Review: Character Kits by Happy Heart Kid

I am big on character education.  Not only teaching my kids what character traits are and using them to work through challenges, but making our experience learning about “good character” fun, engaging, and meaningful.

There are many educational kits out there for kids today – science kits, craft kits, gardening kits, you name it.  I’m very excited to introduce a new kit that’s on the market which is focused on helping kids develop character.

Archana is one of the founders of Happy Heart Kid, the company developing these kits.  Here she’s answering some questions about their kits, now available through a Kickstarter Campaign (watch a video and find out more there!):

Update: Get the latest info on the Happy Heart Kid website!

The Interview

Chelsea: Tell us about why you created Happy Heart Kid.

Archana: Happy Heart Kid came about through many conversations with parents and caregivers over the course of a year. We came to know these parents and caregivers while volunteering as teachers in neighborhood character building classes. Together with parents we observed that apart from the weekly children’s class, they found themselves only talking about character skills such as empathy, courtesy, respect and perseverance when they are reacting to bad behavior. Over time the relationship children have with their parents or caregivers around these positive attributes are correlated only with bad behavior or behavior management. Or worse yet any dialogue about the development of good character comes is affiliated with “getting a talking to”. In our class, at least once a week children were learning about these character skills through a joyful, fun, creative and laughter filled environment.

What if play time at home was also a space where parents and children engaged in meaningful dialogue, reflected with each other about these particular character traits? We asked ourselves what if we created a kit that provided all materials, stories and games for parents to engage their children in joyful conversations about these character traits.

Chelsea: What do you hope children and families will gain through your kits?

Archana: We hope children and families will find these kits as useful resources, we hope that it can add to their every day play time at home.

Chelsea: Will you describe the items that are included in each kit?

Archana: Our team has defined four components for each kit that cater to the different cognitive learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Each component progressively deepens the understanding of the character trait for that box from concept to action:

Activity Book– a coloring workbook to introduce the trait, as well as Caleb and his learning adventures
Create & Explore– an engaging craft activity that parents can use to prompt meaningful discussions
Imaginative Play– games and role-playing that spark self-expression, originality, and creativity
Connect & Share– a fun hands-on project to promote further exploration of the trait and encourage real-life application

Chelsea: What ages of children are the kits appropriate for?

Archana: These kits are for 4-8 year olds. 4 year olds would need more parent involvement while the older 7/8 year olds will be able to go through the materials with more independence. However our kits are designed to have meaningful parent child interaction and dialogue around the character skills featured in each box. We add helpful hints and additional suggested activities that parents can do to deepen the dialogue with their children.

Chelsea: How can people purchase your kits and stay in touch for future news?

Archana: Right now we are running a kickstarter campaign which you can learn about by clicking here.  From there you can purchase the Empathy Kit and Manners Kit – and find out more about the development of the Happy Heart Kid materials.

You can also stay in touch with Happy Heart Kid by signing up for the newsletter, or joining up on Facebook or Instagram.

Wouldn’t this make a fabulous gift for your kids or another family?  

Thank you to Happy Heart Kid for sending me a kit for our family to explore (you may have seen some of our photos on Instagram).  To find out more about advertisement and reviews on my website please click here.