Kaitlin is back! This time she's here to talk about her brand new children's book Kindness Is. Listen in as we discuss what kindness is and how we can help our kids move forward with true kindness.
Kaitlin will be in Team Kind Humans on February 6th! She will be sharing her book, the mission of Kind Cotton, and kid-friendly ways to give back through books. If you have an elementary school-aged child who would like to join, I'll send you the Zoom link for free! Email me at Katie@teamkindhumans.com and let me know if you'd like to come. You can find out more about the membership at teamkindhumans.com/membership.
Follow @kindcotton on Instagram
Find out more at www.kindcotton.com
Start your KindSchooling journey today! Head to www.teamkindhumans.com or follow me on Instagram @katie_doughty!
Kaitlin is back! This time she's here to talk about her brand new children's book Kindness Is. Listen in as we discuss what kindness is and how we can help our kids move forward with true kindness.
Kaitlin will be in Team Kind Humans on February 6th! She will be sharing her book, the mission of Kind Cotton, and kid-friendly ways to give back through books. If you have an elementary school-aged child who would like to join, I'll send you the Zoom link for free! Email me at Katie@teamkindhumans.com and let me know if you'd like to come. You can find out more about the membership at teamkindhumans.com/membership.
Follow @kindcotton on Instagram
Find out more at www.kindcotton.com
Start your KindSchooling journey today! Head to www.teamkindhumans.com or follow me on Instagram @katie_doughty!
Hey everyone, welcome back to the raising humans podcast. I'm your host, Katie Doughty. And today I have my very first repeat guest on the show. Caitlin Johnstone is here from cotton. But today we are diving into her brand new children's book kindness is. And I'm excited for you to hear this conversation and get a behind the scenes look at this book, because it does a really great job illustrating what exactly is kindness. And Caitlin kind of takes us on a journey of nice versus kind. And that sometimes kind is not always nice. And that blew my mind when I first heard this concept. But it's something to talk about. And it's something to keep talking about and teaching our children. And this book does a beautiful job doing just that. And you're going to want a copy because it's gorgeous. So head to kind cotton.com and you can order your own copy. She also has educator packs with resources for teachers that you can purchase there as well. And while you're there, check out her shop because she has really cool clothing that you are going to want to take a look at. So head over to comb cotton.com, grab your book, grab a cool kindness t shirt, and every purchase made books or clothing. She donates an inclusive book back tickets, which is pretty cool. And you'll hear all about that in today's episode. Also, I wanted to let you know that Caitlyn is actually coming into team came humans next week on Tuesday to talk about cotton cotton and her book with the kids. And she has a beautiful presentation for us. And then the kids will have an opportunity to talk to her about her book about cutting cotton in ways that they can help get books into other kids hands, because it's an important thing for us to do. So I'm actually offering this one for free. If you want to come in, just email me Katie at team kind humans.com or find me on Instagram, send me a message. And I will send you the Zoom link. If you have an elementary aged kiddo that would be interested in coming and learning from Caitlin. Just let me know, I'll send you the link. We'd love to have you. So head over to Team comm humans.com/membership. If you want more information about that, otherwise, email me I'll send you the link. And I'll hopefully see you Tuesday afternoon. So without further ado, please welcome Caitlyn. Hello, Miss Caitlyn. Welcome back to the raising kind humans Podcast. I'm so happy. You are the very first repeat guests on the podcast.
Kaitlin Johnstone:I'm so excited and so honored by that. Thank you so much.
Katie Doughty:Yeah, I'm really excited that I get to have you back because you have a new book out kindness is and I'm thrilled to dive into this book with you because it's absolutely beautiful. But just in case. So we interviewed together before and we talked all about cotton cotton. So in case people don't know what cotton cotton is, can you give us just a little background about what that is? And then we'll dive into your book? Yeah, absolutely.
Kaitlin Johnstone:So my partner and I, my husband, Kevin and I started kind cotton about seven years ago, I was a kindergarten teacher in the state of Florida. And I was noticing a serious lack of access to books. So I would take my students to the book fair, many of them couldn't purchase books. So I would buy books for them. around the holidays, I would find ways to you know, grab those dollar scholastic books. And then it just clicked to me one day that there was something that we could potentially do about this. And I rushed home, open up the door, ran into my husband, who was I believe my fiancee at the time, maybe? I don't know, all the years blend together. And I said I have this wild idea. But hear me out. I would love to start a small clothing company. And then with every single purchase, we donate a book to a child. And he was all in and now seven years later, we have donated over 143,000 bucks ticket. I know it's wild. Wait 143,000
Katie Doughty:Incredible. Yeah. Oh my gosh, that number is so huge. And I know you're on a mission for a million. Is that true? We
Kaitlin Johnstone:are and you know, head. I said this when we started seven years ago when we maybe donated 30 bucks a month. I would have been like no like, Caitlin, you are crazy. That is impossible. But now that we've gone as far as we have and done the things that we've done. I'm trying to dream big, though,
Katie Doughty:and why not? You can totally do this. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, your message is just beautiful and so needed in the world. And I know for me, I love supporting companies. I give back in some way, especially when it's related to kids. Again, easy no brainer purchase for me, because I feel like it's a double, I get two for one. So I love that that's your mission. So now you donate books to kids, can you tell us a little bit about your free book fairs? Yes, they
Kaitlin Johnstone:have been the most exciting thing. And I'm just like, so happy to be back in person. Because to make like a really long history and story as short as possible, when we first started, I wanted our impact to be very hands on. So when we initially planned this all out, I started a reading program with a local elementary school, I would go once a month, there were about 30 kids in the program, I would read them a book, and we would make a craft and have snacks together. And then at the end of that every single child was able to leave with a copy of the book that I did my lesson on. Fast forward to the pandemic. And that stopped, and I couldn't go into schools anymore. We then moved from Florida to Maryland. And then just in the past, I guess two years now, we started hosting free book fairs. So going back to my memory of bringing my kids to the Scholastic Book Fair, having them experience such sadness, like, just think of bringing a five year old to these incredibly decorated, elaborate book fairs with all of these super cool things, and then telling them, oh, no, sorry, you can't get anything like it is. It's traumatic, it's terrible. So I said, You know what, I want to start going into schools, the week or two after the Scholastic Book Fair, so that teachers can tell their students Hey, you may not have been able to get a book today, but I promise you, there is a company coming in in a week or two, they're called con cotton, they are going to bring 1000s of books. And you can choose any book that you would like. So whenever I reach out to schools, they're like, Wait, this is like, what's the catch? This is free. And I'm like is as long as I can drive to you, as long as I can pack up my car, with the box, drive there and be back within one day, then yes, it is absolutely free. And we've probably done about 20 of those so far. We do one a month. And the kids are always so excited when they come in. And they hear that they get to take any book that they would like that interests them home for free, courtesy of everything that we sell
Katie Doughty:on our site. It's just so beautiful. Because I've been there too. I have taken first and second graders to book fairs and watch them watch other people purchase and come home. And they make it so enticing because not only do they have books, they also have like the pencils and the erasers and the posters and all the like fun things. Yeah. And having them walk out not being able to purchase anything is absolutely heartbreaking. Yeah. And it's so frustrating. And so for you to swoop in and come in and say you know what your choose whatever you like, that's just such a beautiful mission. And I love that that's what you're, that's what you're putting out in the world. And what's what you're bringing to kids, at schools, and so props to you, my
Kaitlin Johnstone:friend. Thank you.
Katie Doughty:Amazing. So let's dive into your kindness, his book, tell me how this started. Where did this originate from? When did you get the seed of this idea? And then kind of the journey behind that?
Kaitlin Johnstone:Yeah, I mean, it really originated with kind cotton, right? The shirt that you and I are both wearing right now is our most popular item. It's called our kindness is t and we put out a request to our followers years ago, about what does kindness mean to you? And we said, you can only give us one word, we know that it's gonna be really hard. But if you had to sum up kindness by saying one word, what would it be? So at the time, we were shocked, like it was the most feedback we had ever received on anything, we got hundreds of submissions. And we kept seeing these few words coming up over and over and over again. And we also chose the ones that were very near and dear to our mission. So the words are love, empathy, compassion, inclusion, justice, and kindness. That's what we believe, makes up kindness. So then I started having these conversations, and featuring people on my page with their definition of kindness, and just really like diving in on these deep, meaningful, multifaceted conversations surrounding kindness, and it being more than niceness. So I'm sure you can understand this but having been an educator, children's books just mean the world to me, and then being in All the work that we do, I've met so many illustrators and, and fellow authors and editors and publishers, and just, there was a wealth of knowledge there. So I was sitting on my couch one day. And I love writing, like writing is my therapy, I just, it's my go to, for anything and everything. And I sat down, and I opened up my computer, and I wrote this manuscript, about kindness for children in like, 10 minutes, and I put it away. Like, I was like, Okay, this is never gonna be anything, put it away. I was about three years ago, opened my computer back up, because my best friend was like, Hey, did he say we're like working on a book? What happened with that? I'm like, You're right, I should, I should revisit this. So I opened it back up, look through it, did some editing on my own, sent it to my friend who is an incredibly talented illustrator. She loved it, and said, I want to do this with you. And here we are three years later, with this book, that is, what I am now saying is like, the heart and soul of me and our company, and everything I value.
Katie Doughty:Oh, my goodness, it is and reading through it. I was just like, oh, this is So Caitlin. And it's so it's such a perfect thing to hand over when somebody's like, but what is kindness? Like? What does that mean to you? And why? Like you and you see your shirts, you know, with all of those words like what does that mean? And how do you explain that to a kid, you could just hand them this book, pull them up on your lap, read this and chat about it. And it makes it so simple and meaningful. And impactful. And I love that you were able to just kind of tie it up in a little bow and have been able to present the kids. It's just gorgeous.
Kaitlin Johnstone:Thank you. Yeah, that was something that once we really started getting getting into it. Again, having been a kindergarten teacher specifically, we would have like week long celebrations. Now kindness. And typically, when you ask a child, what does kindness mean to you, they come up with amazing things. But they are things that are very much niceness and not necessarily kindness. So using your manners, of course, that is a great thing to be doing, holding the door open for a friend. Another amazing thing to be doing, I always say never want to take away from niceties because they're important, right? Like, my friend could send me a cup of coffee on a day when I am just like, at my breaking point. And it is the best thing ever. But I also think it's important that we extend those conversations and look to things like empathy, and inclusion, and justice and in using our voice. And this is a very simplistic way for a child to understand what those terms mean.
Katie Doughty:Yeah, absolutely. And I don't I don't remember if we talked about this last time, but um, I read the book, deep kindness by Houston craft. And he did yeah, yeah. Okay. I always pull back to that book, because it's, it was so eye opening for me about what, what actually is the definition of kindness. And yes, kindness can be uncomfortable. And it can be difficult. And it's something that we're constantly working towards, you don't just become kind, right? Like, there's so much more to this deep kindness. And I think you've packaged it in a kid's book to help kind of lead the way in those conversations about what this deep kindness actually means. And that's so helpful, because I'm always looking to children's books to figure out how do I say this in a kid friendly way so that they can start learning now and not in their 30s? Like, I am trying to figure this out? What does this actually mean? And so, I just love that you've nailed down those topics. And I feel like as a classroom teacher, and now as a homeschooling mom, I could spend months on this, but we can pull it out. Okay, let's talk about just compassion. Yeah, what is that we could spend a whole week on that, like, let's talk about this. Okay, now, let's go on to justice. Let's go on to inclusion. What do those mean and being able to just like, dive into those topics? It's such a good jumping off point. Yeah.
Kaitlin Johnstone:100%. And when we when my illustrator and I collaborated on everything, we really wanted to have this book, be a discussion piece and offer like companion projects and crafts and writing pieces and prompts. And she made so many incredible resources to go with us. And that is exactly how we thought it would play out like this would be almost like a unit of study for are a month, two months, it is something that you can definitely keep going back to and really dive in.
Katie Doughty:Are those resources available for teachers and parents? Where can they find them?
Kaitlin Johnstone:Yeah, they're on our website, which is where you can also find the book, we obviously are on Amazon, but I'm sure is, you know, it is always better if you can purchase directly from our website. And since we ship everything ourselves and have them in house, shipping is probably nearly as quick as Amazon like you're not going to get in a day or two. But we're pretty fast. So it's on our website, kind cotton.com. And then you also, we have various bundles. So you can get the educator bundle, which includes a copy of the book, a sticker sheet, to give stickers out to kids in your class, and all of the companionship, worksheets, writing prompts, crafts that go along with it. Oh, I love that.
Katie Doughty:I wanted to point out something that I saw on here, one of the adults is wearing a t shirt and it says kindness is a verb. It's one of my favorites. And I did a craft fair one year and I made some like a bag or something and says kindness is a verb. And this older lady came up to me and she she was like staring at it. And then she looked at me and she's like, that's not right. And I was like, No, it's a phrase because kindness is action. Like you have to take action and do something. And she was like, okay, but you're just confusing children. So, isn't that so interesting? But my immediate thought was like, Oh, no. And I went internally, like, Am I doing this wrong, but it just made me think of how one person's comment can change the way you're thinking. Because when I put it out there, I was, like, this is so cute, and it's so good. It's gonna be action steps, and like, kids are gonna want to take action to be kind. And then that one comment, made it like, I second guessed everything. And then I was like, Is this am I confusing children. And so I was just wondering if you can speak a little bit to that, about how we can help kind of stand strong in our beliefs about what kindness is, and maybe not shrink to comments from other people.
Kaitlin Johnstone:So I think I love this question. And I feel like we could have an entire podcast alone on this question. Because there's a lot of things at play here, right. But the number one thing that I always go back to is society is set up specifically for women. To be nice, right to go along with the status quo to, to listen and not use our voices loudly and not stand in our convictions. And I always say that I am so grateful that I had parents, who didn't call me loud. They called me passionate. They didn't call me argumentative. They called me curious. They stood behind who I was as a, as a young little girl who was very like, bold and excited and passionate. And I think that's a huge reason as to why I'm the person that I am today. Now, I get a lot of terrible things said to me on the internet, as I'm sure many of us do. And if I listened to every single one of those comments, and I took every single one of those comments to heart, and I second guessed, every single thing that we did, then we wouldn't be where we are today. And we wouldn't be hosting the free book fairs. And we wouldn't have provided 143,000 books to kids, and we wouldn't have built the community that we built. And that's not to say that it's not incredibly uncomfortable, sometimes anxiety producing. However, I always try to have this end goal in mind. And fortunately, I have surrounded myself with so many beautifully creative, passionate like minded people that I have them to turn to in times of support. I think I think it's really these are systems that have been put in place that are working to keep us quiet, right and to, to silence us and to feel isolated and like we don't have community and we're only one person doing these things. And I think the beauty of finding your voice is really freeing. So yeah, just finding people that you can connect with because community is more important now than than ever.
Katie Doughty:Oh so much. Yeah, absolutely. And I like that as a Yeah, relying on the community that you've built, and looking for that support when you need it and then supporting others. when they need it to and just showing up for them, I think it's really important. This topic of nice versus kind is so interesting to me. And I do a deep dive into this in the book that I'm writing. And I had never really thought about it before, until I started researching it, and how we are absolutely trained to be nice. But being nice is just a way of getting through to get what you need later. And it's so interesting when you break it down, like if you are nice to your boss, you're being nice to get to move forward in your company or to get ahead in your job. Whereas being kind is coming from a genuine place of wanting to help someone else. And I'm just curious if you can speak a little bit more to the difference between nice and kind. And how do we help our kids understand that
Kaitlin Johnstone:you have for sure, I mean, this is something that I talked about all the time. And I love it. Again, we could talk about this for hours, I feel like but one of the things that I always say is being nice again, going back to that holding the door open for a friend, but being kind is paving the way so that doors remain open for opportunities for all people, right? Being nice is saying you love and support your LGBTQ plus family members. But being kind is voting for the people who are going to protect them. It is standing up at those school board meetings saying that reading a bulk about a child who has two moms is just showing a different family dynamic. There is nothing wrong with that. And if anything, all it does is build empathy for all different families. Right? So it is going that that extra mile. It's kind of like not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. And that's where I feel like kindness comes in. And kindness is not always nice, right? Like, kindness is not always status quo. Kindness is not always quiet. Sometimes we have to be calm, like you said earlier, very uncomfortable when we're being routed in true
Katie Doughty:kindness. Oh, that's so good. Kindness is not always nice. So much because you don't you think of the two as synonyms, like they are the same word. Oftentimes, that's what we are taught. And so when you are now extracting that and saying no, actually, they might be opposites. That's such a big, cool, bold statement.
Kaitlin Johnstone:Yeah, mind blowing, right?
Katie Doughty:It really is mind blowing. What are some of the things maybe you say to yourself, when you are uncomfortable in what you are standing for? Or what you need to do to be loud? Like, how do you build up that courage? Or what could we say to our kids, to help them be courageous and kindness.
Kaitlin Johnstone:So hard, it goes back to looking at myself as a young child, right. And I mean, as a kid, we're definitely uncomfortable in certain situations, you know, we don't want to ruffle any feathers either. We don't want to be the brunt of any jokes. It's it's hard to stand tall and courageous and maybe stand up to a bully or believe in the things that you believe in and believe in them 110% And making that known. And I think one of the best things that we can do is continue to let children know that they are seen and then they are loved, and they are valued for who they are, that they are brave, that they are making a difference. I think it's important to model that behavior. Right? Like it's one thing to read inclusive books to my daughter. It is a whole other thing to actually live that experience. Yeah, right? To have her intentionally go to a school where they are also teaching these things, to have her intentionally go to a school where her teacher, one of her teachers is trans to have different friends come into our home, so that she is around people from all different walks of life, right. So I think one of the biggest things we could do is model that for them and model using our voice and also tell them that it's not always easy, right? Invite them in in an age approach. right away about some of maybe the harmful things that have been said to me or her dad about the work that we do. And that what matters at the end of the day, is that we're standing up for humanity and people, and the people who we love. And when I lay my head down at night, and when I lay my head down, hopefully years from now, at the end of this crazy, beautiful life, I will have been able to say that I stood up for the things that matter the most to me.
Katie Doughty:I love that, because our kids are always always always watching. They are watching, whether we want them to or not, they know Yes. And they are going to start modeling themselves after US based on what we are doing. So modeling is one of the biggest things we can do for them. And I think that I liked what you said about inviting them into conversation. So not only are you doing these things, but then at the dinner table having a conversation about it, hey, I did this thing today. This was really hard for me. And it was really challenging. And then I got this mean comment, but here's what I did. Or here's how I feel about that, or here's what I'm going to do next time. And just including them through that whole process, I think is so ridiculously powerful.
Kaitlin Johnstone:Mm hmm. It's a teacher mindset, right? Yeah. Being able to talk out loud about the things that you're doing, while you're modeling that for them as it is it is really powerful.
Katie Doughty:I think you also hit on something really cool that like we know as parents, but maybe we need to do a better job at is how you said your parents didn't call you loud, the ecology passionate, and they didn't, you know, call you argumentative. They called you. I'm curious, right? And so turning those things that sometimes can be really challenging as a parent, when your child can be very loud about things or very opinionated about things, and turning them into a positive instead of like, Oh, she's so bossy. No, she's gonna run the world. Like I trust her to run the world. And being able to put that type of confidence into your child to use their gifts, because those are gifts, even if we feel like maybe they're they're difficult to handle. But they're the gifts that the child has been given to be able to empower them to use those gifts,
Kaitlin Johnstone:I think is so important. Yeah, me too. 100%. Because in school, it was not always that way. Right. So like, thankfully, I had my parents behind me, and kind of rooting me on and knowing that, like, I can remember my mom telling a teacher once like, oh, well, maybe she'll make a great lawyer one day, you know, and it's not like they allowed me to be incredibly disrespectful, where, you know, it was a lot of it was typical child behavior, that some teachers maybe didn't know how to connect and, quote, unquote, handle, which I think was when I was a teacher, it's very much the reason why I was able to and I'm doing air quotes, handle the more difficult children, right, because I, I saw myself in them and they weren't difficult. There was just things that they needed to express, or they maybe needed me to tell them information in a different way. Or maybe it just was something that wasn't engaging enough for them. And we needed to find that thing that was really going to spark their interest. So yeah, I
Katie Doughty:think that's huge. Yeah, yep. Looking at the whole child, what makes them tick and what is going to move them forward, using their gifts is so important. And I think it comes back to to like parenting, or being a teacher. There's a lot of like, kind of tolerating your own intolerances. If a child is a little bit louder than you would prefer. It doesn't mean they're too loud. It just means okay, that's kind of bugging you. How do I tolerate that myself without squashing their spirit? important?
Kaitlin Johnstone:So important, I have to tell my self that is the mom all the time because my daughter is me. So I'm like, Oh, I'm getting a dose of who I was as a child. And it's, it is hard. We have to check our own our own stuff before we can appropriately guide them. For sure. Yeah, definitely.
Katie Doughty:So okay, I have a question for you. I had my kids and then one of our neighbors were over reading the book yesterday, and I asked them Do you have any questions for Caitlin? And they really want to know, because all three of them are very, very into writing. They're aspiring authors. But they want to know how do you stick with a project to the end, because they tend to start something and they're really excited about it. And then they let it go, and they don't finish it. So what advice do you have for aspiring authors to stick with it to the end.
Kaitlin Johnstone:So you ask the right person, because I was also recently diagnosed ADHD like six months ago. So all of these things throughout my childhood that I've been reflecting upon, and just even in my adult life make so much sense, though, I can understand starting a bunch of different projects, and then not seeing it through. This is probably the first kind cotton project that I started from the beginning and saw all the way through without the help of my incredible partner and husband. And I think that is because I have never been more passionate about something. So my advice would be that once you find that story, or that one thing that lights up your soul, you will know. And no matter what those obstacles are to get to the end, you will make it happen. And I also want to say that there is no shame in asking for help, though, you know, because I did need a lot of help. I needed my illustrator, I needed my editor, I needed my self published book, friends, to bounce ideas off of. But I was just so incredibly sold on this story and knew that it was something I needed to put out into the world, that I was going to do anything and everything to make that happen. Oh,
Katie Doughty:I love that. Oh, I love that and kind of seeing the end game, right visualizing the end and what it will do for people and what it will do for you. I used to visualize my daughter reading the book that I wrote, having it in her hands, that was my my vision when she was really little and so something to keep you going. And I think too, there's also value in not finishing things. There's value in starting something, figuring out what you like, what you don't like you learn along the way, and then maybe you don't finish it, and that's okay. But it might make something better in the future that you try later. And so I think that's important for kids to realize, too, because I know for me in school, it was very much here's your assignment, this is what you need to finish, it's due by this day, you have to get it done. And now as a homeschooling mom, I'm learning to let that go and that there's learning in the process, and that if they don't finish, maybe that's okay. And we start something else that they're passionate about. So I love that you said you're gonna find the spark, you're going to find what you're passionate about. And that is what will drive you forward to finish the projects that need to be finished.
Kaitlin Johnstone:Yeah, 100%. I mean, I couldn't agree more, I think, I think sometimes that probably was my, quote unquote, issues in school, is, I wasn't that interested. You know, and I always found a way to do well without having to try and I know that sounds a little, I don't know, I don't want to come off as like, Oh, I didn't have to try it all. And I did well in school. But I was never really interested in much in school, and I somehow managed to do pretty well. But I think that's where like the, maybe the calling out or the talking in class or questioning my teachers, and all of these things came in because like, there really was never that spark.
Katie Doughty:I think to in school, there's very much a path to accomplishment, where if you follow the rubric, and you follow the rules, you will do okay. And so I think for kids who aren't that interested, they can get it done and be quote unquote, successful, because they finished the thing, but maybe they aren't internalizing that learning the way that you would hope for or the way they would if they were really passionate about it. Yeah. So interesting. Oh, so interesting. I know. Oh, my goodness. Okay. Tell us about your podcast, because I think you had just started or you hadn't quite started. The last time I interviewed you. So let's chat about your podcast. Kindness is. Yeah,
Kaitlin Johnstone:so kindness is again. And what I was noticing, having done this for so many years, is that I think I've mentioned this earlier in the episode, but I have had so many amazing conversations with people surrounding kindness over the past seven years, that I needed a space to put those conversations out into the world. Similarly to the book, I was like, I have spoken to so many incredible authors, activists, teachers, actors, like just all of these beautiful people who all had varying definitions of kindness and how it led them to be doing the things that they are doing. So I started the podcast, I guess, probably about eight months ago now. And they come out every Monday. And I sit down and talk to people from all different walks of life. And we have these really deep conversations surrounding their definitions of kindness, and also their life experience and their jobs. And just a lot of things that may be going on in the world, and how to really cultivate kindness through all of this chaos that so many of us are experiencing, what
Katie Doughty:an uplifting way to bring attention to kindness, and then just kind of keep it at the front of your mind. Like being able to listen to those conversations, and hear other people's definition of kindness and what they're doing or what they hope people are doing is such a good reminder, and it kind of keeps it fresh in your mind. So I love that you're doing that. Yeah, it's
Kaitlin Johnstone:definitely my favorite time of the week. Like I get very excited when it's time to record. It was actually nice hopping on your podcast today. Because I was like, Oh, I can talk about kind kind and my book and everything. I don't have to prepare as much as when I'm doing the interviewing. But it's been, it's been amazing. And you know what, there's something that I always say about the definition of kindness, too, is that we need to be open to change. So having these conversations has really helped me be reminded in that our ideas can change, right? When we know something and we learn something, then we do better. And I think often times, our egos get in the way of that. And we are not allowed to change, we will not accept change. And we can't grow if we stay stagnant in our views or things that we you know, always knew we're supposed to be a certain way. So that has been something that's been really empowering for me.
Katie Doughty:Oh, so good. Well, and critical thinking and kindness go hand in hand, right? Critical thinking, being able to take in new information and then change your mind based on that information as opposed to just deflecting it and trying to come up with reasons why that's not true. I think it's such a huge thing that we need to be teaching our kids from day one. How do you take in new information? How do you change your mind and and know that it's okay to change your mind? And admit that okay, what I knew before isn't quite right. This isn't what I believe right now. Because now I have this new information changed my mind. And I'm going to move forward with this new information until I get different information or, or I learned something new about this topic. And I think that is so important to teach our kids and model for them. Because I we tend to as a society, kind of stand firm in our beliefs without them. You know, you've picked a side. Well, that's your side. And now you're stuck on that side. And I think we need to start showing that no, you're not stuck here. If you've got new information and you've changed your mind. That's okay. And look, I'm doing the same thing. I'm learning. I'm growing. I'm changing. changing my mind. That's okay. Yeah. Critical thinking. Yeah.
Kaitlin Johnstone:100% Yes.
Katie Doughty:Such an important topic. Um, okay. Do you have more books coming? What's on your mind? My dear? Are there more books in your future? I hope so.
Kaitlin Johnstone:I hope so. Self publishing is really hard. And I chose it for a very specific reason I wanted my illustrator I had a vision, I wanted to have all of the rights to my book. I wanted to be able to sell it on my website. I wanted to be able to create tees to go with it. But it's really hard right? So I want to say yes, there are definitely more stories in my brain and possibly even on my computer, but it may be a while before they actually come to fruition.
Katie Doughty:Well and that spark right we have to wait for that spark to hit and then bam, it'll fall out of your brain and and we'll see a new book or Sure, yeah, I love that. Okay, and now I have to mention to you that you are coming into the team can humans membership in I think a week maybe yeah, February 6, and I'm so excited. You're gonna come talk to the kids about kindness is and kind cotton and all of the wonderful things that you are doing. So for our listeners, if you want to come join Caitlin in team kind humans go to team can humans.com/membership And then you can join us. I'm so happy that you're coming in for that.
Kaitlin Johnstone:I'm so excited. It is my favorite thing that is like the one thing I missed so much from being a public school teacher is being with the kids, right. So like, now that I'm going and doing these book fairs, and now that I have my book, and I'm reading at events, it feels so good to like, have that little piece of being an educator, instilled back in me. So I'm really looking forward to next week.
Katie Doughty:Oh, it's the best feeling. It's a little bit like coming home. I always feel like when I'm back in front of a group of kids, like, Oh, this is why I'm here. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. And it's an exciting time to have have those little eyes in front of you. And they're always so eager and willing to learn what you what you have to teach. So I'm glad you're doing that. I'm glad you've gotten back into the classrooms and that you're doing your book fairs. I know you're coming into the membership and finding those ways of connecting with kids because I feel like once a teacher, always a teacher, it doesn't matter where you go or what you do. You're just you will always be a teacher at heart.
Kaitlin Johnstone:100% I cannot agree more.
Katie Doughty:Yeah, yeah, I can't wait for that. Okay, tell us anything else about where we can find you follow along by your book, your teas, all the things?
Kaitlin Johnstone:Yeah, for sure. So you can definitely check out our website. It's kind cotton.com. There you can find by book you can find lots and lots of designs, shirts, hoodies, you can find the podcast, and then on social media, we are mainly on Instagram. And that is also just kind of cotton, Atkins cotton. Amazing.
Katie Doughty:And I'll put all of that in the show notes. But thank you so much for coming here today being my first repeat guest you get the title forever and always and sharing this beautiful mission. I'm so grateful for the work that you do and I will continue to cheer you on my friend.
Kaitlin Johnstone:Thank you Katie. The feeling is very mutual.