I am a proponent of finding reasons to celebrate, especially when it comes to my daughters. I am also a proponent of building traditions. Pair the two together and you have celebratory traditions. Something for your children to look forward to and to rely upon.
You can probably guess what theme I draw upon in February to create a celebratory tradition – Valentines Day! Valentines Day provides me the opportunity to explore love, kindness, and empathy , among other. things, with my daughters.
I more or less used the Tooth Fairy as inspiration for my February tradition. Each night throughout the month of February, after I put the girls to bed, I do the following. I cut a heart out of colored construction paper and on this heart I write something I love, appreciate, or admire about my daughters. I then adhere the hearts to the outside of each of my daughters respective bedroom doors.
Each morning in February, the first thing my daughters do upon waking in the morning is run and look at their door to spot the newest heart. They excitedly ask what the heart says. This invites a really productive conversation about whatever it is that I wrote on the heart the night before. It provides a really organic, healthy platform to educate your children on various matters. It also provides an opportunity for your children to reflect on the items you’ve written down in regards to them personally.
