Create Your Own Happy: happiness-boosting activities for 7-11 year olds

As my kids are getting older, I’m finding that less of the time I spend looking after them is focused on doing ‘stuff’ for them, and more time is spent helping them to grow and develop emotionally.  As a parent, it’s all a bit of a learning curve – like every other aspect of having kids I guess! – and it feels like we’re exploring this whole new area of growing up together.  Is it the same for you?

I’m always singing the praises of physical activities for kids, but I also think it’s so important to help kids look after their emotional health – especially in today’s crazy digital world.  Which is why I’m absolutely thrilled that my two blogging pals Becky and Penny have written a book that aims to do just that.

Create Your Own Happy is a modern, practical and fun activity book for 7-11 years olds.  It’s packed with creative activities designed to boost happiness and explore emotional wellbeing.

I love the fact that every activity has research-backed explanations of how and why it works.  Kids are just as interested in the ‘why’ as adults, and understanding the science behind an activity really helps them to see why it’s worthwhile.  The tone is lively and fun, and the layout is bright and engaging – perfect for the target age range.

The book is divided up into three chapters.  Chapter One explores activities around building your own happiness, Chapter Two covers activities that spread kindness and happiness to others, and Chapter Three is packed with creative actions for a happier world.  Kids can complete it in order, or dip in and out of it – there’s no ‘right’ way to use it, which I really like.  My seven year old is working her way through it from front to back, while my eleven year old is flicking through and finding things that interest him.

I’m so pleased we’ve got this book.  I think it’s a brilliant resource to have on-hand for those inevitable times when my kids struggle with emotions and need a boost.  I also think it’s a cracking activity book that will spark imaginations and encourage some lovely happy family time.  I’m enjoying it just as much as the kids!

Here’s the link to the book if you’d like to order a copy.

To celebrate the book’s launch, Becky and Penny have organised a virtual book tour.  For each day of the tour, a blogger will be previewing an activity from the book, so you can find out more about the different tools and ideas and maybe have a go yourself.  Yesterday, Colette from We’re Going on an Adventure had a go at ‘Learn to Relax’, and here’s a list of all the bloggers taking part:

It’s my turn to host the book tour today, and we’ve chosen a lovely nature activity from Chapter Three: ‘Create New Life with Seed Bombs’.

This activity is described as ‘a fun and peaceful way to bring life and colour back to gloomy patches of land’, which sounds like a really happy thing to do, doesn’t it?

Seed bombs are basically little balls of clay, soil and flower seeds.  You chuck them onto a bare patch of earth, and wait to see what grows – it’s really that simple.  We love the way they combine a bit of crafting with gardening, and they’re a perfect green-fingered activity for kids to get stuck into.

Spring and autumn are the best time to drop seed bombs, so now is an ideal time to have a go.  The book tells you what materials you will need and how to make your seed bombs, with really simple, clear instructions.  Obviously, you can choose whatever flower seeds you like, but it’s a good idea to go for varieties that like being planted at the time of year you’re making your seed bombs.  Check the seed packet if you’re not sure.  We went for a wildflower seed mix.

To make your seeds bombs, you mix one handful of seed, three handfuls of potter’s clay powder, and five handfuls of peat-free compost in a bowl, then add some water a little bit at a time until everything starts to stick together.  We used actual clay rather than clay powder and water, and it worked fine that way too.

Once the mixture was nice and sticky, we took small amounts and rolled them into balls with our hands.  It’s a bit like baking cookies!

Then we laid out seed bombs out to dry for a few hours.

Once the seed bombs are dry, they’re ready to drop; ours have gone in the garden borders, they could definitely do with a bit of a lift after the hot summer months!

The kids really loved this hands-on activity, and it definitely created some feel-good emotions.  It was also a great opportunity to chat with them about looking after the planet, and how your environment can have a big impact on how you feel.  An all-round big success 🙂

Don’t forget that you can check out lots of other activities from Create Your Own Happy by popping over to the other blogs in the tour – tomorrow it’s Amanda from The Ana Mum Diary’s turn with ‘Use music to change your mood’.  You can also join in with the #CYOHappy hashtag on social media for lots of lovely happy inspiration.

What’s your favourite way to create your own happy?

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Disclaimer: we received a copy of ‘Create Your Own Happy’ for review purposes.  All comments and opinions are honest and genuine.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission from that sale.