Archana Jiwani and Martha Martinez are the creators of Happy Heart Kid, a new character education program for kids and parents. With days left to successfully fund their Kickstarter campaign, they agreed to speak to me about what they’ve learned in the process of creating an inspirational curriculum for young people.
The two women met while teaching neighborhood children’s classes in New York, and at the time they never could have guessed that they’d go on to launch a line of educational materials for kids.
As the pair taught together, they discovered that parents wanted quality education for their kids—including character education—but most of that instruction was happening away from the home in a classroom environment. Parents wanted more for their kids but weren’t sure where to turn for ideas and tools.
“What we realized is that so many kids’ toys, games, or products focus on bringing out a child’s vanity and inner consumer. There is not a lot that is created with the noble nature of a child in mind. We are creating something that looks at children as potentially being the light of the world. We see how play time can be a space where children actively learn, play, and imagine themselves as noble beings,” says Martha.
It’s no small task.
Over time Archana, who has a business background, and Martha, who works with children, developed, tested, and refined their concept of Happy Heart Kid. They learned from parents about how to speak to young kids about virtues. “We also did extensive research on products already on the market that promoted character building skills and we looked at what worked and what didn’t,” says Martha.
Once they had a working prototype, they organized a hands-on workshop, and observed parents using a Happy Heart Kid virtues box with their kids. That first workshop didn’t go as smoothly as planned—due to traffic, Archana ended up late to her own workshop! When she finally arrived, she discovered that the parents didn’t respond to the activity boxes exactly as she had hoped. But what they did offer was notes and insights.
That feedback was essential to helping Archana and Martha refine their curriculum’s message. “Parents have an amazing ability to explain complex ideas such as empathy to their children in such simple yet profound ways,” says Martha.
They even redefined how they positioned the products with parents. For instance, Archana points out that the Happy Heart team quickly realized that some folks have an aversion to words like “moral education” or “virtues.” The creators needed to find a way for these secular kits to stay true to their spiritually-inspired roots while remaining accessible to parents of different perspectives. For now, they’ve settled on calling these “character-building activities.” However because character traits like empathy and healthy habits like patience influence every sphere of our lives, it’s hard to pin just one label on these boxes.
The pair keep testing their products with parents and kids—and the materials that are now available on Kickstarter have been perfected over the course of 12 or 13 iterations!
Each kit has four components: a workbook, creative activities, imaginative play, and time for sharing.
Archana and Martha see these kits less as toys and more as resources for families. The boxes can be used in any way parents and kids like, but what’s really special is that they invite conversations about complex and important topics. “What I realized after reflecting with parents is that each toy, product, and book out there for children really determines what an interaction will be all about. For example with a Lego set, the interaction will be about building, the conversation most likely will be about building. So having a product that is created with the purpose of reflecting with children about character development helps to promote that sort of interaction and dialogue.”
So what’s next for this pair, and Happy Heart Kid? Martha says they’re constantly tweaking the products. And their Kickstarter campaign promises to deliver additional boxes that dive deep into even more character traits. They’ll also begin offering their kits to classrooms. “We constantly got feedback to bring this product to schools—and teachers said they loved it. We are offering a bundle to get our materials into classrooms in need and have already had overwhelming response on Kickstarter,” says Archana.
Archana says she knows Happy Heart Kid isn’t for everyone. She’s fine with that. For now, there’s Kickstarter campaign to think about—and a whole lot of work to do.
Check out their Kickstarter video below. And if you like what you see, help Archana and Martha reach their Kickstarter goal by pledging here.