There was a man, Chirobo, who had so much wisdom people were always dropping in. He would stop what he was doing and talk to them. He was so wise no one seemed to care he was blind.

A stranger came by and Chirobo showed him kindness. He asked if there was something he could do for Chirobo in return. Chirobo asked to go hunting with him. The stranger didn’t want to take him at first but then he conceded. Chirobo knew how to see in different ways besides his through his eyes. He knew when a leopard, warthogs, and rhinos were near. ( He could tell through his ears, nose, and skin. ) This knowledge helped them avoid trouble.

They set the traps for the birds and came back the next day. Chirobo’s trap had a large duck while the stranger’s trap had a small quail. The stranger told Chirobo his trap had the small quail. On the way home the younger man asks Chirobo why people fight. He said because people try to take what is not theirs just like you have done to me. Chirobo knew the man had lied to him.

Lesson for Character Education

Honesty

The stranger lied when he told Chirobo that the smaller bird was his. Even though Chirobo couldn’t see he knew the man lied. How do you think Chirobo knew?

Leadership

People were always seeking Chirobo out. There had to be a reason while people flocked to his house. It was not because he was blind and couldn’t do anything.

When people seek you out you are a leader. You don’t get to be a leader by cheating people. He might not have been able to see with his eyes but he saw in other ways. If your children can learn to see people in different ways they can learn to be a leader.

Enjoy your time with your child, and remember a great way to “Inspire-Your-Kids” is to read with them.

 
Natasha is visiting her grandmother, Babushka. She wants her Babushka to swing her, give her a ride in the goat cart, and feed her right away. She does not want to wait for anything. While they are eating lunch Natasha ask if she could play with Babushka’s doll.

Babushka told Natasha she could play with the doll while she was at the store. When Babushka left the doll came to life and demanded Natasha to play with her. Natasha thought it was fun at first. Then the doll became more and more demanding just like she was being towards her grandmother. She realizes that she didn’t like it.

Lessons for Character Education

Relationships

Natasha demanded that her Babushka play with her while she was working. She gets a taste of her own medicine when the doll comes to life and demands things from her.

All relationships need to be mindful of the other person. If you were to demand and demand something and not give anything back in return, after a while that person will get tired and will not want to be around you. We need to treat others with kindness.

There is a saying you reap what you sow. It means what you do to other people is what someone will do it you. Babushka did not do to Natasha what she did to her but Natasha still had the same thing happen to her through the doll.

Enjoy your time with your child, and remember a great way to “Inspire-Your-Kids” is to read with them.

After a fire in their apartment destroyed everything they owned.  The mother, grandmother and daughter moved into a new apartment, family and friends brought them lots of things they needed. But they were still lacking a big chair that they could cuddle in. So they started saving up all their change.

Finally the day came when their jar was full they took their change and converted it into paper money. They went out, found the perfect chair, bought it, and when it was set up in their apartment, they cuddled in it.

Lessons for Character Education

Goals

The little girl, her mother and her grandmother all had a goal: to get a big comfy chair. They saved and saved for a year until they were able to buy the right chair.

Social Responsibility

This lady and her daughter had a fire in their apartment. Family and friends helped by giving them the things they needed. It is our responsibility to help others when they are in need.

What can you and your family do to help someone? 

Enjoy your time with your child, and remember a great way to “Inspire-Your-Kids” is to read with them.

This is a cute little book the only words are a recipe and some signs.  You know what the lady is thinking through the illustrations. She wakes up, washes, and thinks about eating pancakes. She gets out the flour then realizes that she needs some eggs, so she goes to the chicken coop. Then she realizes she needs milk so she goes out to milk the cow.  Next she needs to turn the butter. Finally she realizes that she doesn’t have any maple syrup. She when she leaves to buy some syrup while the cat and dog are in the house. When she gets home the cat and dog have destroyed the ingredients to make pancakes. She is discouraged. But she smells pancakes being cooked next door. So she goes over there and invites herself to breakfast.

The plaque on her wall says, If at First you don’t succeed Try, Try, again.

 The lady faced several problems. At first she is missing some ingredients then her cat and dog spill them. So she couldn’t fix the pancakes. But she still found a way to get some pancakes. 

Lessons for Character Education

Goal Setting

This lady had a goal. 

Problem Solving

Her goal was to have pancakes for breakfast. But she encountered obstacles after obstacle.

What were her obstacles? (Hint 4 of them)

Perseverance

The lady didn’t let her circumstances discourage her. She looked at her messy house and found another way to reach her goal.

It is ok to get help if you need it as long as you keep moving forward no matter what the obstacles are you will eventually arrive at your goal even if it is not the way you originally started.

Enjoy your time with your child, and remember a great way to “Inspire-Your-Kids” is to read with them.

There was a man, Chirobo, who had so much wisdom. People were always dropping by so he would stop what he was doing to talk to them. No one seemed to remember he was blind.

When a stranger came by Chirobo showed kindness him. He asked if there was something he could do for Chirobo in return. Chirobo asked to go hunting with him. The stranger didn’t want to take him at first but then he agreed. Chirobo knew how to see in other ways besides his eyes. He knew when a leopard, warthogs, and rhinos were near. ( He could tell through his ears, nose, and skin. ) This knowledge helped them avoid trouble.

They set the traps for the birds and came back the next day. Chirobo’s trap had a large duck while the stranger’s trap had a small quail. The stranger told Chirobo that his trap had the small quail. On the way home the younger man asks Chirobo why people fight. He said because people try to take what is not theirs just like you have done to me. Chirobo knew the man had lied to him.

Lesson for Character Education

Honesty

The stranger lied when he told Chirobo that the smaller bird was his. Even though Chirobo couldn’t see he knew the man lied. He could tell by the way he was acting. People often act differently when they are lying.   

Leadership

Even though Chirobo was blind people were always seeking him out. There had to be a reason while people flocked to his house. You don’t get wisdom by cheating people. He saw not through his eyes but by other ways. He was always aware of what was going on around him. This is a skill that anyone can learn even your children.

Enjoy your time with your child, and remember a great way to “Inspire-Your-Kids” is to read with them.

This book is about two friends Spottie and Turtle. There are five chapters that cover different aspects of a child’s life.

Self-Assessment

Turtle was good at the gym. But Spottie was not. Turtle didn’t say anything or make fun of his friend. He would just help him when he could.  Turtle didn’t want to hurt Spottie’s feelings. Turtle thought singing to Spottie would lift his feelings but he couldn’t sing. Spottie started to sing and he has a wonderful voice. They realized that it is ok for one to be good at something and the other to be good at something else.  

Teamwork

Chapter two is about working together. Turtle and Spottie are planting a garden. Spottie sings to the plants to see them grow. Turtle sings to scare away the animals that would eat their plants.  They invited their other friends to come over and eat, then they let the other animals have some.

Conflicts/Negotiation

 In chapter three Turtle and Spottie go to the movies.  They put butter on only half of the popbugs. They combine the juices. They sit in the middle row because one likes the front and one likes the back. They chose to have brunch the next day, because one likes and breakfast one likes lunch. They chose to compromise better than demand that their preference was met.

 Self-Assessment

 In chapter four Turtle wanted to do something nice for Spottie. He takes him to a fancy place to eat and they pretend to be posh. When they got the food they almost threw up. The waiter kicks them out, so they go to McMollusks which was like a fast food place they loved. They eat slug nuggets and cricket fries. They decide they need to be who they are and not to be someone else.

 Relationships

 Chapter five Turtle and Spottie decide to take a hike. They hiked so far they didn’t have the strength to get back, so they took turn carrying each other. “It would be hard to carry yourself, but you don’t have to when you have a friend.” (Page 39)

Friendships are so important. They can be a corner stone in our lives. It depends on how we treat them. If we are willing to help, speak kindly and support our friends, we will have much more happiness in our lives.

Francisco’s grandfather just moved in with Francisco and his mother. He doesn’t know English, so Francisco goes with him to be hired for a day’s work on a Saturday.

Francisco talks with a man. Who is looking for someone to pull weeds. Francisco uses the common ground that they are both wearing L.A. Lakers hats. He tells the man that his grandfather is an excellent farmer and the man will get two for the price of one.

When they get to the field the man, named Ben, tells them to pull the weeds. Francisco show his grandfather which ones to pull and which ones to leave alone.

They worked hard all day and they feel good when they are finished. When Ben arrives to pick them up, he was shocked because his plants were pulled and the weeds were left.

Francisco told his grandfather that they pulled the plants and left the weeds. His grandfather realized that Francisco had lied to Ben.

He asked Ben through his grandson if the plants would live though the night, they would come back and re-plant the plants and pull the weeds the next day.

Francisco tries to get out of it by telling his grandfather they had to go to church. His grandfather said they would miss it as that It was the price they had to pay for the lie.

Francisco’s grandfather refuses to be paid until the work is done rightly.

Ben said, “I could always use a good man for more than one day’s work. The important things your grandfather knows already. And I can teach him gardening.”

Honesty

Francisco’s grandfather and Ben could not communicate. Francisco thought it was ok to lie because they needed to work, but that lie caused him to do the work again the next day and to miss the Laker’s game as well as church.

His grandfather’s integrity granted him more than one day’s work. What is on the inside will shine though no matter what you say or don’t say and people will notice it.

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Balloons= humans. You can discuss how we are the same and yet how we are different especially if you use different balloons.

Good attitudes can be forgiving, loving, helping, sharing, giving, peace, happiness, or  joy.

Bad attitudes are seen by fighting, selfishness, hatred, hitting, not sharing, anger, unforgiveness, or bitterness.

Sun/light= pressures of life that produces the smells that come out of our lives.

The things that are inside of us will come out. People will see and smell our attitudes. By teaching this to children at a young age they will learn that their actions do matter even when no one is looking. We can’t get around it.

“Character is not inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action.” - Helen Gahagan Douglas

Have you ever heard, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts”? Here’s an experiment to do with your children that will prove just that.
Take three balloons that are the same size. Smash up some garlic and put it into one balloon, blow it up and tie it off. Put some perfume into another balloon, blow it up and tie it off. Blow up the third balloon and tie it off.

Next set the balloons near a light bulb. After a half hour, check to see if you can smell a difference between the three balloons. What is on the inside of the balloons, will begin to seep through the pores of the balloon and diffuse into the air.
Questions to ask your children:

What do you think the balloons represent? (Humans)
What do you think the garlic represents? (Bad attitudes, anger, bitterness, hatred)
What do you think the perfume represents? (Good attitudes, kindness, love, forgiveness)
What do you think the air represents? (Indifference, fence-sitting)
What do you think the light bulb/heat represents? (Tough times in life)

We might look the same, but inside of us is something that may smell bad, good or like nothing. During our lives, we will put off an odor. Sometimes it is faint, but when we go through tough times in our life, what is inside of us really comes to the surface.

When we learn to be kind, loving and forgiving, our pores produce a sweet aroma that will attract people into our lives. What kind of aroma do you want to produce today? What can you do to make sure you produce it?

Do the activity with your children and then come back and leave a comment on how it went.

A new children’s book written by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Kristina Tracy offers valuable opportunities for parents to talk to children about goals.  No Excuses! How What You Say Can Get In Your Way points out excuses we make that stop us from achieving our dreams.

In the book, a young boy wants to be a marine biologist specializing in sea turtles. But the adults around him discourage him. His teacher tells him that you have to be smart in science, and science is not his best subject. A salesperson tells him that it will take a long time to become a marine biologist. His mother tells him that they cannot pay for college. And his grandfather tells him his dad will be disappointed because being a farmer runs in the family. 

He lets these opinions steal his dream. As the boy is telling Dr. Toruga, a marine biologist he met, why he can’t be a marine biologist, she tells him that those are all excuses he has chosen to believe. No one but he can know if they are true or not, and he will only know when he tries. He could be anything he wants to be if he doesn’t let excuses stop him.

The boy decides to believe that he can be a marine biologist.  He believes he is smart enough to get good grades. He works, saves for college and makes his dream come true. 

Questions to discuss with your child: 

• What is your dream?
• What is the difference between dreams and goals?
• What are some excuses that can stop you from reaching your dreams?
• What did the boy decide to believe?
• What did he do to become smarter?
• Just because something takes a long time to do, does it mean you shouldn’t do it? Why or why not?
• What did the boy decide to do about his parents not having the money for college?
• We never know if his dad was disappointed; what do you think?
• What choices did the boy made?
• Do you have any excuses stopping you from reaching your dreams?
• What choices can you make toward fulfilling your dreams?

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Napoleon Hill

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