It’s been a while since I last posted, and with the beginning of a new year I always feel like taking some time to set personal goals. Notice how I said goals, not new year’s resolutions? Sometimes you gotta just put things out into the universe in order to manifest them into reality. Here goes!

I love my girls so much, and a major goal this year is to make a better effort at remaining ‘present’ when I am with them. I can’t freeze time and keep them 7 and 9 years old forever, so the next best thing is to shut off laptops and silence the phones when we are together. The more time they spend at school the more precious our time together is!

So, how will we do it? I’m excited that we are at a lovely age where we can play fun board games and do more complex arts & crafts projects (resulting in less screen time!). Thanks to a friend of mine, Homa Tavangar, I now have a very clever kit which has become an instant favorite with my girls.

This Global Kids kit is wonderful, we are fascinated by all of the cards! By the way, this is not a paid ad or sponsorship! I honestly love the kit and seeing my kids so engrossed in each activity is all the compensation I need. The box contains over 50 games, craft ideas, and recipes from around the world, each one engaging and interesting in different ways. Every card transports you to another part of the world and presents a wonderful opportunity to learn through play.

So much fun to open the box and discover all of the treasures inside!

So far we have made our own homemade passports and learned about how and why some Argentinians celebrate Christmas with an outdoor picnic.

One of my favorite cards is from the “helping out” category and is called Attitude of Gratitude and explains different ways of using body language to express gratitude. It also teaches how to say thank you in different languages – it was so much fun for us to try and figure out the pronunciations together! Obrigado!

I am lucky enough to have met Homa when she worked with the Nina’s World team helping to ensure that our show remained faithful to the goal of highlighting diversity and inclusivity in every episode. Her books, including Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World, cemented her position as an expert in preparing young people to be true world citizens who feel at home anywhere and everywhere.

As I continue to limit screen time for my kids I’ll be sure to keep the Global Kids box of cards within arms reach! Another kit that I have recently discovered is the Highlights Top Secret Adventures.

This one is a little pricey, as it entails a monthly subscription, but I love supporting Highlights Magazine (sending a subscription to someone makes a great birthday/holiday gift idea by the way) and my kids actually love solving the mystery every month! They enjoy searching for the clues (learning history and geography along the way) and collecting those key chains! The books are a fantastic addition to our bookshelves and I’m sure will come in handy for school work in the future.

Back to my 2020 goals: I’m going to put more time into this blog. I really love to share and connect with people and this is such a great way to explore new ideas. I’m going to continue to spread the message about the importance of literacy and fostering a love of reading in our children. Early last year I had an accident and created very few Story Time With Michele videos. That will change this year and I’m so excited to grow the YouTube channel!

For my family as a whole, I want to make sure we are eating as healthfully as we can. And, lastly, I want to cement our newly created tradition of family movie night. Snuggling up on the couch with the ones you love is the best feeling in the world and I want to carry that in my heart all year long!

Well, there it is! I’ve put out into the cyber-verse my 2020 goals! Have you set any goals for yourself? I’d love to hear back and connect with you. Let me know down in the comments section.