My Favorite Children’s Books – great gift ideas!

These books are as much a gift for adults as they are for kids.  We keep many of these as coffee and side table books because they are great reminders for life – and I do pick them up!

No matter what is going on, when I read one of these books, I’m changed (if even a tiny bit) for the better.

So you may be looking through your holiday gift ideas and wanting to add some new reads into the mix.  I actually created this list (list is below – but let me tell you why this is way more than just a list and how to really use it to your and your family’s benefit).  I’ve shared this before in my Virtual Village coaching group and it was a big hit, and now I update the list every season …so let’s get to it!

Way more than just a book list – how to really use these to your benefit!

In my coaching, we work a lot on mindset – and if you’ve ever tried to work on your mindset and raising your awareness you know that it is a practice.  Having mental tools/inspiration/things integrated into your already busy, everyday life helps to keep the practice actually going.  I aim to help women have the life and wellness they desire with more intuition and less restriction and a big part of making that happen is by tuning in and strengthening that mind-body connection in a realistic way.

 

I know you don’t have 20 minutes to meditate each day – you need things that you can integrate into your life that will help remind you and strengthen those muscles — hello, children’s books!  We are already reading to them, let’s make the most of it!

 

So for us parents/aunts/uncles/caregivers, if we want to keep the energy calm in the house (our actual home AND in our actual body that we reside in) how do you think we do that?  By working to keep our energy calm, and teaching our little ones about their mind, emotions, body, and so on.  When they learn, we learn, and when we are learning they are learning.

I really treat parenting as a spiritual practice for me because nothing that has challenged me more, provided more opportunities for me to grow more patience, calm, and abundant thinking in my life than motherhood.

But we can learn these lessons in all sorts of ways, parenthood or not.  The key is to assess what you’re already doing in your daily life, what’s your routine like, what are some everyday tasks and look for opportunities to pair those tasks with practices/tools/things that help you be more of the person you want to be. 

• You have to do laundry but you also have a goal to read and learn more often?  Turn your laundry to-do into an event for your senses and mind – listen to an audible book and diffuse some essential oils (suddenly laundry became a little more enjoyable and you’re doing something for yourself).
• You read to your children everyday?  Integrate books about what you want to do, be, bring more into your life into your child’s library — suddenly you’re getting subtle reminders of what you want to attract AND your child is learning alongside you.

An example of how these book lessons play out in real-life.

My kids know, when I get really frustrated, about to blow (let’s face it sometimes I do boil over) it is not uncommon for me to say “Mommy needs to take some magic breaths” a beautiful practice we’ve all grown to do illustrated and detailed in the children’s book by Nick Ortner, “My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing”.  This is just one of the many books I’ve outlined in my favorite children book reads that includes a special emphasis on mindfulness, emotions, movement, and finding joy in each day.  I actually excuse myself from the room and go and take some breaths.  And yes, oftentimes the kids follow me anyways (so much for space, right?) and watch me, closely – wondering if my cheeks will remain red with frustration.  But you know what?  I want them to see mommy get frustrated and know how to handle it, tune into my body, and see that it can be OK.

Best children’s books on mindfulness, emotions, movement, and finding joy.

Ok, ready for the list?  I actually just updated it with a few new reads that we’ve added in the last month!  Be sure to check back as the list will always grow.

Here you go – full access to my Favorite Children Book Reads with special emphasis on mindfulness, emotions, movement, and finding joy in each day!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!  I really do want to hear – happy reading my friends!