• Big Heart World
    • About Big Heart World
    • Who’s Involved
    • Big Heart World FAQ
    • Big Heart World News
    • Contact Us
  • For Families
    • Big Heart Beats Album
    • Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast
    • Big Heart World Activities
    • The Big Heart World Book List
    • Big Heart World Vocabulary
    • Big Heart World Interactive
    • En Español
  • For Parents
    • Self-Care for Parents
    • Big Heart World Family Guide
    • Big Heart World Events
  • For Educators
    • Big Heart World Educators’ Guide
  • Blog
  • Big Heart World
    • About Big Heart World
    • Who’s Involved
    • Big Heart World FAQ
    • Big Heart World News
    • Contact Us
  • For Families
    • Big Heart Beats Album
    • Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast
    • Big Heart World Activities
    • The Big Heart World Book List
    • Big Heart World Vocabulary
    • Big Heart World Interactive
    • En Español
  • For Parents
    • Self-Care for Parents
    • Big Heart World Family Guide
    • Big Heart World Events
  • For Educators
    • Big Heart World Educators’ Guide
  • Blog
  • Big Heart World
    • About Big Heart World
    • Who’s Involved
    • Big Heart World FAQ
    • Big Heart World News
    • Contact Us
  • For Families
    • Big Heart Beats Album
    • Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast
    • Big Heart World Activities
    • The Big Heart World Book List
    • Big Heart World Vocabulary
    • Big Heart World Interactive
    • En Español
  • For Parents
    • Self-Care for Parents
    • Big Heart World Family Guide
    • Big Heart World Events
  • For Educators
    • Big Heart World Educators’ Guide
  • Blog
  • Big Heart World
    • About Big Heart World
    • Who’s Involved
    • Big Heart World FAQ
    • Big Heart World News
    • Contact Us
  • For Families
    • Big Heart Beats Album
    • Little Kids, Big Hearts Podcast
    • Big Heart World Activities
    • The Big Heart World Book List
    • Big Heart World Vocabulary
    • Big Heart World Interactive
    • En Español
  • For Parents
    • Self-Care for Parents
    • Big Heart World Family Guide
    • Big Heart World Events
  • For Educators
    • Big Heart World Educators’ Guide
  • Blog
Blog
Home Feelings Parenting With a Big Heart: Big Heart Summer
FeelingsFriendshipHelpingSocial Emotional
July 1, 2022 by Julia Levy

Parenting With a Big Heart: Big Heart Summer

Some families give balloons on the last day of school; in my family, we give binders. Starting a few years ago, on the last day of school, we started a family tradition of giving our kids a binder on the last day of school, full of summer challenges — activities that will motivate them to exercise their brains, hearts, and bodies through the hot summer months. 

From the beginning, my kids’ summer challenges included social and emotional challenges — fun activities that grow their hearts. Their heart activities included:  

  • Write 3 letters to friends or family
  • Make 3 new friends
  • Do 5 little things and 1 big thing to help other people and the planet
  • FaceTime or Zoom with 5 friends who are far away
  • Cook & taste foods from 5 different countries
  • Write 3 poems or songs expressing your feelings and ideas 

Working through a binder full of challenges might not be every kid’s cup of tea — but my kids love paging through their binders and looking for a new adventure, experiment, or project. They love checking things off the list that they’ve accomplished. And as a parent, I love it when they’re learning, trying new things, and growing their whole selves. 

What If Summer '22 Was a Big Heart Summer?

As we jumped into the summer of 2022, I started to wonder: What if we made this a Big Heart Summer for ALL of us and our little ones? Most parents today say that their top concern is making sure children are developing social and emotional skills — understanding themselves and others, being able to manage emotions, interacting with others, making friends, etc. What if our “summer challenges” this year were focused on heart: finding creative ways to grow big hearted kids and practice those all important skills that set us up for success in the world? 

This was how Big Heart Summer was born. It’s a creative workbook that families or caregivers can use with children this summer to spark fun, summertime learning, an exploration with our hearts that will help us use this time to understand ourselves and others just a little bit better. 

If you want, you can print this out and go through, page by page. More likely, you’ll want to pick the pages that speak to you — or adapt the ideas to your child’s needs and passions. Remember: Big Heart Summer should be fun, creative, and inspiring; it’s not homework!

In my family, this booklet is an instant hit. My youngest already made a postcard for his grandma — we just need to take it to the post office. My oldest is planning out a series of lemonade stands to raise money to help a friend who is sick. 

I hope that this can help you to grow YOUR littles’ big hearts this summer. Please share your experiences — or other great ideas you have to inspire families. 

15
Julia Levy is the executive director of Sparkler Learning, the organization producing Big Heart World. She's also the mom of two young children.
Celebrate Freedom While Introducing Your Child to Challenging Ideas This JuneteenthCelebrate Freedom While Introducing Your Child to Challenging Ideas This JuneteenthJune 13, 2022
Build a Kinder World With Your Child!September 1, 2022Build a Kinder World With Your Child!

Related Posts

FriendshipSocial Emotional
July 6, 2021 by Julia Levy

Parents Rank Kids’ Social and Emotional Learning As Top Priority for Coming School Year

Read More
FeelingsFriendshipHelpingSocial Emotional
July 1, 2022 by Julia Levy

Parenting With a Big Heart: Big Heart Summer

Read More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activity Rating




Archives
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
Categories
  • Books
  • Care
  • Children
  • Confidence
  • Data/News
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • empathy
  • Feelings
  • Friendship
  • Helping
  • Kindness
  • Learning
  • Music
  • Parenting
  • Playing
  • Race
  • relationships
  • Similarities and Differences
  • Social Emotional
  • Upstanding
contacts_icon_03

support@bigheartworld.org

Twitter Facebook-f Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Sparkler Learning. Portions of this website under license from ViacomCBS.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

 Site design by Craver.