What Stimulates: Compassion, Empathy, and Wisdom
Preparation and materials:
- A large piece of cardboard or paper (minimum size 35cm x 25cm)
- Crayons or pencils
- A ruler
Recommended ages:
- 3-5 years
- 5-8 years
Why is this activity important?
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How to do it:
FOR AGES 3-5 AND 5-8 YEARS
1- Draw a one-month calendar with a blank box (approximately 5cm x 5cm, but the bigger the better) for each day of the month.
2- Talk to your child about how you will create a family calendar together. For each day of the week, we will do something to show our love and gratitude to others. In each box, we will draw or write what we plan to do. Here are some examples:
- Visit a neighbor you haven't seen in a while.
- Pray together for people in the world (children, youth, adults and the elderly) who are suffering because of poverty, violence, loneliness and illness.
- Help someone in need: it can be in your family or in the community and do it together as a family.
- Build a love tree to leave positive messages for each other every day.
- Think of something you are grateful for today.
- Connect with nature: Go to the park, breathe and enjoy the sounds, what you see, hear and touch and how it makes you feel. Thank nature for everything she gives you.
- Thank three people – family, friends, adults – for whom you are grateful and tell them.
- Play together.
- Respond with love and kindness to all.
- Do acts of kindness to help others.
- Dance together.
- Share your talents – it can be as simple as being a good listener, playing a certain game, cooking, drawing, helping, always looking on the bright side even in difficult times, etc.
- Hug each other and share how you feel.
- Tell us something about you that your family may not know yet.
3 - Check the calendar every day and mark the day after the action. 4 - At the end of the calendar, sit down together, reflect on what you did, what happened, how you felt and think about how small actions can change you, your family and the world!
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Tip for doing this group activity: 1. Prepare a jar, squares of paper, and some pencils. 2. As you sit in a circle, explain that you are going to create a kindness calendar together. In it, explain that you will do something kind every day. You can ask the group why they think this is important. 3. Ask the children to think of something we can do for someone else in our group. This could include hugging a friend, helping the adult with something, or cleaning tables after an activity. Have them write or draw this on a piece of paper and place it in the jar. Make sure you understand what each child has written, as you will have to read it later. If the children cannot write or draw on their own, you can prepare some squares already with pictures, and they can say what they see. 4. After everyone is done, explain that it is your jar of kindness. Every day, someone will pick something from the pot and make it. Once that's done, put an X on the calendar. Repeat this for as many days as needed, until everyone has participated. |
To Reflect:
The community is strengthened when it has support networks to assist families. This is something that has continuity, unlike a help network that happens momentarily. Having a good support network is essential because it involves linking people and institutions capable of generating family and community support. Families need to know who they can count on, who will have someone who will listen to their needs, who will help find ways to solve the situations they are experiencing. By teaching and setting an example for children, we are helping families and society to promote quality of life for all and generate social transformation. |
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