Love Can Grow

What You Need:

• Seeds of Love worksheet
• Markers
• Small flower pots
• Seeds (sunflowers work well)
• Soil
• Spade
• Paper towels
• Cup or watering can, filled with water

What You Do:

1. Tell your child to look outside at the trees, flowers, and plants.
2. Ask, "What do these plants need to grow?" (Answer: water, sunlight, soil, etc.)
3. Ask your child what they need to grow. (Answer: food, water, sleep, love, care, etc.)
4. Explain that just like plants, people rely on attention and care for growth, and our feelings are the same way.
5. Tell your child that when we experience a positive feeling (such as love, peace, thankfulness, or joy) and pay attention to it and how it feels in our body, it is like we are watering this feeling (like we water a seed). Just like plants, this helps our positive feeling grow.
6. Say, "Let's give it a try!"
7. Guide your child to close their eyes and become as still as they can.
8. Ask them to imagine their favorite pet or stuffed animal, and to think of all the things they love about them.
9. Help your child notice where they feel the love or thankfulness in their body (i.e., in their heart, belly, etc.).
10. Ask your child to hold onto this feeling of love or thankfulness for some time, and to keep thinking of their loved one or stuffed animal.
11. Tell them to open their eyes. Ask what they notice and how they feel.
12. Explain that every time they feel a positive emotion, they should notice where it is in their body and soak it up (like a seed would soak up water to grow). Every time they do this, it helps the love grow inside them.
13. Show your child the Seeds of Love worksheet, and read through its instructions.
14. Work through the activity and plant seeds of love together!