IN THEIR SHOES: GRATITUDE AND KINDNESS

IN THEIR SHOES

Life can be challenging. For many of us, the world has become an uncertain place. Children are especially vulnerable to the daily bombardment of tragic news, devastating weather events, and disappointment. Social media has assured us that an unsettling event experienced halfway around the world is communicated to us in real time. Shielding children from these events has also become more difficult for parents, family, and educators.

I was inspired to write my newest book, Daisy Finds a Home, as means of showing children that while things may not always happen the way we feel they should, that there are people in our lives that can help to make life better. 

Strong and hopeful are positive words that help children make it through a difficult time.

Children can also help others by remembering that each of us wears a unique set of shoes that take us on unique paths—and all paths have their own unique potholes to navigate.  For example, a friend may seem extra grumpy. Yet, that friend may have just learned that their parent lost his/her job. A classmate may be extra quiet because their best friend moved across the country.

As this is the time of year that people focus on helping others, this is an excellent time to remind children that they can help make another person’s light shine brighter by lending a hand, speaking a kind word, or helping them with an important task. By doing so, children will learn that when a person’s light shines brighter, some of that glow is also cast upon the person that helped.

Included in this blog post are three printables for children to color, cut, and use. The first is a thank you card to share with someone that has helped the children in your life. The second is a reminder to be a friend to others. The third is just for funzies!

Reminder: the eBook version of Daisy Finds a Home will be available for a free download on November 10 and 11, 2016. This read-aloud book is great for the younger crowd—kiddos under the age of 7.

Click the link to take you to the page. The free eBook download is scheduled for November 10 and 11. Thanks.
Link to eBook on Amazon

Lazy Daisy Summer Fun

It’s official. Summer is here with its heat, humidity, and ever-present chance of afternoon thunderstorms. For many of us this change in weather patterns is a signal to slow down, relax, and enjoy the lazy daisy days of summer.

I’m embracing this philosophy with today’s activity—a fun yet easy-to-do creation of bright rainbow colors for your air conditioned spaces. Bring the summer inside—both the flowers and the rainbows.

I have many fond summer memories of treks to the fields with my sisters to pick huge bouquets of Queen Anne’s lace. When we got home, we’d promptly give each stem a long drink of water—but not just any water. With Momma’s help, we’d squirt food coloring into the glasses of water before standing the flowers in their own rainbow-colored swimming pools. The next morning we were always rewarded with a perfect blend of nature’s beauty. No longer white bunches of tiny white blossoms, the lace caps had turned to amazing shades of red, blue, green, and yellow.

As daisies are my all time favorite summer flowers, I am substituting them for the Queen Anne’s lace of my childhood adventures. The lesson is presented in photos only. This activity is also an opportunity for a springboard discussion on how flowers absorb water—a great way to bring a bit of science into summer.

So, the next misty morning, take your little ones for a walk in the field to pick the base for their own indoor rainbow creation.

Hint: I have found better success using blossoms that have not been recently watered. The flowers shown in the photos went two days with no rain.