As you are mapping out your summer bucket list, Doing Good Together is here to help with ideas for meaningful kindness.

Everything is better with friends and a party! 

How about friends and a party and an amazing book? As a parent, September feels like a fresh start, a new year. It’s full of opportunity as the school year gears up along with a new season of activities and sports. I’m going to suggest one more thing to start this year - a big-hearted book party club! 

Learn ways to include kindness lessons in educational settings and beyond! Through learning about kindness, children learn empathy and compassion and can begin viewing the world around them through the eyes of others as they appreciate diverse perspectives. By building kindness activities into regular educational practices, we prepare kids for life as an adult who cares and contributes to the world around them. If action speaks louder than words in early childhood, why not get their bodies, minds, and hearts involved in caring for their communities?

As adults, we have a better sense of what is within our locus of control and how we can approach solving problems from our mature perspective, whereas young children see a lot of problems as big and insurmountable even if they are not. The good news is that we can cultivate the growth of our child’s sense of helpfulness over time in ways that match their developmental stage, while teaching about both agency AND the interconnectedness of humanity.

Talking intentionally and openly about big ideas is at the core of DGT™’s mission and has had the greatest impact on our family’s life. Now updated with questions designed for reflection during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

This Valentine’s Day take the time to celebrate kindness with the ones you love with these simple and fun Valentine’s activities!

Research shows that families who co-create mission statements and continually revisit their shared values feel more connection to one another and a sense of responsibility to others. It also aligns with the values of families who are Doing Good Together! Does this sound like something you and your family would like to try? Here are some tips to encourage you in writing a mission statement that reflects your family’s values and centers your efforts to identify and continually practice your family’s mission.

As the month turns, many of us find ourselves entering a time of year that is busy, busy, busy–with both regular daily and seasonal activities filling our calendars. Family pursuits such as athletics, the arts, and other skill-building pastimes intermingle with daily rituals of school, work, and keeping a household running smoothly. There are also many holidays observed around the world in the coming months and families add rituals surrounding these days to their already-full dockets. We get busier with the preparation of special meals shared with family and friends, the selection and giving of gifts, the travel plans that require time, and financial resources to bring families together. As a parent, I often find this season to be, well, A LOT. Here are some ideas for families looking to stay connected to presence/mindfulness in the busy months ahead.

At times, my now-teenagers had a great capacity to step into the shoes of another; but at other times, I felt that despite my best efforts, empathy was lacking. I also noticed that their empathy skills developed differently, despite having the same parents and upbringing. How did what came so young and so naturally for one child seem so challenging for another?

May this month-long kindness challenge become a much-loved tradition for your family’s giving season. Each activity is an invitation to spend meaningful moments together, share kindness in your community, and enjoy an exorbitant amount of hot chocolate and cookies.