Introducing Our New Empowerment Journals: Two Sunshine Wheels to Help Children Shine

At Empower and Shine, everything we create begins with one simple belief: every person deserves to feel seen, loved, and empowered.

We are honored to introduce our newest journals, thoughtfully designed for children and families. These journals were created as gentle companions for growing hearts, offering space for reflection, expression, and healing without fear, shame, or pressure.

At the center of these journals are two tools we are lovingly calling our Sunshine Wheels.

Why Sunshine Wheels?

Just like the sun helps living things grow, children need warmth, safety, and guidance to thrive. The Sunshine Wheels are visual tools that help children understand their inner world while learning how to move through it with kindness, calm, and responsibility.

They are simple, hopeful, and empowering, designed to meet children where they are.

Sunshine Wheel One: My Feelings & Choices

This wheel helps children learn an important truth early in life:

Feelings are okay. Choices matter.

The Feelings & Choices wheel names common emotions; happy, sad, mad, scared, calm, and guilty, and gently connects them to healthy responses. Instead of telling children what not to feel, it teaches them what they can do.

Children learn:

• Feelings are real and allowed

• Calm helps us pause and think clearly

• Guilt doesn’t mean we are bad; it means we can make things right

• Mistakes are part of learning and growing

This wheel builds emotional awareness and accountability without shame, helping children develop self-regulation and empathy.

Sunshine Wheel Two: My Power Comes From

The second wheel focuses on identity and inner strength. It reminds children that real power does not come from control or fear, but from who they are and how they care for themselves and others.

This wheel highlights sources of healthy power, such as:

• My Voice

• My Choices

• My Feelings

• My Body

• Making Things Right

• Asking for Help

• Spreading Love

Together, these messages help children understand that they have power inside them and that power can be used to create safety, kindness, and connection.

Built on Love, Responsibility, and Hope

These journals were created with great care to hold two important truths at the same time:

• Children are not responsible for adult problems

• Children are responsible for their own actions and choices

By holding both truths together, we help children grow into compassionate, confident individuals who know their worth and understand how their behavior affects others.

For Families and Communities Near and Far

These journals will be shared with families and partners locally and globally, including communities in Africa. The language and tools are designed to honor cultural values of respect, guidance, and community, while still nurturing emotional understanding and self-worth.

They are not meant to replace caregivers, teachers, or community wisdom. Instead, they are meant to support conversations, encourage reflection, and shine light on a child’s inner strength.

A Final Word

When children are given language for their feelings, guidance for their choices, and reassurance that they are loved, they begin to shine.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported this work. Together, we are planting seeds of hope, resilience, and love, one journal at a time.

When children shine, the whole world shines brighter.