We survived January! It always feels like an accomplishment because January seems so drawn out. Thankfully the days are getting longer and we have some snow to keep the toddler somewhat busy. I’m still itching for spring and the time to change back to “normal” though.

But on to February and Valentine’s Day!

I’m doing a few things this year. First of all, I’m putting a heart on E’s door every day leading up to Valentine’s Day. I’ll write something we love about him each day so when he wakes up he can see it. Just a little something to remind him how much we care.

I won’t do it for baby B this year. I’ll just give him one heart that says we love him (because we do!)

The other thing I’m doing is a Kindness Bear.

We are struggling with being kind. I know it’s just toddlerhood but it’s never too early to start thinking about doing good things. I’m also getting tired of reminding E to use kind words or a nice (non-whiny) voice.

The idea of the Kindness Bear is that when I catch him doing something kind he gets to put a heart on the bear.

For E I will be looking for simple things like giving his brother a toy, asking for something in a nice way or putting something away without being asked (or only being asked once). Mostly it’s just positive reinforcement of good behaviour, but it focuses on being kind. I’m also hoping I can use it to remind him when he isn’t being kind that we want hearts for our bear!

I have a printed bear with paper hearts ready to go (the printable is below 👇). The bear will be on the fridge and I will keep the hearts accessible to give to E when he’s done something kind.

I’m not sure if we’ll do it until just Valentine’s Day or the end of the month, we’ll see how it goes.

In the end, I’m hoping it will help remind E about being kind to others. It’s hard when you’re little. E has a very bossy personality, which can be good if used in the right way but I want him to learn how to tell people what he wants kindly!

And what better time to show people you care than around Valentine’s Day? I mean we should do it at any time but especially now.

So that is my plan for the beginning of February. Loving on my kids and helping them be kind to others. With any luck, spring will be around the corner and I’ll be able to come out of hibernation!

So if you need a little kindness activity for your kids this month, check this one out!