How does this issue impact YOU and the people you care about?
STEP 1: 5 MINUTES
Get Curious: Pick A Story
Which stories and videos make you interested in learning more about this issue?
RAISING LUMINARIES
Raising Luminaries creates workshops, training, and educational resources for parents & caregivers igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders.
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Let's explore
Tenacity & Resilience
Tenacity - working hard even when we face challenges and our project isn't fun anymore.
Resilience - Choosing to try again even after we have failed.
SMASH THE KYRIARCHY
Why Act Now?
As we learn about injustice, challenging issues, and hardship, we're going to face setbacks and failure. By staying tenacious and resilient, we can keep working together toward the future we want.
Resilience Toolkit for Activist Kids
Daring Greatly & Failing Spectacularly
CHOSEN BY KYRIARCHY-SMASHING KIDS
Best Kids Books on Resilience
STEP 2: 10 MINUTES
Ask Questions
Talk about this topic with an adult who you trust to be honest with you..
When...
When have you failed at something you tried your best at?
Who...
What setbacks did our ancestors and activist elders face when fighting for the rights we have today?
How did they stay resilient?
How...
What opportunities and resources* do we have that makes it easier for us to recover from setbacks?
How would our lives be different if we didn't have these safety nets?
*How to talk about privilege with kids: Acknowledging our opportunities and resources (and what to do about it)
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Tackle tricky conversations with confidence
Need help starting hard conversations with your kids?
Get weekly tips and tools to ignite the next generation of kind & courageous leaders.
STEP 3: USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Get Creative
Flex your brain using what you've learned & discover what's within your control to change.
Toddlers & Pre-K
It Was Supposed To Be Sunny
Practice coping strategies for kids feeling frustrated, overwhelmed & upset.
Find more resources featuring #OwnVoices neurodiversity-friendly resources and kids books on Samantha Cotterill's website.
Read It Was Supposed To Be Sunny (ages 2.5+)
Elementary
The Most Magnificient Thing (Retold)
Using a children's book on resilience, create a new way of telling this story and record your own spin on it like the students at Elmwood School in Ottowa.
Read The Most Magnificient Thing (ages 3+)
Elementary+
Make Your Own Daruma Doll
Create your own Daruma doll & discuss how the Japanese proverb 'Fall down 7 times, get up 8' has impacted Japanese American culture and resilience from WWII internment through modern-day anti-Asian racism.
Read Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll (ages 4+) & learn about Japanese Internment.
IT'S STILL OKAY TO LAUGH
Hard conversations with humor & joy
Every month the Luminary Braintrust tackles a new member challenge to make talking about social justice easier in real life.
STEP 4: ASSESS YOUR CAPACITY
Step Into Your Power: Take Action
Whether it's time, money, or our voice - we all have something to contribute.
DIG DEEPER
Bonus Resources
Share what worked for your family (and what didn't).
Add the resources you suggest in the comments below to help families like yours.
PODCAST
Keeping Our Wits
How to keep political horrors from breaking us: Reorienting ourselves toward core values & how to self-regulate before we get back in the fray.
WORKSHOP
Creating Brave Spaces
How to incorporate trauma-informed practices into story-time so kids can feel safe discussing their challenges.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Failure Partaaay
Join the Luminary Braintrust for our weekly Failure Parties, where we take responsibility for our flops and celebrate what we've learned.
TRAINING
Resilience Workshop
Learn practices to recover quickly when we’re knocked down by the world in this 1-hour workshop via Right To Be.
RAISING LUMINARIES
Raising Luminaries creates workshops, training, and educational resources for parents & caregivers igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders.
ABOUT | MISSION | FINANCIALS | ACCOUNTABILITY
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
STAY IN TOUCH
Get free weekly email notifications with toolkits, guides & little delights
FREE STUFF
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
SHOP
Posts may contain affiliate links and sponsorships, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
PARTNERS IN CAHOOTS
TOPICS
CONTACT
RECIPROCATE
Collaborate with Raising Luminaries on an issue important to you.
You’re welcome to share & boost this toolkit, with attribution to Raising Luminaries.
Stay Curious, Stand Brave & Smash The Kyriarchy
Raising Luminaries reduces the workload on overworked caregivers
igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders
Ashia (they/them or she/her)
Raising Luminaries is founded & run by me, Ashia Ray – an Autistic, multiracial (Chinese/Irish) 2nd-generation settler raising two children alongside my partner on the homelands of the Wampanoag and Massachusett people. I support families and educators in raising the next generation of kind & courageous leaders, so we can all smash the kyriarchy together.
Reciprocate & Contribute
Help me keep these resources free & accessible for all
RAISING LUMINARIES
Raising Luminaries creates workshops, training, and educational resources for parents & caregivers igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders.
ABOUT | MISSION | FINANCIALS | ACCOUNTABILITY
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
STAY IN TOUCH
Get free weekly email notifications with toolkits, guides & little delights
FREE STUFF
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
SHOP
Posts may contain affiliate links and sponsorships, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
PARTNERS IN CAHOOTS
TOPICS
CONTACT
RECIPROCATE
Collaborate with Raising Luminaries on an issue important to you.
You’re welcome to share & boost this toolkit, with attribution to Raising Luminaries.
Raising Luminaries is anchored in the land of the Wampanoag & Massachusett People.
Support Wôpanâak early childhood education here.
©2025 Ashia Ray of Raising Luminaries™. All rights reserved.
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Photographs via Unsplash & Illustrations via Storyset, used with permission.
