Activity: Kind Nibbles

When children are encouraged and given opportunities to show kindness toward others, they learn powerful lessons for healthy social and emotional growth.

Materials:
Individual ingredients and supplies needed are listed for each treat below.

Directions:
Share some winter kindness by making these three treats for your nearby feathered friends to nibble on:

• Orange Cup Feeder- Cut an orange in half. Squeeze the juice out to enjoy while making the feeder. Then remove pulp with a spoon and eat it, too! Punch several holes around each orange's top edge. Lace 6 inches of string through each hole. Pull the string up and tie a knot at the top for hanging cup. Fill with birdseed and "hang around" to see what happens!
• Beak Bites- String leftover or fresh popcorn. Then toss the string up into a tree or place it near a window so that you can have fun watching your feathered friends enjoy this delicious treat.
• Nutty Nibbles- Punch a hole through the top of an empty bathroom tissue tube. Lace string, yarn, or light wire through the hole for hanging. Spread peanut butter on the outside of the tube and roll in birdseed. Hang the tasty tube outside and watch who shows up!

Talk about It: Ask you child to name and describe familiar and local outdoor animals and creatures. Talk about how humans and animals have basic needs like food and shelter and how these differ. Then share ideas on how kindness toward others, including outdoor creatures, can make everyone's world a better place to live.

Take it Further:

• Help your child identify a "kind" person in his/her life. Then make some cookies, draw a picture, or write a friendly note to share with that person on a regular basis.
• Involve your child in charitable acts of kindness that contribute to your local neighborhood and/or community.
• Set a goal with your child to do something extra nice for someone, like feeding a pet or just taking a moment out of your day or week to make a friendly phone call or visit.

With a Group: Children are natural born Kindness Krusaders! Brainstorm with your child's circle of friends and use this fun idea for brightening up someone else's day:

How about drawing or coloring "get well" pictures for children in your local hospital? With a quick click, lively Clifford printables can be printed and colored. After coloring, have children sign and date their artwork. Then roll each picture into a scroll. Tie with a ribbon and place scrolls in a hand basket. Set a time to deliver the scrolls as a group. Encourage children to share how they felt about sharing kindness and brainstorm about other ways that they could share this experience again.