Hively Provider Book Club

Wednesday, 3 August 2022

Hively offers regular workshops, classes, and training to help child care providers develop their skills as small business owners, child development experts, and compassionate caregivers.

This includes Hively’s Childcare Provider Book Club! Every Wednesday from 1:00-1:30pm, Hively has a guest reader who reads a children’s book to a group of child care providers and we discuss the book together. Providers discuss their thoughts, how they can implement the book into their centers, and what they can teach their children in connection with each book.

Hosted by our Training and Inclusion Coordinator, Hively’s Childcare Provider Book Club introduces a range of diverse topics including inclusion, emotions, representation, disability, meditation/mindfulness and more!

At the end of the month, Hively provides childcare providers with a copy of their favorite children’s book to help providers build their children’s library while also providing them with the tools to implement the book into their child care program.

This week Karen Brace, Hively’s Communications Specialist, read Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller.

The content of this book is as follows: “When a young girl named Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better and remember that Mom always says ‘Be Kind.’

But what does it mean to be kind?

As the child ponders everything from asking a new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving and thoughtful story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference- or at least help a friend.”

Key takeaways from our Provider Book Club discussion included the following:

• The book focuses on the perspective of a child and how to figure out ways to be kind towards others (e.g., friend who spilled something on their shirt).
• The child in the book asks, “What does it mean to be kind anyway?” The book then proceeds and provides examples (e.g., making cookies for someone else, helping, paying attention to those around us).
• The book emphasizes that being kind should be easy, but it can also be difficult. Sometimes it can be tricky to know what to do in certain situations. The child in the book explains that maybe she couldn’t solve her friend’s problem when she spilled something on their shirt but “maybe all [she] can do is sit by her.” This is a great way to explain to kids that sitting with someone and being there for them is enough.
• Small acts can lead to bigger events.
• You never know how big of a difference being kind to someone can make in their day. Everyone has different experiences and events they go through everyday and a small act of kindness can make a big difference.
• Learning more about the 5 love languages can help us recognize the different needs we personally have, as well as the needs of those individuals in our life (friends, family, partners, etc…). The love languages can help us recognize an effective way to show kindness in an intentional way.
• Sharing kindness can create happiness within ourselves and others. We can take actions to be happier, kinder, together.

Check out a read aloud of the book below:

The activity sheets provided here can also be used along with the book to further discuss and teach kindness to children.

• Kindness Quilt
• Acts of Kindness Reflection Worksheet

Lastly, here is a fun music video to share with kids to further discuss kindness.

If you are a childcare provider in the Tri-Valley (Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Sunol) and would like to join Hively’s Provider Book Club, please contact hello@behively.org for further information.

About the Author:

Hello, my name is Karely! I am the Training and Inclusion Coordinator at Hively. One of my roles at Hively includes facilitating and sharing resources for Hively’s Provider Book Club.

In addition to the Provider Book Club, I help and support childcare providers in the Tri-Valley (Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Sunol) with inclusion services for their child care programs.

If you are a childcare provider in the Tri-Valley and are interested in inclusion services for your childcare program and/or you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to hello@behively.org Thank you!