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Day TWO of Break THRU Boredom, a Family Mindset Challenge: GRATITUDE

Day TWO of Break THRU Boredom, a Family Mindset Challenge: GRATITUDE
In this blog post, the importance of cultivating gratitude within our families is discussed as a way to make a positive impact on the world. The author emphasizes the need for a "Family Mindset" that starts with self-love and gratitude, which can then be shared with others. The post suggests various activities and practices to foster gratitude, such as having a gratitude jar where family members can write down what they are grateful for and reading them together on New Year's Day. The post also includes links to resources for interactive read-aloud sessions and scavenger hunts for both younger and older children.
Don't forget to check out the author's Facebook community for the 5 Day Break THRU Boredom challenge, where you can participate for prizes and get additional free trainings. You may also be interested in the author's Free Guide on reducing childhood stress and anxiety.
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Day ONE of the Break THRU Boredom Family Challenge: Setting Intention

Day ONE of the Break THRU Boredom Family Challenge: Setting Intention
We've officially been on stay at home order for protection from the Covid-19 virus for 5 weeks.  The honeymoon is over!!!!  

At first, our family took a little break from structure and scheduling, then tried some structure and scheduling, and now we've run out of ideas and need some novelty.  

Over the next 5 days, I will post a theme play day for you and your family to try throughout the week.  It will have a set theme and include an affirmation, an invitation to play, snack ideas and an interactive read aloud or yoga sequence for the day. An affirmation will reset the mind and set an intention for the week. An invitation to play will allow a way for the family to bond and find joy in the power of play.  Hopefully , your child(ren) will replay the scenario throughout the week and make it more complex each day.  The snack and interactive activity also adds creativity and inspiration for playing out the theme.  Comment daily to share photos or experiences as we reset our families together!!

What is an affirmation? 
Positive affirmations are simple sentences that people use to describe how they want to be, or how they want their circumstances to be, in a way that affirms that it’s already true, or on its way to becoming true. People repeat positive affirmations in order to change the way they feel about themselves, or their perception of their circumstances, so that eventually they arrive to the change that the affirmation is supposed to lead them.

A family that plays together stays together!
This image highlights the importance of play for the brain, stress management, relationships, and overall wellness.

A connection to nature reduces stress and anxiety as it engages all of the senses.



What exactly are Invitations to Play?
This term is used a lot by Early Childhood Educators and is deeply rooted in the Reggio philosophy of allowing children to direct their own play by offering open-ended, meaningful resources to explore. It simply describes a little set up of play materials for your child to come and discover and play with in any way that they choose. It can be as simple as setting out the tea set and play food on a little table with napkins, bringing out the building blocks and setting them on the grass or presenting the child with an unusual object for investigation. Most of the time, by placing toys or materials in a new location or presenting them in an original way, the child’s imagination is sparked and they can come to it with fresh eyes and new ideas! 

My goal for the Family Mindset series is for you to find some fresh ideas and set some intentions for your family to grow a positive mindset together.  Please join us!  

Find the 5 Day Break THRU Boredom challenge in my facebook community too!  That's where you can participate for prizes and get more free trainings.

If you like this blog, you may also like this Free Guide: 5 Ways to Reduce Childhood Stress and Anxiety.


Grab the Free PDF 15 Ways to Build Self compassion here

Join my FB community for Conscious Moms here


Meet Tanya Milano Snell

 
Becoming a wife and mother was so exciting for me. I had so much love to give and I strived to always find solutions to life's bumps in the road. From cloth diapering to buying as much organic or local food as we could I was trying to keep us as healthy as possible. I found products that I liked at online stores and corporations, big box stores, local shops, and local farms.....you name it, I was using it all and it was complicated. I also stressed the importance of self care so my husband and I can be there for our kids and for our community, but there just never seemed much time for this.

So, then came a series of traumatic events in our life. First, the death of my mother in law after a long illness followed 2 years later with the death of both of my parents from cancer. Having 2 young kids (one of which was diagnosed with asthma) and navigating this time in our lives was nothing short of a miracle. We have so many friends and family to thank for this! We were maintaining self care (honestly, my yoga practice was crucial) and healthy living as best we could given our circumstances or at least that's what I thought.

In the summer of 2018, my husband was hospitalized with severe gastrointestinal problems. After a week in the hospital, we received a diagnosis of Crohns disease. On the day of his release from the hospital, I was a mess. My body and mind had HAD enough. I didn't know how we were going to manage all of these changes. I cried all day!! I felt like I couldn't be strong for the one person that was strong through all of our battles so far.  In the next few months, we had new food to buy, new supplements, new medical bills, and the list goes on. I was having daily headaches, irregular bowel movements, and increased anxiety. Bills and shopping were so hard to keep up with. It was time to make some decisions for the whole family. 

I realized that staying in the teaching field was unsustainable to my well-being and detrimental to my family's well-being.  I chose to really listen to my intuition, strengthen the practices that help me listen, and follow the path that I was being led to follow.  Leading and living from the heart was the only option.  My love for what yoga does for my mind, body, and soul was the missing piece to my puzzle on how to make all my passions and dreams a reality.

Today, I have much less stress because I have developed a self awareness that keeps me from self abandonment (SacredSeat and SafeSeat practices). I sleep better. I have much fewer headaches and muscle pains. My anxiety is managed and I worry less about providing what my family needs for proper nutrition. And best of all, I now have a self care routine so that I can be there for my family and their needs. I also have more time for the things that I enjoy doing like reading, playing outside, and family time.


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