The Great Egg of Hope
Intro:
Hope is crucial to growth; it transforms challenging times into opportunities for growth. In this fun egg- balancing challenge, children and adults will find ample opportunity to practice hope.
Hope is like a muscle; if we practice using it, it grows. The tool we use to grow hope is called TIE. During the egg balance challenge, you will have plenty of chances to practice using this tool. Let’s look at a typically stressful situation- taking a hard test- to examine how TIE could help you grow hope:
T is for temporary: Remember that any emotions or thoughts that come up because of the difficulty of this challenge are not permanent. When you feel anxious about a test, you can remind yourself that you will feel differently after the test or the next day.
I is for isolated: This situation doesn’t have to apply to your entire life. While taking the test might be stressful, you can remind yourself that you feel differently about other parts of life: time with family, friends, or doing your favorite activity.
E is for effort: You have the power to change this situation. What can you learn from the stress of this situation– could you put in some effort to study more next time, or could you take deep breaths now to reduce your anxiety?
TIE: temporary, isolated, effort.
Goal:
To balance an egg on a table or floor while using the TIE tool to keep hope. Kids and adults will leave this exercise with a tool for increasing hope + optimism. You will use the TIE tool the next time they feel challenged or hopeless.
Instructions:
1. Gather materials. For this activity, the only material you will need is an egg! If you would like, you can also decorate your eggs with permanent markers before you start the challenge.
2. You are the hope coach. While you will also be trying to balance the egg, your job will also be to ask questions and remind them about TIE. Before you begin the challenge, think of some ways you can encourage them to practice TIE.
3. Balance the egg while keeping hope! Try to balance the egg (picture below) on a flat surface. You will quickly find it is very hard to do! Can you and your child practicing hope with TIE? One hint: the effort part will be extra important. What creative ideas can you and your child come up with to balance the egg?
4.
If you get stuck… there is one other secret ingredient that might help you balance the egg if you get stuck. It is a common ingredient in your kitchen– and if you get really stuck, you can find it at the bottom of this email 🙂
Discuss:
Of the three parts of TIE, which did you find most useful during this challenge?
Can you think of a past experience when TIE might have been useful?
How did you feel when you finally balanced the egg? Or if you weren’t able to, how do you feel about that?