What is the Flying Colours Project?
For elementary and middle school grades, my workshops and performances entertain and inspire while encouraging and fostering healthy mindsets through thoughtful exercises, positive messaging, and effective feedback.
This multimedia experience explores how the act of juggling can have a real impact on boosting brain power and fostering a growth mindset among developing brains.
Through engaging and educational videos and in depth research, this project aims to encourage healthy mindsets both in and out of the classroom. Whether you’re eager to learn a new skill, curious about a unique science, or an educator looking for engaging teaching tools, you’ve come to the right place.
Now let’s see why you should start practicing right away!
You Can't Juggle... YET!
Why Juggling is the Perfect Tool to Learn and Practice Growth Mindset
by Simon Zenker | March, 2025
The worst thing to ever happen to a juggler is for them to drop a ball. But if they do, they don’t walk away and quit juggling forever. They stoop down, pick it up, and learn their next trick. They learn that dropping a ball isn’t failure, but an opportunity to grow. Once they know that, they are unstoppable. What if we all could have this outlook on life? What if we all had a growth mindset?
The Ontario Curriculum states that by the end of grade 5, students should...
be able to “apply skills that help them develop habits of mind that support positive motivation and perseverance as they participate in learning experiences in health and physical education, in order to promote a sense of optimism and hope”
Participate in the development of “social-emotional learning skills to foster their overall health and well-being, positive mental health, and ability to learn, build resilience, and thrive
These are all skills that students can practice and grow through the act of learning juggling paired with effective workshops like my own.
Psychologists at Indiana University believe that “By showing students that they can grow their intelligence, students become more motivated to persevere through academic challenges and begin to see failure as an opportunity to learn” (Kroeper et al., 2022). At its core, this is what growth mindset is all about. As opposed to fixed mindset, where one believes their intelligence is a stagnant trait, having a growth mindset is the belief “that human traits are malleable and can be changed through effort and flexibly adopting useful strategies” (Kroeper et al., 2022). We will learn about what these useful strategies are and how they can be learned through the practice of juggling. But first, why juggling, and why is it important to introduce it to kids?
How Juggling Improves the Brain
Juggling is a simple and fun skill for anyone to pick up and learn. I say simple, not easy. The only equipment needed are three juggling objects; balls, oranges, rolled up socks, or any other tossable object. Its cost effectiveness and the ability to practice in any space makes juggling an extremely accessible way to develop important skills and strengthen the brain. The act of learning to juggle has been widely studied by psychologists and medical professionals when researching brain development, motor plasticity, and
grey matter growth. Through many control groups and brain scans, multiple studies have shown that the act of learning to juggle greatly increases the density of grey matter in the brain (Dong et al., 2024; Gerber et al., 2014; Driemeyer et al., 2008). Grey matter is an essential part of cognitive function playing a very important role in information processing.
An increase of grey matter density directly improves many aspects of the brain such as memory (Koch, et al., 2016), creativity and problem solving (Kleibeuker et al., 2013), emotional regulation, and mental health (Petrovic et al., 2016). These are all extremely helpful for students to navigate their education and improve how they learn. Carol Dweck, a well-known psychologist for her research into growth development, shares “that when [students] step out of their comfort zone to learn hard, new things, the neurons in their brain form new or stronger connections, boosting their abilities over time. They learn how to apply this idea to their schoolwork and how it has helped others to succeed” (Dweck, 2016). Juggling as a tool can be used to challenge students out of their comfort zones and develop important transferable skills to be used in and out of the classroom.
Juggling Promotes Intelligent Practice
Juggling allows for students to participate in informal education, giving them the freedom to explore their own goals and self-evaluation. When allowing kids to experiment on their own with juggling, psychologists have found that it promotes something called ‘intelligent practice’. It allows them to be more aware of their actions, adapt and learn from mistakes, and benefit from the examples of others (Nyberg et al., 2021). Informal education through artistic and physical activities such as juggling, is extremely beneficial to students as “it increases important aspects of students’ growth such as self-esteem, collective recognition, cooperation, empathy, and critical thinking” (Ferrer-Fons et al., 2022). Juggling also has no concrete definition of success which allows students to create their own goals without the pressure of an already defined outcome. For some, it may be successfully completing a two ball pattern, for others it may be performing a three-ball pattern for 30-seconds. Once they complete one goal, they have built a foundation of skills to improve on and set further goals for more advanced tricks. When students are left to experiment with the landscape of juggling, a study shows that they are able to reflect on their areas of difficulty, propose new angles of execution, and test out their new strategies (Nyberg et al., 2020). Through intelligent practice, juggling can be used to encourage and strengthen a growth mindset in participants and utilize their new outlooks in other areas of life.
How Growth Mindset Can Be Taught Through Juggling
Juggling itself doesn’t teach growth mindset, but it is an extremely effective tool to promote it. If taught incorrectly or without effective strategies, it has the potential to reinforce a fixed mindset which may result in kids “who may no longer want to challenge themselves and are discouraged by difficulty” (Dweck, 2016). The importance is on the instructor to make sure values are conveyed. As Dweck says, “To convey a true growth mindset, adults must help kids understand what they need to do to develop their abilities and guide them in that process” (Dweck, 2016).
There are key concepts of teaching growth mindset that I use to encourage students in an effective way (Nyberg et al., 2021).
Language around Success: As said before, success in juggling differs between participants and it is important that it is made clear. I am very conscious of the words I use because it has a real impact on students’ perceptions of their goals. Dweck speaks on ‘process praise’, which puts value on students’ effort and problem solving, “linking their success to hard work or good strategies” (Dweck, 2016). Instead of phrases like, “You’re really great at juggling”, I use process praise phrases like, “Looks like your hard work is paying off.”
Presenting Opportunities: When I teach juggling, I make sure to give students as many opportunities as possible to practice their personal strategies whilst also giving constructive feedback. I like to think of juggling as a tongue twister for the brain. For some, it may just take time and practice to wrap their mind around it. For others, they may need the same step explained in multiple different ways before something clicks. Each student will learn differently, which is why I provide the time and individual support for everyone to learn in their own way. Many of these strategies can be explained throughout my juggling tutorial video.
Responding to Struggle: Reinforcing that dropping a ball isn’t failure but an opportunity to get better is one of the most important things that I convey when teaching beginner jugglers. When students are struggling, I meet them with support instead of frustration, offering new outlooks and strategies for them to work through. New learners will look up to their instructors and reflect the values being taught. When they are met with encouragement, “students infer their teachers’ growth mindsets” (Nyberg et al., 2021).
Utilizing these strategies when learning juggling will allow students to develop and explore growth mindset. Ultimately, it is the way it is taught that will make it most effective, which is why I have invested my practice in juggling as well as teaching. By establishing the framework of success, using language that praises the process, giving opportunities for personal problem solving, and by offering feedback and positive support, I can effectively create a setting that encourages growth mindset.
Learning Through Workshops
Working with children for many years and teaching 200+ workshops, I understand that every child learns differently and that their unique attention learning styles need to be harnessed and not ignored. Many instructors may not be equipped with the right skills or strategies to teach juggling, so having a professional instructor can make a night and day difference. My juggling workshops are rooted in growth mindset, encouraging beginner jugglers using multiple strategies to help them learn on site, but also provide them with exercises for independent practice. In person workshops are effective at connecting with students and help to translate important values effectively, but virtual tutorials, like mine below, provide more accessible ways to learn the craft. Happy Juggling!