This is a great tool to get conversations started in a fun way. Questions range from “What’s the worst smell in the world?” to “If you could ask anyone for help, who would it be and why? Here is an example of using them on a car ride in my own family:

This is a great tool to get conversations started in a fun way. Questions like, “Would you rather have tentacles for limbs or sleep next to a bee hive?” Tired of the kids responding “fine” when you ask how their day was? I love to use this game to help dinners be more fun, and taking turns with choosing the question has helped keep the kids at the table. Also it’s great for fending off boredom or tablet time on long car rides.

“What Should Danny Do” and “What should Darla do” are a great book that helps a child know they have the Power to Choose! This goes along great with the coaching work I give parents, of offering children “2 roads” with their choices (as you can see in my “Getting Kids to Listen” pdf)

Angry Octopus: Children Learn How to Control Anger, Reduce Stress and Fall Asleep Faster. This book teaches progressive muscle relaxation which is great for helping kids to calm down or relax their wiggles.

A super cool book about a creative, inventive girl. The key message is to be yourself, proudly. And it has a wonderful anti-bullying message as a sub-plot.

A super cool book about not giving up, even when things are hard, and you explode in anger. Great for the child who is prone to crumple and throw something when it isn’t perfectly how they imagined in their mind.https://a.co/d/4kHgVkf/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_undefined?linkCode=ml1&tag=sustainablepa-20

A great story about how to be thoughtful towards others, instead of just thinking of yourself.

A great story for when your kids are giving intentional put-downs to others, or to siblings. If you notice they try to push their siblings buttons, or intentionally upset them – this is a GREAT book!

My FAVORITE book series for new readers (age kinder-3rd)

Fabulous lesson on how material things do not make you happy. Beautiful illustrations with a captivating and meaningful message, loved by my kids age 4 – 9!

This is my fav. trick to make friend birthday presents easy. I purchase 3 of these packs every year, and keep them in a closet, so they are handy for a last-min. birthday invite.

They are pretty universally loved by ages 3-9, all genders, and they are light and easy to use – giving kids the feeling that they can throw these with accuracy (Bonus: they don’t hurt if they hit you in the face).:)

My FAVORITE trick to help parents of young kids get some self-entertaining, without having to turn on an ipad.

Eva’s home-made playdough! This is something my daughter has started, as a beginning entrepeneur. You can purchase a 1 lb lump of colorful dough here!

Forget the tiny hard-to-open branded containers with complicated smashing tools. THIS is the softest, most entertaining playdough, and great for play with toothpicks, a butter knife, cookie cutters, etc.

We started using this when my kids were 2, so they could begin making their own breakfast. Put a small amount of milk in here so kids can begin pouring milk and getting their cereal out of the next container (below). Easy for little hands to manage, and mostly spill-proof.

We put the kids’ cereal in this, so they can easily serve themselves! Easy for little hands to manage, and mostly spill-proof.

Very helpful with improving a child staying in their bed ’til wake-up time (and through the night). Again, this goes great with the tools of forming good sleep habits.

Reach out if you are needing more help with this!

Children can begin helping make snacks, dinner and their own school lunches as young as 2-3, when you have the right tools.:) Read more about how I used these with my kids when I was “JUST” a Stay at Home Mom.