Linda Ranson-Jacobs shared this wonderful resource from her friend Mel Erickson with me a couple days ago and today I am delighted to share it with you.
As you may know, grieving children has been Mel's passion for years. Their numbers have been significantly increased by the pandemic. The JAMA Pediatrics estimates 37 to 43,000 children's parents have died of COVID 19. That does not include grandparents or others raising children. There is great need to support them. The consequences of unresolved childhood grief are profound and lifelong. This need has prompted her to offer training to caring adults so they can then offer support to bereaved kids.
Mel's pandemic productivity has resulted in:
- A set of three books listed below
- A website: www.kidtalkgrief.com
- A biweekly newsletter called Grief Talk
- A pending blog or as requested, "study group" (one thing at a time, please!)
Kid Talk: A Faith-Based Curriculum is a complete 14-session curriculum and includes a therapeutic memory book, Our Story. Having used most of the material over 20 years in hospice and public schools, she knows it works. Mel has adapted it to be (optionally) faith-based so children can know God better and trust Him more. One school counselor said this curriculum is so complete, it is “just add water!”
For parents and caregivers who may be grieving themselves, she wrote a short book: 12 Simple Tips and Tools to Help Your Grieving Child. It answers plaguing questions with quotable, kid friendly answers and honestly addresses tough topics. It also offers 12 interactive, healing activities to do with bereaved kids.
She just added the Our Story Memory Book as a separate book to Amazon. So now purchasers of the Kid Talk curriculum can DIY photocopy Our Story or order as many memory books as needed from Amazon.
Interested? You will be able get more information about the books, sale pricing and working with kids in her biweekly newsletter. For subscribing, you will receive “How to Break Tragic News to a Child” as a thank you. It is something she thinks everyone should know.
Mel's website, www.kidtalkgrief.com
THANK YOU, Lynda, for posting this on your wonderful website! I am now a subscriber and plan to post ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT on our women's ministry site. You are answering one of the cries of my heart e.g. ideas for sharing and ingraining my faith (love for Jesus) in my grandchildren.
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