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because everything starts with a seed……..
We are all reeling and grieving the loss of Madiha Salman, her husband Salman Afzaal, their daughter Yumna and Salman’s mother, Talat Afzaal In London on Sunday.
It is just impossible to make sense of. Our thoughts and prayers are with, and for the family, friends and our country.
While we as adults are bewildered, we worry about how our children are affected..
Although we try and shield them, they may hear the TV or radio or even us talking.
We can and must offer them comfort, an opportunity to talk about their fears and alternatives!
We have three books about kindness and friendship today.
1. Who will walk with Vanessa? https://bit.ly/3wav446
This is a wordless book, which gives us lots of room to discuss the feelings of the children involved. Vanessa is a new girl in school who is bullied by a classmate. A little girl befriends her and helps others to see the value of kindness and friendship.
What can you do to help a friend? Can you draw a picture of you doing it?
2. Stick and Stone https://bit.ly/2Tfr7MI
An unlikely pair, Stick and Stone are friends who look out for each other and prove that
friendship rocks! Lots of room for reassurances, ideas and rich discussion.
Make a list what makes a good friend. Can you draw a picture of being a good friend?
3. The Rabbit Listened https://bit.ly/2Tgq1AA
A variety of animals offer solutions to a problem; the rabbit is the only one who listens…
We all need somebody to go beyond hearing us and just listen to us.
Our instinct as adults is to “fix” things. This is not always what is needed – sometimes we just want to be heard
Hearing our children’s distress, giving them space to describe it and time to find a solution is a powerful way to demonstrate that you value their point of view and have faith in their ability to solve problems
Active listening skills go both ways! Encourage your child to look at the speaker, to give the speaker their full attention and to offer some comment or feedback. Play the broken telephone game to illustrate how much attention is needed to really hear.
Please send us your thoughts and pictures. We can post them so that they can provide comfort and hope to others in our community.
Our hope is that you find peace and kindness in your world…..
