December is the month that reminds us to be better, we think of our loved ones and give ourselves and our family more time. It’s a good time at the end of the year to remember what we’re grateful for, what has the past year brought us good? That way we set our brains up for even more positive experiences.That’s pretty much what I’m doing with the kids these days at workshops and I thought I’d give you an idea of what you can play with your child to cultivate their ability to notice the good things happening around them.
- Build together a gratitude box for the whole family, decorated just the way you like it, in which you can put from now until Christmas notes on which you each write, once a day, one thing you are grateful for. The box will be placed in the common area, where every member of the family can see it, with the notes and pen ready beside it.
- The power of positive words – activity to do over a period of time. Challenge your family to a discussion about friendly things you could say to the people around you, your loved ones. At school or at home, at sport, at work, at the shop etc.
- Have each family member identify 5 people they could say a few friendly words to.
- What could you say to each person identified? Find one thing, What could I say to my mother to make her smile? What could I say to my maths teacher to cheer her up?
- Draw lots for the day when it will be each participant’s turn and display a calendar.
- Each day the chosen person tells the situation, how they think the person felt and how they felt.
- Build a gratitude collage each. Every time I start cutting out material from magazines and making a collage, Vlad comes along and joins in. He’s been doing the same thing since he was little and still does at 11. So I invite you to sit down at the table and get yourself a pair of scissors, glue, and some old magazines and a sheet of paper to glue on. How big you choose. You start looking through the magazine thinking of stories, things, food, for which you are grateful and you cut them out. It works really well when you’re not looking for something in particular but turn page after page and notice what catches your eye.
Let me know how it worked for you, I’d love to see pictures. For customized programs to increase self-confidence and develop children’s social-emotional skills, please contact us at coaching@oanavaideanu.com or 0729039511, we welcome your requests and suggestions. We organize camps and offer programs for afterschool and kindergarten or school otherwise week on emotional intelligence, self-esteem, online opportunities and sex education.