I am often urging my children to be more kind. But what does that really mean?
Peacemaker Thank Yous Connect Gratitude With Peace
Introducing young children to the concept of peace helps them return to those feelings of calm and contentedness when they experience emotional overwhelm. Linking the feeling of peace with a particular person, like a parent, teacher or friend helps reinforce for kids that they’re not alone when they need help regulating.
Connect to the Earth With a Barefoot Walk
Walking barefoot outside is a wonderful way for children to use their sense of touch to experience their bodies and surroundings. Plus, going barefoot or “earthing” provides several scientifically researched benefits, including better sleep, reduced inflammation and increased antioxidants thanks to the way our bodies interact with the earth’s electrons.
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Peace Kits for Paradise: When Giving Is Also Receiving
It was a bluebird day: clear skies, faint hint of fading clouds, brilliant sun. Green blanketed fields, gardens and any spare ground thanks to the recent rain. You could say it was just another beautiful day in Durham, California at Ponderosa Elementary, the new site for the hundreds of students who lost their school – and many their homes – in the Paradise Camp Fire last November. And it was – but side-by-side with the ordinary was the extraordinary.
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How to Make Family Time Happen: Stop Trying
My husband slows the car on our way into the park while I squirm to turn in the passenger seat. “Girls!”
My 10-year-old slowly looks up from her screen. “What?”
“Turn off the screen and look out the window—we’re here!”
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Honoring the Seasons: Spring
It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of year when we begin to enjoy more daylight than dark. It’s also a time when the world, literally, comes into balance.
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Delivering Peace to Paradise Fire Elementary School Children
In the hours after the devastating Camp Fire began in November 2018, smoke laced the skies several hundred miles away. The deadliest wildfire in California’s history kept us inside and our kids out of school while we waited out the poor air conditions. In a few days, our lives returned to normal. For the people of Paradise, however, there was no normal to return to.
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Celebrating Random Acts of Kindness
Ever help carry someone’s groceries, drop cookies off at your neighbor’s or slip a few quarters into an about-to-expire parking meter? Or maybe you smiled at a stranger walking by, helped an elderly woman step down from the bus or made a funny face to distract a fussy child.
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A Heart-Filled Treasure Hunt
Ah, Valentine’s Day: who doesn’t like giving and receiving tokens of affection? While we love up the people in our lives everyday, February 14 overflows with chocolate, flowers and mushy cards. Such shows of love are quite traditional, but there are other ways to honor love, not just for each other, but for the natural world around us, too.
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#GivingTuesday: Empower Littles to Give the Gift of Kindness
#GivingTuesday is a global opportunity to support the organizations you love that are doing good in the world. We hope you’ll support us here at Mindful Littles where our mission is to spark children and families to engage in mindful, compassionate action through service learning experiences, creative yoga and mindfulness programs and heartfelt parenting resources. Sounds pretty good, right? Here are a few highlights about the experiences we’ve led in the last two years. Continue reading “#GivingTuesday: Empower Littles to Give the Gift of Kindness”