Review: Affies4Kids Resources (Teach Children Positive Self Talk)

Update: All videos can now be found on the Affies4Kids youtube channel.

I am always looking for new materials that will help me add character building into my family’s daily routine, so I was very excited when I learned about Affies4Kids.

Affies4Kids is a multimedia company that encourages parents and teachers to find five minutes each day to help their children develop a positive inner voice.  Their interactive program helps to teach children positive self talk, and offers engaging materials to help with this aim.

Subscribing to Affies4Kids means you get access to 8 digital stories, each including an ebook, song video and video book, plus printable activity pages and parenting cards.  Depending on your child’s developmental stage and how you would like them to interact with the materials, there is a wide range of possibilities for kids between 3 and 5 years old.

By using some of the materials each day and practicing the affirmation (such as “I am a good listener” or “I am kind”), children along with their parents/teachers can begin the journey of using affirmations for creating positive self image and change from within.

My boys and I are loving the Affies4Kids materials – the stories are appealing, the music is catchy, and the parenting cards make it easy to build deeper conversations and action around each one.  I really like how the materials are also online (and printing is optional) so we are not cluttering our space with more *stuff* or using up the earth’s natural resources.

Ebook – Song Video – Story Video

Update: All videos can now be found on the Affies4Kids youtube channel.

For each lesson there are several ways to learn the story: an ebook, a song video, and a story video.  The stories feature animal characters facing a challenging situation and using the quality from the intended affirmation to help them through it.

We have found it best to start off a new “lesson” by watching the video book.  My older son (5 years old) also enjoys the ebook which is an interactive version of the video book – you can “turn” the pages and there are some extra bits at the beginning and end.  However my younger son (2 years old) usually wants to move through the pages too fast.  So we have found the video book suits the boys best if they are looking at the materials together.

On another day we may watch the song video which is a musical introduction to the affirmation plus a brief version of the story.  Sometimes my oldest may go through the ebook on his own.  Having the story in several formats helps the storyline stay fresh and also makes it fun to review.

Note: These materials can be accessed on any device, but if your child is not confident using a mouse then the ebook is probably best on an Ipad.

Doing the “Affie”

The story is the way to learn a new “affie,” which is the central purpose of the materials.  Repeating a positive affirmation helps increase confidence, and encourages the children to value themselves and others.  Teaching children “affies” is supposed to give them a tool for dealing with challenging situations, as well as developing compassion and resilience.  Of course, affirmations are great for adults, too!

I was surprised how fast my boys caught onto the concept of affirmations.  They immediately understood what an “affie” was because they could copy the children they saw in the videos.  It has been fun doing the affirmations in the mirror, and feels very empowering to see ourselves as embodiments of the positive phrases.

The affies include:

• I am helpful.
• I take turns.
• I am kind.
• I am a good listener.
• And more.

If you would like to see all the affies, which are also the titles of the stories, go here.

Printable Activity Pages

Update: All videos can now be found on the Affies4Kids youtube channel.

Each lesson also offers a set of printable activity pages.  These range from coloring sheets to basic handwriting and math concepts (counting, patterns, etc).  Depending on your child’s developmental stage and interests, you can simply pick and choose.

You can also modify the activities as you and your child explore them together.  For example, the original intent of the pictures in the photograph above was to make stick puppets however we created a storyboard so the kids could tell me the story in their own words.  By having the printable pages available, you can quite easily prepare numerous creative activities to build on your children’s understanding of the lesson.

Parenting Cards + Daily Activities

Each lesson also comes with a set of digital parenting cards, offering topics to discuss surrounding the story as well as a daily activity (7 per story).  One of the activities for the affie “I Am Good at Sharing” was to share a picture you drew with a friend.  My two year old just loved this idea.  Probably due to talking about sharing so much, he also decided to give away two of his favorite animal cards (taped on the left of the page), without any prompting from me.

He was quite proud of his work!

A Great Resource

I have found the Affies4Kids materials engaging and fun, and they have contributed greatly to my mission of spending a few moments each day helping my kids build character.  I love having new stories and printable materials to use, and am looking forward to seeing how including affirmations in our daily routine contributes to character development in our household.

In addition to the 8 stories that come with an annual subscription to Affies4Kids, subscribers also receive a new story every quarter (4 new stories for each subscription) meaning you get 12 in total.  At $40 per subscription, that is just over $3 per lesson which is less than you would spend on a story app and coloring book, not to mention the parenting cards and extra video/song format for the story.

Teachers may also be interested to know that there is also a subscription especially for schools, which includes MP3s of the songs and classroom lesson plans.

Update: All videos can now be found on the Affies4Kids youtube channel.

Have you tried affirmations with your children?  I would love to hear your experience!  I am looking forward to teaching my children more about positive self talk with this fun resource.

 

 This is a sponsored post by Affies4Kids, and contains affiliate links (update: these are not valid any more as the first season is now free).  All opinions are my own.  To read more about my policies for reviewing products, visit this page.