Do you want to understand your child better?
Have you noticed that what works with one child might not work with another?
Do you ever find yourself wondering…
“What makes them tick?”
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
The You Zoo Children’s Personality Assessment may help you answer those very questions!
The You Zoo
Equipping and Encouraging You to Parent With Personality
Because we value children in their unique approaches to life, we strive to:
- help you understand your child as he/she was created,
- encourage the development of strengths, and
- provide tools to modify areas that may be a struggle.
A personality assessment does not limit a child, nor does it make certain traits define them. Rather, it is a tool to see what traits may come naturally and why others may take more practice. It is a helpful tool in supporting children become all they can be!
This personality assessment is a story of four monkeys (Sunny, Champ, Max and Pal) in The You Zoo. As they encounter different obstacles in the course of a day, each monkey handles the situation in a different manner. Children are instructed to read the story and decide in each scenario which monkey is most like them. Through the course of their decisions, a pattern emerges that gives insight into the child’s personality. But the value of this book is far greater as it incorporates the following:
- Children’s Personality Assessment story and scoring,
- Parent Observation Profile and score sheet,
- Adult Personality Profile,
- Introductions to the four personality styles as they relate to children and adults, and
- Parenting tips for the various personalities and combinations with parent and child.
Whether you experience wonder, frustration, or joy at the differences you see in your children, you are already one step closer to understanding the need for this assessment. This just might be the most useful tool you ever encounter as you raise your child and make the most of your parent and child relationship!
We would love to partner with you as you discover more about your child!
The Buzz
How many times have I looked at each individual child–so unique, so gifted–and wondered if I would ever truly understand how to best walk alongside them as amother, a teacher and a mentor? The You Zoo is a phenomenally practical, creative and inductive tool that will give you a much needed lens into viewing how your child thinks, feels and experiences life. You will laugh, affirm, celebrate and gain lifechanging insight along with your child as together you are handed the gift of perspective with clarity, sensitivity and compassion.
In a world where educators embrace diversity in relation to socio-economic status and ability level, The You Zoo provides educators with information that can reach across cultures and performance levels to allow teachers to engage the true essence of the child.
Albin Elementary implemented The You Zoo program through a school-wide assessment engaging students, teachers and parents. We followed up with professional development for teachers and parents analyzing results and learning the program’s tips to meet the needs of the diverse personalities of our students. The You Zoo allowed us to have a deeper understanding of the “emotional currency” of each child. Teachers gained insight into more effective differentiation and classroom management. The You Zoo is fascinating and purposeful for any educator or parent.
I have found out not only a lot about myself as a teacher but also about how my students learn from me because of their different personalities. Learning the student’s personalities will help guide my future instruction. This will in turn guide my students to the best of their abilities.
This is the most practical, useful, loving way to understand your family!
It’s all about Thrill, High Speeds
and Top Level Risk
More about The You Zoo book:
You may be new to all this talk about the personalities. Or maybe you are quite experienced with what the study of personalities is all about. Either way, I’d like to share with you a great resource for parents and families as they learn to put the knowledge of personalities to good use.
I learned about the personalities back in junior high. I found it fascinating, since it helped me understand myself in a whole new way. When I started dating, it was interesting to see personalities play out in relationships. Then of course, as a mother, I was glad to have the backdrop of personalities in order to understand the things I would encounter in raising my kids. This desire for relating better and understanding others at a whole different level, fueled by my passion to help and educate others stirred me to start designing a practical parenting tool. I wanted other parents to be able to have a framework of their child and an effective way to relate and love them according to their unique traits and needs.
It’s all about Thrill, High Speeds
and Top Level Risk
A colleague of mine, and co-author of this book, worked with me to bring this idea to life. The You Zoo is both a children’s personality assessment and a parenting resource. The children’s assessment is a children’s story that follows four monkeys through a day in their life at the zoo. Each monkey is a different personality.
- Sunny is the Playful Sanguine personality. This personality is the noise maker.
- Champ is the Powerful Choleric personality. This personality is the plan maker.
- Max is the Proper Melancholic personality. This personality is the rule maker.
- Pal is the Peaceful Phlegmatic. This personality is the peace maker.
The monkeys in the story are all different, and so are their actions and choices. When reading the story, children are asked to decide which monkey they are most like. Through child-adult interaction, the assessment is completed to give a picture of what the child would choose or do. Their choices and preferences give an indicator of their personality.
This book also includes a parent observation assessment. Using this tool, a parent makes choices that indicate another perspective of the child’s personality. Together, the child assessment and parent observation assessment can cast an accurate picture of which personality that child may be. There is also a short parent personality assessment. When all of these pieces are put together, a parent can get a clear picture of their child as well as who they (as a parent) might be. The book has sections on each personality that discuss personality strengths, struggles, and needs. Pages of practical tips for each of the personalities will help parents see how they can be more effective in dealing with the child. There is some discussion on the combination of different parent and child personalities and what might work well and what might be a challenge.
Parents and teachers have given great feedback on how this book has helped them make more meaningful connections. If you know that “one size fits all” is not true in dealing with children, this book is for you! If you want to become more effective as a parent or teacher, connect at a deeper level, and help grow your child in their strengths, than you will want to experience this book. To see what others have said click over to The Buzz tab above!