SCOOP Term 4 2016

I want to share with you today a few ways to
help you find your child’s SPARK. Once you
know it, you will have an insight into what
lights them up and what will help them to
follow their dreams and also help them have
extra strategies to bounce back from struggles.
Here are 4 ways to help find your
child’s SPARK:
1. Write a Gratitude Journal Together
Research shows that when you can say often
what you are grateful for in your life you are
happier. Creating this positive mindset for
children is important for them to be able to
look at the big picture of life and know they
are lucky. When you do it together, you have
an insight into their day. My daughter and I use
the Awesome Inc gratitude journals. I have
the adult version and she has the kid’s version.
We sit up on her bed, use all her smelly, sparkly
pens and write what we are grateful for that
day. We then trade them and compare notes.
2. Create a list together of what your
child loves doing (more than once)
My son was going through a hard time a little
while ago and while he was upset we got a
piece of paper out and a pen. He wrote down
all the things he was grateful for on one side
(some amazed me!) and on the other side he
wrote down all the things he loves to do. These
are the things that make him want to get out of
bed in the morning. We had tapped back into
his SPARK and he was again on a positive path.
3. Make time to write, read, paint, draw
and create
Giving kids time to create helps them find
their SPARK. It might be what they are doing or
they might come up with the idea while they
are creating. Writing or journaling is a good
place to start. Fellow parent blogger, Sumitha
Bhandarkar from A Positive Parent has
created a beautiful, parent-child journal called
the Connected Hearts Journal. It uses the
power of stories, beautiful coloring pages,
open-ended questions and prompts, and a
separate “secrets” section to help you connect
deeply with your kids so you can easily find
their SPARK and nurture it.
4. Go out and explore
Get outside and see new things, often. Children
are little sponges constantly filling their schema
with new and exciting things. Getting out and
exploring is exciting. Even if it is going for a
walk down the same path you walked down
yesterday, kids will see something new. It
will SPARK their imagination and they will be
excited. Or it may be going on a family holiday
and really exploring the new place you find
yourselves in.
Once you find your child’s SPARK you will give your
child the wings they were born with to fly and you
can sit on the sidelines and watch them grow and
develop, with encouragement.
Anna Partridge is a Parent Educator,
School Teacher and Mother to 3 kids. She
is passionate about working with families
to help them raise confident and resilient
children.
http://www.annapartridge.com
About Anna:
Anna Partridge is
a certified Positive
Discipline Parent
Educator, a school
teacher and a mother
to three highly spirited,
beautiful children.
She loves nothing more than helping
parents raise resilient and confident
children, build strong and connected
family relationships and strive for calm,
fun and happy families.
http://annapartridge.com/