Earlier this week, I introduced you to one of my favorite resources. I know I say that a lot… BUT this one has a special place in my heart. Raising Kind, Caring, Good Kids was created after some particularly trying times in our own home. These were times when some of our little ones did not exude kindness, caring, or goodness. Nope, they definitely exuded things, but they were not pleasant characteristics! So I got thinking about how to make some changes, and learning about manners with activities and games just made sense! 

If you have been here for a while, you might know that we have a live-in Child Psychologist. My husband gets LOADS of real-life practice here at home with us. So together, we created a positive, uplifting resource for children—focusing on eight core character traits through sweet little stories and uplifting affirmations.

Because I love this resource so much, I thought it would be super fun to add some games that would be helpful to anyone already using Raising Kind, Caring, Good Kids. We recently used the resource in our co-op, and after we read each story, we did a hands-on activity or game related to it. The children really enjoyed it, and was a great hands-on way to reinforce learning about manners and so much more!

Raising Kind, Caring, Good Kids

For those who don’t already have this resource, you can grab the Gracious Gorilla story as a free sample below. This will give you a better idea of how these games complement the stories and activities. 

You can get it right here:

And if you love this little story, you will adore the complete resource! Get it at the How Wee Learn Shop today! https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/raising-kind-caring-good-kids

Games for Learning About Manners and More

Now, let’s get into these fun games for kids to try.

The Gracious Gorilla: Manners Game

Let’s play the manners game together! Have a pretend (or real) lunch, and try to use your manners 10 times. Keep track with tally marks on some paper. Everyone can join in this game—even Mom and Dad. Challenge yourself and see if you can do it again at dinner. Learning about manners can take practice!

The Honest Hippo: Hide and Seek

Play a game of hide-and-seek by hiding a stuffed animal around your house for your little one to find. Tell your child to be honest and truly keep their eyes closed, and don’t peek when they are counting! Can they do it?

The Responsible Rhino: Lead a Friend

Lead a friend or grown-up from one side of the room to the other while their eyes are closed. Be slow and responsible so they can trust you will get them safely to the other side of the room. When we played this game in our co-op, it was a huge hit! The kids wanted to try it in every room to show how responsible they could be.

The Compassionate Cat: Emotions Charades

Part of compassion is empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Play charades with feelings/emotions. Take turns expressing a feeling/emotion without using any words. Other players try to guess what feeling/emotion the person is displaying. With my kids, we added a little extra; once the feeling/emotion was guessed, we would talk about something that made us feel that way. 

The Courageous Crocodile: Obstacle Course

Create an obstacle course with some big (but safe) challenges for your child and encourage them to be courageous. See if they can be extra brave and pretend the floor is lava while playing!

The Hopeful Horse: Board Games

Play a board game and be hopeful you will win, though be a good sport if you do not—and if you do not, be hopeful you will next time! We love Monopoly Junior in our house, and I can assure you that each child is very hopeful they will win! 

The Kind Kangaroo: Kindness Collage

Have your child create a picture of each family member or simply write their names on paper. Then, have each member say or write something kind about everyone. When done, place everyone’s picture or list on their bedroom door. This activity was so uplifting, and we have enjoyed adding to and reading it over and over again.

The Grateful Goldfish: Nighttime Gratitude

Before your child falls asleep each night, ask them to list off 5 things they are grateful for – big and small! See if they can think of 5 different things every night for a whole week. I bet you will be surprised and pleased at some of the things your little ones say they are grateful for. 

 

I hope these little games and activities are a hit in your house. We had so much fun with them in ours! They are a great way to learn about manners, kindness, honesty, and so much more. 

Now, one final tip from me as you work your way through Raising Kind, Caring, Good Kids and play these games:

Try really hard ONLY to point out when your child is displaying the trait! This was a tricky one for me, and I caught myself doing the opposite many times before realizing what I was doing: “That isn’t very GRACIOUS, is it now?” “Is that the HONEST answer?” Doing this makes the affirmations feel like they are not part of your child, which is exactly the opposite of what we are trying to do. Instead, only point them out when your child IS displaying the trait!

However, I will point out when I am not exuding those traits, just to show my children that we all need to practice these things, and none of us has it down perfectly. It is okay not to show perfect character all the time! The important thing is that we try.

For those of you who don’t already have this great resource, you can get it from my shop below and add these fun little games to help your children practice those eight core character traits with these games. 

Raising Kind, Caring, Good Kids

https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/raising-kind-caring-good-kids

Thank you so much for being here with me, sweet reader,

xo
Sarah