is that anything goes! We have learned that dreaming (and dreaming BIG!) is so important. And not just for our kids. Surprisingly, most of us stop imagining and “believing in the impossible” as we get older – especially if it’s not something we’re taught or encouraged to do. As parents, I think this is such a critical skill to equip our children with as they are young – and it can be so fun to re-inspire our own dreams with them in this way!

What’s so powerful about a Dream Board?
Our family Dream Board is over a decade old! It has been such a powerful way to put our goals in front of us and keep us focused on what we are working to earn and enjoy.

As our kids have come along and joined in on the action, it’s been so rewarding to watch their imaginations fly and realize they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to as well. When they identify their dreams and what they want to work towards, it’s amazing to see how committed they get to their chores without (much) complaining, obeying babysitters, saving their money, and more.

How do I make a Dream Board?
Dream It – First things first, gather your family together and start dreaming together. The younger your kids are, the easier this will be if you are new at this. But you can help them by asking: What do you want to do or experience? What would a fun day include for you? What upgrades to our home, or even your toy room do you want to make?
We tell our kids to name anything that comes to mind because there’s no such thing as a silly dream. In fact, the crazier their ideas might seem, the better!

Then, get ready! You’ll likely see them start with small, somewhat “safe” goals, and then realize there’s no harm in dreaming bigger. As they shout their ideas, do your best to share their enthusiasm and not become “realistic” in your thinking. Repeat after me: “There’s no harm in dreaming big. Anything is possible.” Trust me.

Print It – Once you’ve gotten all your ideas out in the open, it’s time to turn them into pictures. Thanks to Google, it’s super easy to find images of probably everything you’ve just named. Simply print your favorites and then cut them out to fit on your board.

Pin It – At our house, everyone fights over who gets to pin which pictures to the board – as if they’ll only reach that reward if their hands are the ones to hang it. Once your Dream Board is filled with all your meaningful pictures, just sit back and stare at all you have to look forward to. Maybe it won’t all happen this year. But just believe that somehow and in some way, those ideas and dreams will eventually come to pass.

Seeing is Believing
At this point, you may be asking why I’m so confident about the Dream Board. It’s really very simple – it’s because we’ve seen the pictures on our board become a reality. Over and over (and over!) again. That Golden Doodle that was once just a picture is now our pet Oliver. That weekday trip to NASA’s Air & Space Museum was once just a picture on the board. Even the kitchen renovation I’m currently standing in the middle of as I type this was once a collection of print-outs.

How can this become such a powerful tradition in your family? Every time you accomplish something that is on your Dream Board, I’d recommend taking the picture down and saving it in a special folder. And every so often, you can bring out that folder and remind your kids of all they’ve earned, experienced, and seen happen before their very eyes.

And just like that, their honest hopefulness is ignited once again, and they believe even bigger for their next dreams. They’ll know that as long as they can see it, they can believe it and achieve it.