solutionary

How to Transform Pandemic Dread

Zoe is a blogger for Psychology Today and she has been writing weekly posts about COVID-19. We’re sharing them here. We hope they are helpful to you during this pandemic. Like many people, I have been obsessed with reading news about the coronavirus pandemic, scrolling through my #COVID19 twitter feed, and jumping from one source…

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rainforest in the classroom

Are the Holidays Wearing You Down or Filling You Up? It’s Your Choice

by Lynne Westmoreland This is the time of year set aside to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, and Kwanzaa. The themes of the season are the return of hope, abundance, and protection, the return of the light, and a reminder to return to our spirituality and personal transformation as well. But in the last…

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holiday gifts

Tips for Happier, More Humane Gift-Giving

by Marsha Rakestraw This time of year the news is full of headlines about online sales, various shopping frenzies (Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc.), and an even earlier start on holiday buying. Juxtaposed with the high-energy holiday consumer craze are stories giving us tips for reducing our holiday stress and finding ways to make the…

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gardening

12 Children’s Picture Books About the Power of Gardens

by Marsha Rakestraw “The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.” ~ Thomas More Gardens are full of life, diversity, and wonder. They feed us physically and emotionally. They can be made of plants, rocks, or other materials. And their seeds can blossom into food, or memory, or hope. Gardens of all sorts…

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sharing

12 Children’s Picture Books About Sharing

One of the first lessons we’re taught as young children is about the importance of sharing. Yet examine our actions as adults—the ways we treat each other, nonhuman animals, and the earth—and it may seem like we’ve forgotten how vital sharing is. An important part of raising compassionate, conscientious citizens is introducing humane values such…

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books

The Joy of Generosity: 19 Children’s Picture Books

by Marsha Rakestraw Every holiday season there’s a bizarre conflicting focus on acquiring and sharing, getting and giving. Help bring the joy of generosity into clearer focus for younger kids with the help of these 19 children’s picture books. 1. Shoebox Sam by Mary Brigid Barrett 2011. Grades PreK-2. Delia and Jessie spend Saturdays with…

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homelessness

14 Children’s Picture Books About Homelessness

by Marsha Rakestraw People and animals without homes surround us year-round, but their presence seems more palpable in the winter months. As rates of poverty and homelessness grow, so do children’s questions about those who don’t have a home. Teacher Mary Cowhey, author of Black Ants and Buddhists, said, “One might argue that the realities…

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quilt maker's gift

The Joy of Generosity: 9 Titles for Younger Children

  by Marsha Rakestraw Every holiday season there’s an almost frenzied conflicting focus on acquiring and sharing, getting and giving. Help bring the joy of generosity into clearer focus for younger kids with the help of these nine children’s picture books. The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau. 2000. (48 pgs) Gr. 1-5. A seamstress makes…

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