Family Night is a family activity that can be held once a week. Set aside one night when your family can all be together. Teach your children important values and how to be better family members, people, citizens, friends, and neighbors. The dedicated time together is the most important thing. Once a month, I will share a Family Night lesson on the blog to help get your creativity rolling and to inspire us all to try a little harder to be a little better.
“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” -Michael J Fox
Hi everyone, this is Adelle with you again! Have you seen Disney’s new Cinderella movie yet? My family was able to see it in the theaters a few weeks ago and I loved it. The costumes and set design were beautiful and the acting was superb. The thing I loved most about the film, however, was the message about kindness. Cinderella’s mother taught her to always, “Have courage and be kind.” Why is kindness such a powerful attribute? Can kindness actually change a person’s fate? Cinderella transformed from a ragged servant girl to a beautiful queen. What type of results can we expect from being kind? This is the topic of today’s Family Night lesson. I can’t wait to share it with my family and I hope you can take time to discuss the magic of kindness with yours.
Kindness Family Night Lesson Outline
Lesson
Read quote from Aesop, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” When we take time or make the effort to show kindness to the people in our lives, we can create miracles–just like how Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother waved her magic wand and made Cinderella’s dreams come true!
Ask the Question: How can we show kindness?
Possible Answers:
Speaking kind words and giving complements.
Through service.
Being a friend.
By sharing.
Showing love and concern for family and friends.
Tell a story about how showing kindness has made a positive impact in your life. Or, read the following story about kindness that my daughter recently experienced when dealing with a bully in her class at school. You can download the story here.
Ask the Question: Can you think of a time when you did something nice for someone? How did it make you feel? How did it make them feel?
Every time we make an effort to be kind, the goodness in the world increases and the bad decreases. We can make the world a more magical place to live with each kind word we speak and with each good deed we perform.
Activity/Craft
Make your own kindness wands to help your children remember that kindness transforms lives– just like magic! You can make wands out of anything in your crafting supplies. We found some pencils, duct tape, felt, glue, ribbon, and glitter paint in our craft room and made some fun magic kindness wands together.
Trace or sketch a star onto the felt and then cut two pieces the same size. Wrap the pencil in duct tape. Glue the two stars together with the top of the pencil inside. Then, decorate!
After your wands are created, take turns granting wishes. Sit in a circle on the floor. Let each child have a turn in the center of the circle. The person in the circle waves their wand over another family member’s head and says something kind to that person. They could give a complement, or offer a service that they will perform during the week.
For example, “Brother, you are always funny and make me laugh. I will help you pack your lunch for school tomorrow.” Or, “Sister, you look very pretty in your new earrings, I will make your bed in the morning.” Continue the game until everyone has had a turn in the center and each family member has been the recipient of kindness.
Remind your children throughout the week to follow through with their promised acts.
Conclusion
Kindness is a type of magic. Roald Dahl said, “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” This is what made Cinderella so beautiful. Her thoughts were full of goodness and kindness and she was lovely enough to catch a prince and live happily ever after! When kindness is part of who we are, we can have a happy life too.
Refreshment
My kids love feeling fancy. Since, tonight’s lesson is a little bit royal and fanciful I thought it would be fun to drink something bubbly. Pick up a bottle of sparkling cider or pop open a can of your favorite soda. You’ll need to use elegant glasses of course! I bought a set of six plastic champagne glasses at the dollar store. Make a toast to kindness and wash it down with sweet bubbly goodness.
