Whether you are a Martha Stuart-esque wunderkind or a more slap dash craft artist, these projects are fool-proof ways to do good, creatively. Plus, they're the perfect way to spend a winter afternoon. Gather you children, and get ready to get crafty.
On Parenting and Self-Doubt
Teach Citizenship with 5 Simple Tips!
5 Parenting Books for Big-Hearted Discipline
Thinking through your responses before discipline is required is a common theme in all of these books and was key to my family's successful management of our behavioral low point (to date). Pick one, read it, and feel that much more prepared next time you face a parenting challenge that threatens to trigger an explosion.
Pre-K Book Club: The Giving Tree
Checking In: #30Days of Kindness
Take the #30Days of Kindness Challenge with your Family!
It's go time! Take just a few minutes to print our #30Days of Kindness Printable and you'll be set for a month of meaningful family moments.
September Resolutions
Big-Hearted Boredom Busters
A brief dip into Pinterest will reveal dozens of amazing summer bucket lists. Print your favorite and stick it on the fridge to enliven dull moments. Even better, print our Big-Hearted Boredom Busters and keep a menu of simple kindness ideas at the ready.
Making Room to Listen
22 Kind Kids Prove Big-Hearted is Brilliant
7 Tips to Avoid Preaching to Your Child
10 Simple Ways to Do Good with Your Family
Big Hearted Back To School Prep
August Book Club
It's that time of year again. My family, like so many of yours, is once again engulfed in all of the excitement, nervous planning, and - yes- shopping that goes along with a new class schedule. If' you're looking for big-hearted conversation starters, book ideas, and really great tips to add a "giving" aspect to your back-to-school rituals check out the Doing Good Together newsletter.
My family has been enjoying the book Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, which is this month's book club pick for Big-Hearted Families.
Those Shoes is exactly the type of story we hunt for here at Big-Hearted Families. It is a book full of thought-provoking ideas and real-life challenges. It’s also a beautifully written, heart-warming story that your family will want to pick up again and again.
My five-year-old has been asking for it at every story time lately.
This little book is packed with important ideas, such as:
> Recognizing the difference between what we want and what we need is not always easy, for kids or adults.
> We all have something valuable to give, no matter how much or how little we have.
> Being generous is rewarding, but it can also be difficult.
There are still a few copies available over at our shop, if you want to bring this wonderful book - along with the recipe and activity - home for your family.
I found the clothing drive particularly helpful. Not only did the story and the conversation inspire my girls to clear out the clutter of beautiful but rarely worn clothes in the back of their closet, but it got them talking to their friends about "gently worn" or even new donations.
We'll be making our drop off on Monday -three large bags full of barely worn children's clothes and shoes.
Plus, as we school shop for ourselves, we're working hard to identify "need" versus "want," in an effort to avoid cluttering up the closets once again with more than we can wear. Thankfully, my girls are young enough that they are as unconcerned as I am by brands and trends, so coveting the latest pair of .... whatever is trendy this fall... won't be a hurdle for us. I am hopeful that folding "giving" aspects into our back-to-school rituals will help make future years a little easier to manage, even after they become more socially aware.
How are you making back-to-school season a time of giving and reflection with your family?