Starting the New Year with Gratitude

Between school parties, too much sugar, and events almost every evening, it’s no wonder that a lot of kids and families feel stress around the beginning of the new year. If this season has drained you and your family, start your year by spending time practicing gratitude.

Spending time thinking about the good things in your life can make you healthier — in mind and body!

Gratitude helps:

• raise energy levels • boost self-esteem • build and improve relationships • reduce stress

But how do you get started?

Talk to your children about noticing the things that they are grateful for. Challenge them to come up with different things. Maybe today you ask them to think about people they’re thankful for. Tomorrow you might ask about their favorite things in the house or at school. Try to keep going with different topics and ask your kids for ideas too. It can be fun to think of all the different kinds of things that you enjoy. Start Your Own Tradition – There’s no right or wrong way to express gratitude! If what helps your family is to talk about what you’re grateful for while waiting for the school bus in the mornings, that’s great.

Join the Movement

Making It a Habit

Once you’ve started, keep it going! Now is the perfect time to start new habits to increase mental wellness.

Gratitude Journals – Write down a few things each day that you’re grateful for. This can be really meaningful to go back through later and remember what kinds of things you were grateful for a few weeks or months ago.

Sharing at Meals – Take a moment at the beginning or end of a meal together to name something each of you are grateful for. Grateful Jar – Encourage everyone in your house to write or draw something they’re grateful for on scraps of paper and put them in a jar or other see-through container in a central location. Take them out and read them together every few weeks or months.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

On Our Sleeves is on a mission to provide free, evidence-informed mental health resources and information to families in our community. By joining the movement, you'll receive even more resources to go along with our monthly content like free downloads and craft activities! Visit childrensdayton.org/ onoursleeves to learn more and join the movement today.

35 things TO DO THIS WINTER

IN SOUTHWEST OHIO

The temperature might be dropping, but there are lots of fun things to do this winter in our area.

THE GRAY DAYS OF JANUARY ARE HERE, BUT COLD TEMPS SHOULDN’T KEEP YOU STUCK AT HOME — ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THERE ARE SO MANY FUN THINGS TO DO IN SOUTHWEST OHIO DURING THE WINTER! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING FUN FOR THE FAMILY TO DO ON COLD DAYS, SNOW DAYS OR JUST ANY OL’ DAY, HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IN SOUTHWEST OHIO IN THE WINTER WITH KIDS.

Try out a family art class at the Weston Art Gallery or the Taft Museum of Art, both located in Cincy.

Go bowling! For a unique twist, try duckpin bowling at Pins Mechanical Company or Scene75 Cincinnati.

Take a road trip to visit a new-to-you children's museum. Cross state lines to visit The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, or keep it in-state by visiting the Akron Children’s Museum or Little Buckeye Children’s Museum in Mansfield.

Sign up for a kid-friendly food class, like the kids’ cooking classes offered at The Learning Kitchen in West Chester or The Little City Cooking School in Dayton. Have a family game night at the Play Library in Cincy, where you can choose from more than 1,00 games to play.

Head inside for a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf at Scene75 Dayton or Glowgolf in Cincy.

Take your little astronomers to the Cincinnati Observatory to tour the historic buildings and look through telescopes (weather permitting).

Heat up with a hot glass class. Neusole Glassworks in Forest Park offers a variety of classes for ages 5 years and older.

Lace up your skates and visit a local ice rink. Dine in an igloo. You’ll find them all around Southwest Ohio, including at Catch-a-Fire Pizza in Blue Ash and DeSha’s American Tavern in Cincy.

Reach new heights at an indoor climbing studio, like Mosiac in Loveland or Urban Krag Climbing Center in Dayton.

Burn some energy at an indoor playground, like Wonderland Playground in Cincy, Recreations Outlet in Milford or Kid Clubhouse in Springboro.

Make a splash at an indoor pool, like Goldfish Swim School or The Swim School at Kids First Sports Center.

Play and read at your favorite local library.

Enjoy a family movie and a meal at AMC Dine-In Anderson Towne Center 9 or Cinepolis Dayton.

Visit your favorite local museum and see what’s new. The Cincinnati Museum Center is always a good idea!

Visit a nature center, like the ones at Cincinnati Nature Center or Sharon Woods.

Work out your inner ninja by parkouring around an obstacle course at USA Ninja Challenge in Cincinnati.

Discover the wonders of an underwater world at Newport Aquarium.

Warm up with a cup of coffee and cuddles from adoptable kitties at Kitty Brew Cat Cafe in Mason.

Learn about the environment at the

Aullwood Audubon Center &

Farm.

Not afraid of the cold? Bundle up and visit your favorite outdoor playground. You might even get the playground to yourself if it's cold enough!

Learn about Ohio’s aviation and space history at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, or Cincinnati Museum Center’s Space Gallery.

Make tracks to Entertrainment Junction, home of the largest train display in the world.

Explore your neighborhood with your family by foot, or make it interesting by making it into a unique scavenger hunt around the city. Winter is the perfect time to learn to knit. Find sewing, knitting or crocheting classes for your kids, and maybe they will make you something warm to wear!

Go sledding at one of Southwest Ohio’s favorite sledding hills, like the ones at Summit Park and Stanbery Park.

Take a road trip to go snow tubing at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, located only 30 minutes from Cincy.

Have an old-fashioned tea party at the BonBonerie in Cincinnati or Communitea in Dayton.

Get creative and make a wearable piece of art at Kaleidoscope Colors & Co. in Cincinnati.

Take a 3+ hour trip north to try your hand at snow tubing at Boston Mills & Brandywine Ski Resorts in Peninsula, Ohio.

Treat your family to a fun sweet treat from a local bakery like La Puf in Beavercreek or Aglamesis Bro’s in Cincy.

Give back to our community by volunteering as a family. Family-friendly organizations like Life Food Pantry in Loveland and the Bethany House in Cincinnati need your help all year round.

Bundle up and enjoy a winter hike at your favorite local park.