10 Meaningful Ways to Start Your Kids’ School Day

5. Talk to someone you don’t know today. I mean… no, not the creepy guy standing at the crosswalk giving out free candy. Tell a grown-up about him. But talk to a kid whose name you don’t know. I mean, every best friend you will ever have in your life starts as somebody you don’t know. We should all remember that, every time we leave our house. Talking to strangers is good spiritual practice. (Again, within boundaries that are safe and school-appropriate).

6. Eat your lunch!! Ok. maybe this is just our house… The vegetarian lunches that I pack precisely to specifications of the 7-year-old come home largely uneaten some days. Along with a little girl who is melting into a low blood sugar pile of mess on the floor. Mostly because, like the rest of her family, she is a talker. We have to learn to eat and talk at the same time if we want to accomplish anything in life! The art of simultaneous care for the body and the spirit will get you far in life, kid. Learn to deal.