I just enjoyed some watermelon. Did you know that a small watermelon seed grows to 200,000 times its size? It creates a beautiful green patterned skin with delicious pink and white food inside! It is such an amazing world!

Today, you might like to get outdoors and do something together as a family – like go for a walk and look for insects, animals, different types of trees, leaves or building styles or take some photos.

Today make time to enjoy a relaxing stroll where you can appreciate and look for anything that takes your interest.

OR

You could walk by yourself in your back yard or front yard and look at something you haven’t noticed before. Draw it, photograph it, write about it, and then share it with your family. I wonder what you will discover?

You can get hold of our audiobook, The Amazing Adventures of Doug Dragster online and find out how we got happier.

What is your favourite storybook and why?

Who was your favourite character? Are you a bit like one of the characters in the book?

Everyone can share this! If you like you can download the free children’s picture ebook where Sid Gets Scared.

‘I was thinking, it would be fun to create a crazy story about what the future might be like if we could only communicate on a computer or electronically.  It might be like living on another planet, having buttons all over our bodies that we could push for food, water, music or whatever we want. What would your crazy world be like? 

Ask each person in your family to describe their fantasy world. You could play the story creation game where one person starts the story and then they pass it to another who adds their part. The then next person adds something else. That really gets to be a “crazy” mixed up story!

For example, a person might say,

‘I went to the store”.

Person 2 may add “I went to the store, I saw a cat”

Person 3 starts to make it interesting by saying, “I went to the store, I saw a cat, the cat had two heads”.

Then keep going until you can’t stop laughing!

See if you can get these ones.

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Luke
Luke who?
Luke out!

OR

Knock knock
Who’s there
Lettuce
Lettuce who?
Lettuce in, it’s cold out here!

My favorite riddle is:  What would you have if your dragster engine was on fire?    (A fire engine, of course!)

I make up my own jokes but there are several places you can go to get new jokes. You can check these out for fun family-friendly jokes:

• Fun Kids Jokes
• Jokes for Kids

Maybe you would like to start a RIDDLE Journal.  If you do, share some of your riddles with us, will you?  

Get a soft ball, one that won’t hurt you, and ask others to join you in a circle.  Roll the ball gently to each other. As the ball comes to you, name something that is bothering you or that you are missing by staying at home. Then as you roll the ball to another person, say, something good about today. Each person does this as the ball comes to them and then replies with something good about today when they roll it to the next person.

Daisy, Doug, Sid and I used to play this, and we started laughing at all the things we thought were bothering us. They really didn’t matter when we started having fun together. 

Play this game with your family if someone starts to feel upset. If you listen to each other and come up with something good about the day, no matter what the problem, my guess is that you will start thinking about more good things than bad.  Family games can help all of us feel happier.

When we help ourselves or someone else feel a bit better, we are travelling on the SUPPORTING and ENCOURAGING Roads.

Print out these 2 posters, decorate them and stick them on the wall as a reminder of how to get happier!