"Hugging is all natural; it is organic, naturally sweet, no pesticides, non-fattening, no carbohydrates, no preservatives, no artificial or genetically engineered ingredients, and 100% wholesome"
“We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
Virginia Satir, American Psychologist
Hugs are little gestures that make a big impact on everyone we share them with. Grab your little ones and watch this short video as author Patrick McDonnell reads from his book, Hug Time.
So many hugs to give with those around us! For this Thanksgiving holiday, how many hugs can you share with family and friends?
Set the foundation for your children and see how creative they can get in Giving Thanks!
Here is a great activity that you and your family can do together to prep for the Holidays!
The post from the Frugal Family Fun Blog suggests listing what you are thankful for (such as nature and books and friends) and making an activity to go along with each one (such as playing outside and going to the library and having a play date). The blog post suggests putting each activity on a card and doing one card each day up until Thanksgiving. Since we found this a little late to do it that way this year, we are going to make our cards on Thanksgiving and do the activities each day until we run out!
Let us know if your family tries this and what things you end up doing. Leave a comment here or on our facebook page!
We have written before on the importance of gratitude, and the fact that being thankful for the small and big things in our lives WILL make us happier. This is true for kids, too, so we should do what we can to cultivate a feeling of appreciation in ourselves and in our children.
Spend a moment with your kids thinking about someone who has helped them with something - maybe a teacher, a friend, a coach, a brother or sister, a neighbor, or anyone! Then watch this very short video and pass it along. It will make someone's day AND make the giver (you and your kid) feel good, too!
A few lines of children's coloring books and games have recently come on the market that are all about expressing creativity rather than coloring inside the lines.
Taro Gomi's books: Doodles, Scribbles, and Squiggles, among others, are great collections of pages with prompts that kids can follow to create their own imaginative masterpieces.
The RandomLine company has a series of game books based on the idea of completing pictures out of random squiggles. Some of our favorites are Squiggle On-the-Go and Squiggle Mixup, but there are more of these, too!
For many of us, there is an abundance of things to be grateful for in daily life. Why is it that we wait until the fourth Thursday of November to really reflect on them? Our suggestion is to spend some time each day - and only a few minutes will do - thinking about what makes you grateful. If this is a difficult concept, then just think about the things that make you happy. Maybe your kids shared their Halloween candy with each other without prompting, maybe you saw a beautifully fall-like tree, maybe you just made it to work on time. Whatever it is, be grateful and happy. This is a scientifically proven path to greater happiness in your life.
And don't just save this secret for yourself - help your kids do the same. It really will improve their outlook on life!
The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha, lists simple and fun things to be grateful for and happy about, such as the extra time you get when the clock rolls back next week!
Buy these two books and more at our TOG Box Store or just click on the buttons below!
