A few years ago when visiting family for Thanksgiving, we decided to put up a Gratitude Tree. Without much fanfare, the kids and their cousins passed around autumn leaves and markers and asked everyone to share what they were grateful for.
Mindful Activities to Grow Your Gratitude Practice
Gratitude means appreciating what we have instead of worrying about what we don’t have. It may sound simple, but cultivating gratitude takes intention and practice. Here are a few of our favorites ways you and your family can grow your gratitude practice together.
Notice the Good Jar Celebrates Family Kindness
When we notice the good, we’re actively choosing a positive mindset. This is a simple way to grow gratitude — but it takes practice. Start a Notice the Good Jar to regularly notice and celebrate acts of kindness in your family.
Mindfulness to Help Families Manage Coronavirus Anxiety
When my 8-year-old came to me with a worried look and asked if she was going to get the coronavirus, I answered her truthfully: “I don’t know, but if you or anyone else in our family does, we know how to take care of you.”
Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Summer Yoga Practice
Now that it is mid-July, things have (hopefully!) slowed down and you and your family have settled in to the new summer routines, it is a perfect time to begin or re-invigorate your family yoga practice. Continue reading “Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Summer Yoga Practice”
Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Try a Summer Mindfulness Practice
When I think of mindfulness, I think how wonderful it sounds and of all the amazing benefits it can have on brain function, happiness, productivity, and the ability to be patient with my children. I say to myself, “I really want to start practicing mindfulness and I wan’t my kids to learn too!” Continue reading “Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Try a Summer Mindfulness Practice”
Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Gratitude & Thanksgiving
It is mid-November, therefore we must begin preparing for 1) a sumptuous feast to end all feasts and 2) extended time spent with family, friends and neighbors and 3) all the high and low feelings that come with embracing the season. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, though. What if we carved out a portion of that preparation energy and diverted a bit to fully embrace (in ourselves) and encourage (in our littles) feelings of gratitude both leading up to and on Thanksgiving Day? Continue reading “Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Gratitude & Thanksgiving”
Fostering Compassion Through “Voluntourism”: One Mom’s Inspiring Story
Mindfulness and compassion have been in Laura Traxler’s blood for as long as she can remember. A longtime Orinda resident, Laura consciously planted seeds of compassion in her two sons throughout their childhood that are now beginning to bloom as they enter adulthood. How did she do it? And what can us mothers of young children learn from her that we can incorporate into our lives now? Here is Laura’s story …
Continue reading “Fostering Compassion Through “Voluntourism”: One Mom’s Inspiring Story”
Show Appreation With a Family Gratitude Sharing Circle
Try this Family Gratitude Sharing Circle activity to encourage your family to express their thanks for one another.
A Mindful Compassion Picnic
Impromptu picnics with my girls are wonderful opportunities to connect, get some fresh air and practice a little mindfulness.
Recently my older daughter and I had an after-school picnic...