a Healthy Future

d and copyrighted

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rt of a larger set of

 6 years old. The set

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Important materials to have on hand: • Old magazines that can be cut up • Safety scissors • Glue

• Markers and paper • Odds and ends: buttons, yarn, cotton balls, scraps of cloth, etc.

How to use the cards:There is only one rule to this game: Listen and share.When to use the cards:Anytime is a good time, whenever you and your child have a few moments alone. The questions don’t have to take a lot of time to discuss and you can follow through with Try This at a later time.Tips: Pick a “My Feelings” card if your child is sad or hurt; or a “My Self” card to talk about all the wonderful things about him or her. Choose a “My Body” card if your child is not eating or sleeping well. Family issues, such as helping around the house, could call for a “My Family” card.

Talk About It:

What can you use to protect

your skin from the sun? What

kind of clothes should you wear?

How can you protect your eyes?

Where’s the best place to play

on a sunny day?

Try This:

Choose clothes to protect

yourself from head to toe on a

sunny day. Shop for proper

sunscreen and sunglasses.

Talk About It:

Tell me about the snacks you

like. Why do you like them?

What’s your favorite? Which

snacks could you make by

yourself? Which ones have to be

made for you? Are there snacks

on your list you should eat only

once in a while?

Try This

Help make a menu of snacks for

1 week. Cut out magazine

pictures to make your menu.

Label your menu pictures. Learn

how to make your favorite snack;

practice until you can make it

yourself.

Talk About It:

Where outside do you like to

play? Where are the safest

places to play outside? How do

you know? What do you do

outside that makes your arms

stronger? What do you do

outside that makes your legs

stronger? What can you do that

helps your heart beat faster?

Do you like to play by yourself or

with someone else? With whom?

Try This:

List things you could do outside. Try one of these things each week.

Talk About It:

How often do you brush your

teeth? When do you brush your

teeth? Do you know how to floss

your teeth? Have you ever

visited a dentist? What did he

or she do to take care of

your teeth?

Try This:

Look at your teeth in a mirror.

Draw a picture of your face and

show a great big, toothy smile.

Tell someone how you care for

your teeth. Ask her/him to write

your instructions under your smiling picture.

Talk About It:

Do you like to perform? Tell me

about it. Do you like to perform

alone or with a group? Who is

your favorite performer? Tell

me why.

Try This:

Dress up and perform for

friends, family, or the mirror.

Talk About It:

How do you feel when you win?

When you lose? What do you do

when you win? When you lose?

What would you do to feel OK

about losing? What could you do

to help a friend feel OK about

losing to you?

Try This:

Ask someone to play your

favorite game with you or teach

you a new game.

Talk About It:

What’s special about your

favorite storybook character?

What other book characters do

you like? Name one special thing

that you like about each. Make

up a story about you as your

favorite character.

Try This:

Go to the library to find books

about your favorite storybook

characters. Use clothes and art

supplies you can find around the house to dress up as your

favorite storybook character.

Act out a story for a friend or

your family.

Talk About It:

What are you good at? What do

you like to do? What do your

parents do at work? What is

important about their work?

Try This:

Draw yourself all grown up. How

will you change? What will you

be doing or wearing? Ask your

mother or father to lie down on

a big sheet of paper. Draw their

outline. Then, fill in the outline

to look like you all grown up.

Talk About It:

What hurts your feelings? How

do you look when your feelings

get hurt? How do you cheer

yourself up?

Try This:

Divide a piece of paper into 4

parts by folding the paper once

lengthwise and once crosswise.

Unfold it. Show someone hurting Wally’s feelings in the first

section. In the last 3 sections

show how Wally feels and what he did to cheer up.

Talk About It:

Tell me more about the things

that make you laugh. How does it

feel to laugh? How do you look

when you laugh? What can you

do to help others laugh? How

does it feel to make your friends

laugh?

Try This:

Play the “Ha-Ha” game with 4 to

5 other people. One person lies

down on the floor. The others lie

down, too, and put their heads

on the bellies of the connecting

people. See how long it takes for everyone to start laughing.

Talk About It:

What do you do when you feel

proud? Can you feel proud all by

yourself? Tell me about feeling

proud by yourself and feeling

proud because someone told you

that you did a good job.

Try This:

Tape, or ask an adult to help you

write, a story for “Family News

Hour.” Tell about a time when

you were proud of yourself. Tell

about what you did that made

you proud, who was involved, and

how you felt. Share your story

with your class or your family.

Talk About It:

Tell me how your body feels

when you are scared. When

might it be fun to be scared?

Tell me more. When you are

scared, what do you do to feel

safe again? When should you get

help if you are scared?

Try This:

Use magazines, your own

drawings, and things around the

house to create a collage of

scary things. Show this to a

friend or family member and ask

them to help you think of the

best ways to handle each scary

thing in your collage.

Talk About It:

How would you spend $5 in

the grocery store? How would

you spend $5 in the toy

store? If what you want costs

more than $5, you could.... If

you saved the $5, what would

you save it for?

Try This:

Go shopping and find out what

$5 can really buy. Cut out

from magazines or draw

pictures to make a “wish list”

of items to save for.

Talk About It:

When might you need to use the

phone to call for help? Who else

do you call? Why do you call

them? What phone numbers can

you remember? Emergency?

Information? Your best

friend’s? What numbers do you

want to learn by heart? Why?

Try This:

Write the names or draw

pictures of people whose

numbers you might call. Ask each

person to help you write their

phone numbers next to their

name. Put the list where it is

easy to see.

Talk About It:

When do you watch TV? How

much TV can you watch each

day? What is your favorite

program? Who watches it with

you? What do you do instead of

watching TV? Do you believe

everything you see on TV? What

do you know is real on TV? What

do you know is imaginary?

Try This:

Watch TV with a friend or

family member. Find all the real

and all the imaginary things you

can. Create a guide for other TV

watchers to help them know

what’s real and what’s imaginary

on TV.

Talk About It:

Why do you need to know about

the weather? How can weather

help you decide what to wear?

What is your favorite kind of

weather? Least favorite? If you

are outside, how can you tell if a

storm is coming? What should

you do?

Try This:

Check the sky. Then, watch the

TV weather forecast. Write

down the temperature and draw

pictures to show the weather.

Draw pictures of the best clothes to wear for the weather.

Talk About It:

What does it mean to celebrate?

How does your family celebrate

your birthday? What other

celebrations do you and your

family enjoy? What are your

favorite celebration foods?

Try This:

Buy Jello in rainbow colors. Make a layer of red Jello in clear glasses for each family member.

Add new layers in orange, yellow,

green, blue, and purple until you

have rainbow dessert for a

family celebration.

Talk About It:

How many people are in your

family? Say one thing about each

person, including you, that is

special. What would you like to

do with each person?

Try This:

Fill a flowerpot with dirt.

Decorate the pot with paints or

markers. Make flowers out of

paper, buttons, and pipe cleaners

for each person. Label with their

names. Make each flower

different. Plant the flowers in

your flowerpot and put it where

everyone can see it.

Talk About It:

What are your favorite things

you do with your family? What

would you like to do with your

family that you don’t do now?

How do you feel when you are

doing something with the family?

Try This:

Plan a surprise to celebrate

togetherness. You could:

• Plan a special dinner and help cook it. • Draw or paint a picture showing your favorite

family activity as a thank

you “card” for the family.

Post it in a place where

everyone will see it.

Talk About It:

What does each family member

do to help you? What can you do

to help each member of your

family? How do they help each

other?

Try This:

Make a coupon for each member

of your family offering to do

something special for them. Use

the coupons for special occa- sions or for anytime.

Talk About It:

Has a bully ever bothered you?

What happened? What could you

do if a bully threatens you?

Would you fight? Would you

walk away? Tell me why. Has

anyone ever helped you when a

bully threatened? What did they

do?

Try This:

Ask someone to help you decide

3 things you could do if a bully

threatens you or a friend. Practice with a friend what you

will say and how you will act. Act out your ideas for a parent

or teacher.

Talk About It:

Name things you would never do,

even if your friends were doing

them. Have you ever wanted to

say no to a friend but didn’t?

What happened? How can you

say no without hurting someone’s

feelings? Practice ways to say

no.

Try This:

Find 2 old socks, glue, buttons,

magic markers, and yarn. Make 2

puppets out of the socks. Make

faces on your hand puppets. Use

them to practice saying no to

friends without hurting feelings

or making enemies.

Talk About It:

What makes your friends special

to you? When do you get to play

with each of your friends? How

should you treat a friend? What

would you do if a friend were

sad or hurt? What is your

favorite thing to do with each of

your friends?

Try This:

Take photographs or draw

pictures of you and your friends

having fun together. Write short

captions for your pictures and

create a Gallery of Friends in your bedroom or in a photo album.

Talk About It:

What have you fought about

with a friend? How do you let

your friend know you are angry?

What can you say to let a friend

know that you want to make up?

Try This:

Find an old shoebox. Decorate

the box. Cut a hole in the top of

the box. On pieces of paper write things you can say or do to

make up with a friend and slip

them into the box. Pull an idea

out of your box the next time you fight with a friend.