Sharla Kostelyk

Frozen Inspired Elsa Microwave Playdough

When I first started making playdough for my kids (because we all know that homemade playdough is so much better than store bought!), my arm would get sore from all that stirring on the stovetop. Things have come a long way since then. I now make most of my playdough using my KitchenAid mixer, so no more sore arms. But I recently discovered microwave playdough. This could be a game changer. This quick and easy taste safe microwave playdough recipe includes a variation in case you want to make it without cream of tartar. With all the buzz about the new Frozen movie, we’ve been on a bit of an Elsa kick when it comes to our sensory play like our Frozen Inspired Elsa Slime or our cool Frozen Inspired Sensory Bin.

Homemade Microwave Playdough Recipe:

Microwave Playdough Ingredients:

- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tsp. oil
- 2 tsp. cream of tarter OR 4 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup water
- blue food colouring
- assorted winter sprinkles

This Frozen Inspired Elsa Playdough recipe can be doubled if you’re making this for preschool, a classroom, or a large group. Directions:

1. Start by adding your flour, salt, oil, cream of tarter OR lemon juice, and water to a large, microwave safe mixing bowl.
2. Stir until it is well combined.
3. Microwave for one minute and stir really well.
4. Repeat two more times, microwaving one minute each time.
5. Allow to cool.
6. Add in food colouring until you get your desired colour. Knead dough well.
7. Add in the edible sprinkles. Knead again.
8. Let the kids play!

When you’re not playing with this dough, be sure to store it in an airtight container.

If you’re more of a visual learner, I’ve included a microwave playdough video below.

Note: Even though this recipe is taste safe, it is not safe for children to consume large quantities of salt at one time. Adult supervision is required.

Sensory Play and Learning Opportunities:

Have your child help with the stirring and kneading when making the playdough. This provides visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory feedback.

Stretching and rolling and squeezing and squishing and pinching and pressing all are great sensory play actions. Playing with playdough engages not only your child’s senses, but also their imagination. This type of preschool play is also good for developing fine motor skills and coordination.

Are you looking for other easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our most popular playdough recipes:

Peppermint Scented Playdough

Snow Playdough

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

The 26 Best Christmas Party Games

By Sharla Kostelyk

Playing Christmas party games at your family gathering, holiday party, office party, or youth event is a great way to break the ice and keep the fun going. Interactive activities are a great way to make lasting memories. These Christmas party games encourage participation and fun for all.

Christmas Party Games:

I love hosting large gatherings. Honestly, mostly it’s because of the food. I’m an appetizer girl. I love being able to sample little bits of lots and parties are the perfect excuse to do that. But while I have people over, it’s always good to keep them entertained, so we have become a family who loves playing games. These are the best Christmas party games out there.

Christmas Minute to Win It

Our family loves Minute to Win It games. Last year, I came out with Christmas Minute to Win It games that were hilarious to play and to watch. We all had a riot as we attempted to complete the challenges. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but mine was the Bobbing for Candy Canes game. All the Minute to Win It Christmas party games can be played in small or large groups and with all ages. This makes them great for pretty much any holiday event. They also require very little set up and the supplies needed are inexpensive. In fact, most of what you need, you probably have around the house already.

The Flour Game

This hilarious game is a family favourite of ours. It’s admittedly more fun to watch it for some than to play it depending on your personality, but if you’re looking for something that is sure to get people engaged and interacting, The Flour Game is a great activity for that.

The Bag Game

The Bag Game is perfect for group gatherings. You can play it regardless of age and it’s a lot of laughs. This is a good one for a youth event or for an office party. It also requires no planning other than to find an empty paper bag or cereal box, making it inexpensive as well.

Saran Wrap Ball

The Saran Wrap Ball Game is quickly becoming a favourite among both children and adults. Read the rules of the game, ideas for what to stuff it with and setup instructions.

This is another one that is great for all ages. And everyone walks away a winner so there are no hard feelings, although it still has a competitive side to it too which is extra fun!

Cookie Decorating Challenge

Set out store bought sugar cookie dough, holiday cookie cutters, icing, sprinkles, and baking sheets. Put everyone in teams and let the fun begin! It’s best to set a timer so that it adds another element of hilarity.

This is a great holiday activity because judging the results is almost as much fun as decorating the cookies. It’s also a great activity for mixing a variety of ages so that all family members from toddlers to grandparents can play.

Christmas Charades

The Joys of Boys has made an easy Christmas Charades printable party game that’s fun for families. It’s a fun holiday take on a classic.

Name That Christmas Carol

There are several variations of this game out there. I’ve included some below so that you can find the one that works best for you.

Scavenger Hunt

A Christmas Scavenger Hunt can be a good party game or can be used to create a new holiday tradition with your family. If you’re creating one to use at a party, you can use little trinkets along the way so that everyone who participates gets a prize or a larger gift for the winner at the end.

Christmas Board Games

The Santa Claus Game Christmas Scavenger Hunt Game Christmas Trivia Pin The Nose on The Snowman Christmas Activity Tis The Season Christmas Trivia Game Spot It! Holiday Christmas-opoly Santa’s Sleigh Ride

Christmas Trivia Game

These Christmas Trivia Games are such a great way to get conversations started. If your gathering is something where guests will be seated around tables such as a women’s brunch or a potluck, trivia games are the perfect way to break the ice. There are printable sheets you can print out for everyone playing. The questions are challenging enough to really spark conversation.

If you’re looking for a holiday trivia game that children can also participate in, then I would recommend this one instead.

Gingerbread House Decorating Challenge

For those who love watching baking challenges, this one is a lot of fun. Set out the supplies for decorating the houses: gingerbread, icing, candy, icing sugar, sprinkles, candy canes, wafers, etc. Split everyone into teams and set a timer. The team to complete the best house (according to a majority vote) wins! Instead of gingerbread houses, we make Rice Krispie houses. That way, they can be shaped into trees or any type of building shape and can still be decorated the same way a gingerbread house would be.

Two Truths and a Lie Christmas Party Game

In this version of Two Truths and a Lie, there is a Christmas twist. Each person takes a turn saying the three worst Christmas gifts they’ve ever received. Two of them are true and one of them is a lie. The others have to try to correctly guess which one is the lie.

Snowman Building Contest

Break out into teams. Choose a set amount of time and start the timer. Each team has until the end of the clock to make the most unique or best snowman they can. The first, second, and third place winners are then chosen. If you want to, you can provide a prize for the winner.

Candy Cane Guess

Fill a medium or large container with small candy canes or another holiday themed candy. Set out small pieces of paper and pens. Have each person at the party write down their guess for how many candies are in the jar. Be sure to have them write their name on their paper. The player who guesses closest to the actual number gets to take home the jar full of candy.

Holiday Pictionary

Divide into two teams. Write down Christmas themed words or phrases on papers. One player on each team must draw what is on their paper while their team attempts to guess what it is. The team with the most points wins.

You can make the cards easy or more difficult depending of the age of people participating. For an adults only party, you can use ones that will be more challenging to draw and guess. Here are some ideas for what words or phrases to add to your Christmas Pictionary game:

White Christmas
reindeer
Santa Claus
nativity
3 wise men
milk and cookies
Jingle Bells
Silent Night
Christmas tree
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
Auld Lang Syne
Joy to the World
Let it Snow
Ho Ho Ho
Deck the Halls
mistletoe
poinsettia
Noel
ornament
It’s a Wonderful Life
carolling
baby Jesus
eggnog
Charlie Brown Christmas
stocking
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Frosty the Snowman
gingerbread house
Jack Frost
Merry Christmas
nutcracker
North Pole
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
ugly Christmas sweater
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
yule log
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
white elephant gift exchange
Deck the Halls
Little Drummer Boy

Candy Canes

This game follows the rules of the card game Spoon, but instead of spoons, you place candy canes in the middle of the table. The game lasts much longer because you have to spell out c-a-n-d-y-c-a-n-e-s. Good luck!

Guess that Carol

Get out someone’s phone and find Christmas music either on their playlist or on something such as Spotify or YouTube. Play 15 seconds or less of each song and see who can be the first to shout out the name of the Christmas carol. This works really well in teams if you have a large group.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

I still remember the first time I participated in a White Elephant Gift Exchange. There were a lot of laughs and quite honestly, also some hard feelings as not all of the kids playing wound up with the present they were hoping for.

There are many variations on a White Elephant Gift Exchange. Find the rules of a White Elephant Gift exchange as well as read about some of the common types that are played. One of my favourites is when you bring something from home that you’re no longer using as your gift. It’s a great way to reuse items that others may love that no longer bring you joy. It also means you don’t have to spend any extra money at what is already an expensive time of year.

Holiday Puzzles

I know this is not exactly a “game”, however I always have a table or two set up over the holidays with a puzzle set out. We know a handful of people who HATE playing games. Having a puzzle out gives them something to do if they choose not to participate in the other Christmas party games. We’ve found that by the end of the evening, we often have quite a crowd gathered around the puzzle table and it becomes very interactive and sometimes even a little bit competitive!

We often set up two puzzle tables. One is a more complicated puzzle with a lot of pieces and the other is an easier one for kids. You don’t have to choose a holiday themed puzzle. You can choose one that is meaningful for your family or one that is quirky or fun. It can be reminiscent of a vacation or childhood memory or represent an interest or hobby. These are some of our family’s favourites:

Fishing Cove Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Piece Downton Abbey 3D Jigsaw Puzzle 890 Piece Candylicious 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Children of the World Floor Puzzle 48 Pieces Cookies & Christmas 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Sushi Puzzle 1000 Piece Potato Chips 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Donuts Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Piece Friends in Winter 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Peaceful Night Christmas Puzzle 550 Piece A Child is Born Christmas Puzzle 550 Piece Winter Playground Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Piece Sea Shell Treasures Jigsaw Puzzle 550 Piece Vintage Nancy Drew Puzzle 1000 Piece Tea Cups Boxes 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Cat Bookshelf Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Piece 100 Piece Ballet Recital Jigsaw Puzzle Knock Knock Jigsaw Puzzle 1,000 Pieces Amsterdam Aglow Jigsaw Puzzle 550 Piece Tropical Fish Jigsaw Puzzle 1000 Piece Periodic Table Illustrated Puzzle 200 Piece Starry Night 500 Piece Van Gogh Puzzle

What is your favourite game to play at a Christmas party?

Looking for more ideas for family fun or resources to help you connect with your child? Join our free 5 Days to Better Family Connection email series.

Check out some of our other holiday ideas:

Family Time Capsule Ornament

Christmas Calm Down Kit for Kids

Melted Snowman Sensory Bottle

Holiday Scented Christmas Slime

Textured Butter Slime

By Sharla Kostelyk

There are so many types of slime. Every time I think we’ve tried them all, we discover another type to make! This textured butter slime was a cool experiment that turned out so well. This sensory play activity engages the tactile, visual, and proprioception sensory systems.

How to make butter slime

Well, first of all, I guess we should start with “what is butter slime?” Contrary to what it sounds like, butter slime doesn’t actually use butter as an ingredient. It gets its name from the buttery texture. Most butter slimes have a non-toxic clay such as Model Magic clay in the recipe. This type of slime moulds well, but it’s not very stretchy.

How to make butter slime without clay

While most butter slime recipes, call for using clay, you can make it without clay. In fact, in our recipe, we didn’t use clay at all. We instead used playdough that had seen better days. If you’re a family or school that uses playdough regularly, chances are, you’ve got some that’s seen better days and needs to be thrown out. The great thing about this recipe is that instead of throwing that dried out playdough out, you can repurpose it into slime!

You can also make butter slime without clay by mixing cornstarch and shampoo. Or it can be made by adding about 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch into a typical liquid starch slime recipe.

Textured Butter Slime Recipe:

Ingredients:

2-3 Tbsp. dish soap
foam beads
3 oz. dried out playdough (store bought or homemade)
optional: cornstarch

Directions:

Pour about 2 Tablespoons of dish soap into a 3 oz. container of old playdough. If you’ve thrown out the container or are using homemade playdough, do this in a bowl.
Begin mixing. The texture will determine your next step.
If the dough is getting softer and is not at all sticky, you can add an additional Tablespoon of dish soap and continue mixing. If the dough takes on a sticky texture, a sprinkling of cornstarch can be added.
Next, add as many foam beads as you like. This will be what adds the texture.
Mix the beads and the dough together well.

Invite your children to play, stretch and mold the textured doh. The dough can now be stretched, moulded, and played with. It is soft and can also be cut with a craft stick or plastic knife, just like butter.

Play-Doh 24-Pack Case of Colors, 3 oz. Cans Styrofoam Balls for Slime Dishwashing Liquid

Adding the foam beads offers a great twist on the texture. This provides additional tactile sensory feedback.

Are you looking for more easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Other popular slime recipes:

Unicorn Fluffy Slime

Minnie Mouse Slime

Glow in the Dark Slime

Frozen Inspired Elsa Slime

How to Make Slime – A Comprehensive Guide

By Sharla Kostelyk

Have you ever wondered how to make slime or are you looking for new ways to make it? Making slime is one of my kids’ favourite things to do. They could sit at the table for hours and play with it. If you think there is just one way to make slime, you’re wrong. There are multiple ways to make it and just as many ways to play with it!

How to Make Slime Not Sticky

Once you’ve made your slime, you don’t want it to be sticky. You don’t want it sticking to your table, hands, and everything else. Once slime sticks, it certainly is hard to unstick!

Knead the Slime

One way to get rid of the stickiness is to knead it. Think about flour and how when you knead it, it makes it less sticky. The same thing goes with slime.

Small Amount of Baby Oil

If you’re looking to unstick the slime, then a tiny bit of baby oil will do the trick. You don’t want it slime to get super oily though. Keep this in mind as you add the baby oil to the slime. One drop at a time.

Drop or two of Contact Solution

If you’re using a recipe that uses contact solution and it’s still too sticky, you can add a drop or two more of contact solution.

How to Make Slime Stretchy

Has your slime become a blob that just sits there and doesn’t do anything? Slime is a lot more fun when it’s stretchy! If you’re wondering how to make your slime stretchy again, it’s time to follow these tips.

Hot top water

When it comes to making slime stretchy, hot tap water can do the trick. Just soak the slime in the hot tap water if it’s become too hard. This will breathe new life into it.

Small amount of lotion

Have hard slime that doesn’t stretch? Consider a small amount of lotion in the slime. A really small amount of lotion does the trick, so don’t add much more than that.

Take the time to move it around and see if it stretches.

How to Ensure Your Slime is Not Runny

If your slime is runny, that is no fun! There are actually ways in which you can make slime not so runny. One of those tips is to add in a thickening agent.

For example, runny slime may need liquid glue to be added to it or a small amount of borax. Depending on what slime recipe you used, this will determine what you add to it to make it not runny.

Also, keep in mind that it does take some trial and error. Start with small amounts to see if this helps.

Classic Slime Recipe

What is considered a classic slime recipe is one that uses borax and glue. There are many ways to make the recipes more exciting by adding in glitter, confetti, or like the instant snow in the unique recipe below.

Slime Without Borax

Don’t have borax on hand? No worries! You can totally make slime without borax, you just need to know how. Borax is a thickening agent. So in order to create a slime without it, you’ll need to use another thickening agent.

Thickening agents out there are things that contain boric acid, sodium borate, or borax. Some of these products are liquid starch and eye drops! You’ll need to check the ingredient list to be sure they have one of those materials listed. They both work great for helping to make slime.

Other ways to make slime without borax include making it with shampoo or making edible slime.

Making Slime with Shampoo

If you have shampoo on hand, it can be the magic ingredient. Here are the steps for making slime with shampoo:

You will need a ½ cup of shampoo and a ¼ of a cup of cornstarch in a bowl.
You will want to mix this mixture up very well.
From there, you’ll add a teaspoon of water and stir. Slowly add in five more teaspoons of water.
To make the slime usable, you’ll want to knead the slime for about 5 minutes.

If the slime is too hard, you’ll want to add a little bit of water. If it’s too runny, you’ll want to add a little more cornstarch.

Making Slime with Contact Solution

Do you have contact solution on hand? It can be a perfect ingredient in making slime. You can look at contact solution as a slime activator.

To make contact solution slime, you’ll need a bottle of Elmer’s glue, baking soda, and contact solution, plus water if you like the slime a little stretcher. You can find an exact recipe for it here.

Not everyone wants to use their contact solution for this, but if you do, this recipe works great.

How to Make Fluffy Slime

Making your own fluffy slime isn’t as hard as it may seem. Who doesn’t love playing with beautiful and big fluffy slime?! The secret?

FOAM SHAVING CREAM!

YUP. I love that shaving cream is so cheap too! You can easily add foam shaving cream to the recipe and from there you can have some fun slime on your hands. I pick mine up from the dollar store. You can buy it in different scents which then results in a scented slime.

Making it scented is a great way to incorporate the olfactory sense into this sensory play.

Edible Slime

One of the latest trends is slime that is taste safe or edible. This Edible Shark Fluffy Slime is our favourite. There are many other edible slime recipes you can make that use ingredients such as pudding, candy, marshmallow fluff, icing, and Jello.

Ensuring that Slime is Safe

When you’re making sensory play recipes with your kids, you need to make sure that they are safe. One of the rules to making slime safe is to make sure your kids don’t eat it.

There are ingredients in typical slime that don’t make it safe to eat. Kids who have sensitive skin can also react to it when it comes in contact with their skin. You can instead use an edible recipe which will be safer for the skin and takes away the worry of toxicity.

If your kids have sensitive skin, they can also wear clothes and gloves while they make it and play with it.

Slime Ingredients

There are many different ingredients that can be used to make slime. These are some of the most common:

Styrofoam Balls for Slime Liquid Starch Elmer’s Liquid School Glue, Clear Elmer’s Liquid School Glue, White Saline Solution Shaving Cream Holographic Chunky Glitter Sequins

Why make slime?

Not only is slime a cool science lesson in chemistry, it is great for providing sensory input and it is good as a calming tool. For kids (or adults) who are struggling with anxiety, it provides a stress reducing effect. It can be used like a stress ball, but that’s not the only way that it is calming.

Slime engages both the visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Proprioception (also sometimes called heavy work) is very effective in calming as it provides much needed feedback to the body.

Depending on the type of recipe you use, there may also be other sensory systems such as olfactory (smell) engaged with this type of sensory play as well. You can find some fun ways to play with your slime here.

Our Favourite Slime Recipes

Black Glitter Slime Easy Recipe

Bug Slime without Borax

Milky Slime Recipe

Christmas Nativity Slime

Cool Camo Fluffy Slime

Spider Slime Recipe: Just Like A Spider Web

Dino-riffic Dinosaur Slime

Easter Fluffy Slime

slime that has coloured mini beads and small bunny toys in it

Easy Easter Slime Recipe

Edible Shark Fluffy Slime

Fall Leaves Slime

blue slime with a yellow toy fish and a green and red toy fish in it

Fluffy Fish Slime

Frozen Inspired Elsa Slime

thumb pulling blue slime filled with confetti

Fun Birthday Slime Recipe

Glow in the Dark Slime with Glitter

Googly Eye Monster Slime

Hallowe’en Sensory Game

Holiday Scented Christmas Tree Slime

How to Make Pumpkin Slime

Mardi Gras Slime

Minnie Mouse Slime

Peppermint Scented Slime Recipe

Rainbow Confetti Party Slime

Santa Slime Christmas Gift Idea

Simple Hallowe’en Slime

finger presses into an air bubble in shamrock slime to get at a gold coin

St. Patrick’s Clear Slime

St. Patrick’s Day Fluffy Slime

Stretchy Butterfly Slime

an almost opaque white slime with red round confetti and bright green tree shaped confetti is seen held in a hand with only the thumb visible

How To Make Stretchy Slime

hand presses into blue slime with coloured confetti in it

Stretchy Superhero Slime

Textured Butter Slime

Timon Inspired Lion King Slime

Unicorn Fluffy Slime

Valentine’s Day Fluffy Slime

Valentine’s Day Slime

Do you enjoy making slime? What’s your favourite thing about it?

Looking for more great sensory play recipes? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Rainbow Playdough Colour and Counting Game

By Sharla Kostelyk

Kids learn best through play. The simplest things can sometimes be the most effective. This rainbow playdough colour and counting game is an example of just that. $a rainbow made of playdough on a pink wood background with coloured buttons and red and white dice on it. The text reads "Rainbow Playdough Math and Colours Game"$ This is easy to set up, inexpensive, and yet covers several important concepts for preschoolers. It’s fun and engaging, so they don’t even realize that they’re learning as they play. Using some of the same supplies, you can also create the Rainbow Playdough Fine Motor Activity.

By participating in this sensory activity, children can practise counting and colour sorting. They can also learn the order of the colours in the rainbow. This may expand into them exploring the science of how rainbows are formed.

Rainbow Playdough Colour and Counting Game:

Supplies:

playdough in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple*
assorted colours of buttons
dice
colour block dice

*You can purchase Play Doh in the assorted colours or make your own. If you can’t find indigo coloured playdough, you can mix blue and purple in equal proportions.

Directions:

Invite your child to roll each colour of the playdough into long ropes.
After the ropes have been formed, encourage your child to arrange them in the order of the colours of the rainbow.
Set out a colour block dice and a regular dice along with buttons of assorted colours.
Have them roll both dice.
Invite your child to press the number and colour of buttons indicated by the dice into the rainbow. For example, if your child rolls a red on the colour block dice and a number 3, they should add 3 red buttons to the red section of the rainbow.
If playing with two players, take turns.

Sensory and Learning Opportunities:

Sensory – The game provides visual, tactile, and proprioception sensory input.

Communication – As children discuss their rolls, talk about colours, and ask about the colour placement in the rainbow, they expand their vocabulary and their communication skills.

Fine motor – Rolling out the playdough and placing it into order, picking up the small buttons and placing them on the proper colour, and picking up the dice all require fine motor skills, particularly placing the buttons on the corresponding colour.

Math – Kids can practise their counting skills using both the dice and the math manipulatives (buttons).

Science – You can use this activity as part of a rainbow unit study in a preschool or homeschool. If children want to expand their interest in how rainbows are made, they can explore using books or watching videos online.

Light: Shadows, Mirrors, and Rainbows Chasing Rainbows Rainbow In My Room Night Light Projector Grimm’s Rainbow Wooden Nesting Puzzle Rainbow How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow

You may be interested in these other preschool activities:

Rainbow Playdough Fine Motor Activity

Texture Balloon Match Up

Printable Pirate Emotion Mats

Why Kids Need Positive Affirmations

By Sharla Kostelyk

Kids need positive affirmations. As parents and teachers, we know the importance of children getting the nutrition, hydration, sleep, and exercise that they need. While those things are crucial for their physical survival, positive affirmations are just as important for their emotional and mental well being.

What you put into your child is what you’re going to get out of your child. If they only hear negative comments about themselves, they will actually begin to display more and more of those negative traits.

Think of how awesome you feel when someone gives you a compliment. Your children also feel that in their soul. When they’re young, they derive so much of their own identity from their parents. They are watching and listening to you even when you don’t realize it. They need you to be their biggest cheerleader.

Kids Need Positive Affirmations to Gain Confidence

A child with confidence feels as though they can take on the world. When the adults in their life are speaking powerful words into them, they feel more capable and will be more willing to take on new challenges.

Positive affirmations are more than just a trendy idea. They contribute to growth mindset and help form who your child believes they can be.

You are your child’s inner dialogue. This means they are going to believe what you have to say about them. If you say they are big, strong, and amazing, then they are going to believe just that.

Repeated Positive Affirmations Help Kids with Their Inner Dialogue

Children need to hear over and over again what makes them unique and how thankful you are that they are in the world. You are competing against a world where social media and media in general is sending them the message that they aren’t good enough. They don’t measure up.

For that reason, you need to be speaking the opposite of that often enough and powerfully enough to drown out the lies.

Our children, whether they know it or not, are looking to us to be their cheerleaders. Are you using your words to build your child up?

“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner dialogue.” ~ Peggy O’Mara

You’ve probably heard this quote before, but I’d ask you to read it again and really let it sink in. Are the words that you are speaking into your child now the ones that you want them to be speaking to themselves in twenty years? It’s a sobering thought.

On the one hand, it’s daunting to consider how harmful our words can be and the pressure that is on us not to mess our kids up. The truth is, no parent is perfect. We’re all going to say things we shouldn’t. But you can counteract some of the effect of the regretful things you’ve said to your child by pouring in the positive.

It’s never too late to start.

With that, I’ll leave you with one more quote:

“Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.” ~ Brooke Hampton

Speak encouraging, life giving words into your child each day. Inspire them to speak to themselves and others using similar language.

These unicorn affirmation colouring pages are an adorable and fun way to reenforce these concepts for your child. They include the following positive affirmations:

I am confident.
I am happy.
I am kind.
I am brave.
I am patient.
I am loved.
I am a good friend.
I am proud of myself.
I am safe.
I am awesome.

You can download your printable unicorn affirmation pages for kids to colour by submitting your email below.