Empowerment: Activity Center

These family-fun, simple kids games and activities act as powerful steps in the road to "I Can!"

Summer Picnic - For Dinner!

Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

Starting school again can be stressful on a lot of kids. So grab a picnic blanket, throw it over your dinner table, and delve into your favorite summer memories with this simple activity.

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    Finding Your "Flow"

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    "Flow" occurs when you are fully immersed in an activity. We can help children experience "Flow" by identifying activities that require them to use their strengths, skills, and talents to the max.

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    • All Ages

    Be the Change!

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Summer is a great time for a family service project to teach social responsibility. To get started, use the “Be the Change” worksheet to brainstorm and identify an appropriate project.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Keeping Summer Learning

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    We do things to keep learning from fading during the summer, but have you ever thought of doing the opposite - helping your kids keep their “summer learning” from fading during the school year?

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    • All Ages

    101 Things to Do Before the End of Summer

    Ingredient: Optimism, Goal Setting/Hope, Empowerment

    Make the most of summer free time by making a list of things your family wants to do, not has to do.

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    • All Ages

    Good News Stories

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Help your children focus on the good in the world with this optimistic, family-fun activity.

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    • All Ages

    Set a Strengths Goal

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    To build a strength, you have to practice! Pick a strength with your child, then make a few weekly goals to improve it.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Strengths-in-Action Bulletin Board

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    This is a great way to help your kids recognize their strengths, and help them notice strengths in others, too!

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Strength Collage

    Ingredient: Empowerment, Goal Setting

    Teach your children their strengths so they can overcome challenges, create joyful moments, help others, and reach their goals.

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    • All Ages

    Love List

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment

    Make a "Love List" with your kids. Decorate it with words, drawings, and photos that represent all the different ways you and your child love each other.

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    • Pre-K and Younger
    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5

    Got Grit? Chart

    Ingredient: Empowerment, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience

    You can use the Got Grit? Chart to identify a passion, set a goal, and write positive statements that help your child stay focused even when things get hard.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Create a Family Ritual

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Here are some ideas for creating family rituals and traditions. Include your children in so that everyone enjoys them!

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    • All Ages

    End of Year Reflections

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    An End-of-Year family ritual for your family to reflect and build upon Fishful Thinking skills.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    School Year Poster

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    Reflect on accomplishments of the past school year and make goals for the next one with this simple poster activity.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Getting A Growth Mindset

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment, Resilience, Goal Setting

    An End-of-Year family ritual for your family to reflect and build upon Fishful Thinking skills.

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    • All Ages

    Joy Multiplier vs. Joy Thief

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Resilience

    You're likely very attentive when your child comes to you with a problem, but what about when they come to you with good news?

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    • All Ages

    Controlled Breathing

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Emotional Awareness

    Build this simple, daily breathing activity into your schedule to feel more relaxed, resilient, and rejuvenated.

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    • All Ages

    Bored Games

    Ingredient: Optimism, Emotional Awareness, Goal Setting/Hope, Resilience, Empowerment

    A great, family-fun way to keep your kids busy with things they enjoy that will also enrich their lives.

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    • All Ages

    Empathy Role Playing

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Goal-Setting/Hope, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Help your children develop empathy through these simple, family-fun role-playing games.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5

    Create a Strength Family Tree

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Goal-Setting, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Giving children knowledge of their strengths is a great way to empower them. Create a Strength Family Tree together.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Creating Your Joy List

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Encourage your whole family to create and display a list of activities that bring them joy.

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    • Kindergarten - Grade 2
    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Rush Less, Live More

    Ingredient: Optimism, Empowerment

    You can help your family enjoy the benefits of doing less and slowing down by challenging yourself to take a few "long cuts" each week.

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    • All Ages

    Creating Your "Enough List"

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment

    Rather than always focusing on the "ers," like better, stronger, healthier, create a list of items that you and your family already have in abundance.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Bag it Up

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Hope, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Help your children to take stock of and clean out the "mental clutter."

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    What would you do?

    Ingredient: Optimism, Resilience, Hope, Empowerment, Emotional Awareness

    Learning how to make good decisions and to problem solve is a way to build mastery skills.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Body Image: My Body Can...

    Ingredient: Optimism, Empowerment

    Explore with your children what they enjoy about themselves and their body—not simply it's appearance, but what it can do!

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Positive Habits

    Ingredient: Optimism, Empowerment, Resilience, Goal Setting

    Any "downtime" you have with the kids can be the perfect time to discuss positive changes with your child.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Gift of Time

    Ingredient: Empowerment, Goal Setting/Hope

    “Time” makes a great gift for any holiday from Birthdays to Christmas.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    A Leap in the Right Direction

    Ingredient: Empowerment, Goal Setting/Hope

    Encourage your children to find a challenge that they would like to take on that will help stretch and strengthen their view of themselves.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Inspire an Attitude of Gratitude

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Empowerment, Optimism

    Leading by example is a great way to help make expressing gratitude a part of your family's daily life.

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    • All Ages

    The Can Do Challenge

    Ingredient: Empowerment

    Simple questions you can ask yourself that will help facilitate your child’s independence and create Mastery Moments.

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    • All Ages

    Letting go of Grudges

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Optimism, Empowerment, Resilience

    Help your child communicate and work through a grudge with a set of simple circles and a positive attitude.

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    • Grades 3-5
    • Grades 5 & Up

    Praise with Purpose

    Ingredient: Empowerment, Resilience, Optimism

    Challenge yourself to praise not just the moments your child succeeds, but the steps they took to get there.

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    • All Ages

    If You Feel It, Talk About it

    Ingredient: Emotional Awareness, Resilience, Empowerment

    You can help your child to develop the skill of emotional awareness by showing them that you are interested in how they feel—and by talking about your own feelings as well.

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    • All Ages

    Finding Meaning

    Ingredient: Empowerment

    The first, and most important, step in enhancing your family's sense of meaning is to think about experiences in the past that have felt meaningful.

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    • All Ages

    Choices

    Ingredient: Empowerment

    Parents have to make choices for their children, but giving children the opportunity to make their own choices is critical for them to develop confidence and a sense of control.

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    • Pre-K and Younger
    • Kindergarten - Grade 2

    Mastery Moments

    Ingredient: Empowerment

    Each day, identify two activities such as going to the market or returning books to the library.

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    • Pre-K and Younger
    • Kindergarten - Grade 2

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