Teaching Children the Importance of Good Deeds: A New Easter Tradition {Carrot Saves Easter Book Review}

Since becoming a mother over 5 years ago, it's been important to me to not only teach my children the ABCs and 123s, but also teach them practical skills, values, ethnic and religious heritage, and instill in them a sense of identity and belonging. Through our family's traditions, my children are not only learning all of these things, but are forming lasting memories for years to come.

What are our family traditions? 

Well, each October a "Halloween Ghost" visits us for 31 days and leaves a little treat behind (yes, each day). In November we trace our hands, cut them out, and write one thing we are thankful for on the back, then hang our "leaves" on our "thankfulness tree" built out of branches we find in the yard. In the winter, we donate toys to children in need, and cut down our own tree at the local farm. At Christmastime, our Elf Sparkle brings us a Christmas book to read each day, and leaves a new version of The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve each year.

We have smaller traditions and rituals like having pizza every Friday night, going out for dessert on Thursday evenings, and reading exactly 3 books before bed.

A new tradition
Today I'm sharing a new book, Carrot Saves Easter, that will inspire our newest family tradition.

Created by a local Philadelphia mother of two and speech pathologist, Amanda Macielinski , Carrot Saves Easter teaches children about the importance of doing good deeds. While the book is about Easter, it isn't overtly a religious story. The creator's intent with writing the book is to bring families closer through a new tradition, and hopes that families enjoy reading all of their good deeds together, year after year.

The tale of a bunny helper

The story of Carrot Saves Easter takes place on Easter Island where a magical factory relies on kindness to help make sweet treats for little boys and girls to eat on Easter. But a problem arises when the Easter Bunny realizes the supply of good deeds is running low! A bunny helper named Carrot comes to Easter's rescue by traveling far and wide to bring stories of good deeds back to Easter Island.  

Each copy of the book comes with its own bunny helper like Carrot, who reports back to the Easter Bunny all the good deeds that your child does during the Easter season. Children are encouraged to "Each night before Easter tell your bunny helper the good deeds you have done" so that Easter can be saved year after year. There is a journal in the back of the book to record all of your child's acts of kindness.

What do I love about this book?

• It provides great talking points for parents and children to discuss what it means to be a kind person, perform selfless acts, and why these things are important. Discussions like these are important for receptive and expressive language development.
• It's a book that truly encourages parent and child bonding time in an age of technology 
• It gives specific examples of children doing good deeds.
• It provides the opportunity for children to practice writing skills with the inclusion of the journal.
• It makes a wonderful family keepsake to look back on each year.
• It's a sturdy and well-made product! The book will withstand being a favorite and the bunny helper is high quality to withstand cuddles from any child for many years. 

In addition to my being a fan of the book, my children really enjoyed reading it too. The illustrations are full of vibrant colors, and include one hidden egg on each page (which my children thoroughly enjoyed finding). This book inspired my daughter to make me breakfast in bed one morning (it was not yummy at all, but so cute), and I'm very impressed at my daughter's desire to do good deeds. My son is younger and only beginning to understand what it means to be a "good" person, but I know this book will help him this year and in the future!

If you'd like to adopt your very own bunny helper and make this new Easter tradition a part of your family, books can be purchased online at www.carrotsaveseaster.com, and at the King of Prussia Mall at Layla's Boutique. 

The 25 Books of Christmas: A Holiday Tradition

This holiday (and hopefully years to follow, too) I've decided to partake in a new tradition: The 25 Books of Christmas.

I didn't make it up.  I read about it in a book called The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays & Everydays(which I highly recommend), and since then have actually seen the idea floating around on some other blogs as well.  Here's the tradition in a nutshell:

1). Select 25 holiday (or Christmas) themed books
2). Wrap them
3). Beginning on Dec. 1st, give one book to your child every day until Christmas
4). After Christmas, you put the books away until year

Easy. 

We have a bunch of holiday-themed books already.  But, not 25.  And when I told my husband that I wanted to start this tradition, he gave me a "what? we're buying 25 more books?" look.  Well, he might have actually said that. We're not BUYING 25 books, I explained.  Merely wrapping some we already have, and wrapping some library books as well.  (Although I couldn't promise that I wouldn't purchase one or two new books here or there - I mean, how can I pass up some of those deals in TJ Maxx?)

I also decided that I wanted to make the tradition not only educational, but fun as well. 

So we have some classics:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
The Night Before Christmas

I've also thrown in some coloring books (they are fun AND cheap), some religious books like:
My Very First Christmas

Some character books like:
Merry Christmas, Splat (Splat the Cat)
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas

We even have a First Look and Find: Merry Christmas!book.

I'm very excited to see how it turns out!  And I'm excited to see what books we can find at the library.  I will be presenting baby bookworm with The Night Before Christmas Recordable Story (Hallmark)that I recorded the day before I delivered her (her birthday is in December).  I think that's kinda cool, and I'm hoping she'll appreciate it one day!  I gave it to her on her very first Christmas Eve.  We have a video of her "reading" it at 3 weeks old with her aunt and daddy (only they didn't realize it was my voice on the recording until about 1/2 way through the book, which makes me chuckle).

I plan on keeping the books we own "special" by packing them away until the next holiday season.  I am also going to buy a journal so we can keep track of what books we read each year, and on what days.  I'm not sure how I feel about the "wrapping" part of this tradition, as I just wrapped a bunch of birthday presents last night for baby bookworm, and might have had my fill.  I'm thinking a "special" holiday bag reused 25 days in a row, might work just as well!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or nothing at all - I do hope this post inspires you to begin a special tradition of your own!   It is through these traditions, both formal and informal, that children gain an important sense of self and identity.

Thoughtful Thursday: Learning From Traditions

On this Thoughtful (Thanksgiving) Thursday, there's one other t-word on my mind....Tradition (and as I write "tradition" I can't help thinking of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, but I digress...). 

Since having baby bookworm a couple of short years ago, it's been important to me to not only teach her how to read, or how to count, or how to climb the stairs, but also to teach her practical skills, values, ethnic heritage, and a sense of identity and belonging. 

Today I am sure you are partaking in your own Thanksgiving traditions.  Whether that involves feeding the homeless at a local shelter, or making Thanksgiving day crafts, or saying a special prayer, or watching that big football game on TV, or eating a special dessert, or running in a Turkey Trot race - your child is learning some very valuable life skills that will help to define who he or she IS. 

And that's a pretty cool way to learn if you ask me.

I'm not sure if we have any "special" or deliberate traditions surrounding Thanksgiving.  We will be spending it at baby bookworm's grandparents.  It will be a small and traditional gathering.  But, I'm certain that she'll feel a sense of family and of love. 

There is one deliberate tradition that I would like to begin this holiday season, however, and it's one that happens to involve something I feel very passionately about - children's books!  So, on December 1st we will start a "25 books of Christmas" tradition.  It's certainly not new or original, but will be new to us.  I can't wait to share it with all of you.  More on how to create your own literary tradition to come....

Happy Thanksgiving!

What is your child learning through tradition today?