PS 78 Makeover: Think Win-Win

Thrive Collective artists painted a series of 15 murals at PS 78 in the Bronx based on the book The 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey. The seven habits are:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin With the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win-Win
5. Think First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

Click on any of the portfolios below to learn more about a specific mural, and keep scrolling to see our curated collection of photos for this mural makeover.

For this mural project, the main focus was for students in the 2nd through 5th grade to come up with ideas based on the seven habits. The project lasted twelve weeks.

On the first day, we discussed the habits and the students decided to focus on “Think Win-Win.” They expressed the idea that we should work as a team to win or achieve any goal, no matter each individual’s abilities and skills. During the class, there was a student who spoke about having an issue with not being number one. He didn’t like the idea that other people were better than him. We took that opportunity to explain to the students that this whole mural is based on “Think Win-Win.” We are all coming up with great ideas and drawings to collectively create a wonderful mural that best represents this idea. The mural is a goal that they can work together to achieve. Some students might have great artistic skills and therefore paint or come up with ideas more easily, while others might be better at expressing themselves with words. The goal of the mural was for it to be a creative outlet for the students as they are learn about the seven habits in class and during this project.

The mural features kids holding hands and working together to reach a goal. We use the world to define diversity. We include words and phrases such as cooperation, listen, be kind, self control and share, which represent the traits and skills we need to work as a team, no matter who has better skills at something. Working together can help you reach the stars. This is why our mural is set in space: students can go above and beyond when they cooperate.