Today I am sharing our last kindness challenge for our 100 Acts of Kindness project.
Can you believe how much kindness we've spread in just three weeks? I'm really excited to spread even more during this last week of our challenge.
Week 1 we thanked those who serve us
Week 2 we showed love to our family members
Week 3 we did a kind act for our friends
So for week 4 we are going to
Look outward and give...
to our community and the world
How can you make a difference? How can you go outside your sphere of friends and family members and help in a bigger way? Many of you already do give in amazing ways and I would love for you to share your ideas in the comments below.
For this challenge, I'm not asking you to do anything huge, but rather to serve in a way that you haven't before with your children or your students.
We started small, with just a big paper bag and some crafting supplies.
We punched out hearts.
painted
and glued everything onto the bag
Then we looked online at our local Food Bank's wish list (to see what canned foods they need) and we sorted through our cupboards for the right things and loaded them into our big bag of love. We also researched where the local drop off spots are and talked about why the food bank needs donations. Later today we will be going to the grocery store to buy a few more needed items and then we'll drive over to drop off our big bag of love at the local food bank.
In Carol Weisman's book Raising Charitable Children she shares several strategies to help parents to incorporate philanthropy into their families. I loved this quote from her article in The New York Times- “Children need to learn firsthand that they can make a difference in the world and that they do have power to make a positive impact, even at a young age.”
She also shared that “Family values are more caught than taught,” she said. “Let your children see you giving — writing a check or by bringing them along when you volunteer — and enthusiastically explain why you do what you do.”
So for this week's challenge, teach your child about giving within the community (or world) and help them participate!
Some ideas we've brainstormed include...
- giving a simple cash donation to a charity (but instead of mailing it, go to the local office and have your child hand-deliver the check to the organization).
- go through the toys in your home together with your child and have him select 4-5 toys to donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
- go and take food to a local soup kitchen (my neighbor does this every other month with her children)
- channel surf on VisoGive. This is YouTube's nonprofit channel. Charities upload fun videos and earn 60 percent of the ad revenue when you watch.
- go to a local church and volunteer to help clean the toys in the nursery as a service (you could even donate some of your lightly used toys to the nursery)... and you know your kids would love hosing down all the toys.
- have each child in your class collect coins and combine them in a big jar to donate to a organization in need
- donate a cape to a child who is battling cancer (you and your child can choose the child who receives your cape and even follow the child's journey their website)
- make valentines for children who are sick at a local children's hospital
What are your ideas? How can you reach outward into the community this week?
In addition to sharing this kindness challenge with you today, I am also participating in TinklerLab's Creative Challenge with paper bags... so I combined the two to make an extra awesome post. 😉 Make sure you check out all of the seriously cool paper bag projects linked up below. I will be pinning tons of them.
My son had fun with our heart bag, but also wanted us to do a slightly different paper bag project, so I will also be sharing that with you later today. I'll give you a hint and you can probably figure out what it relates to...
Any guesses?
What else could you make with a paper bag?
Here are all of the lovely participants in today's Creative Challenge at TinkerLab.
Paint Cut Paste, Imagination Soup, Hands On: As We Grow, Child Central Station, Putti Prapancha, Irresistible Ideas for Play-Based Learning, Teach Preschool, The Chocolate Muffin Tree, Nurture Store, Small Types, The Imagination Tree, Toddler Approved, Red Ted Art, Sun Hats and Wellie Boots, Come Together Kids, Mommy Labs, Kids in the Studio, Rainy Day Mum, Glittering Muffins, Sense of Wonder, Mom To 2 Posh Lil Divas, Come Together Kids, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, A Mom With A Lesson Plan, Angelique Felix, The Golden Gleam, Share and Remember, Clarion Wren, Living at the Whitehead’s Zoo, Let Kids Create, De tout et de rien, PlayDrMom, Rainbows Within Reach, No Time for Flash Cards, Creativity My Passion, Messy Kids, The Outlaw Mom,Glitter, Mud, and Duct Tape Kiwi Crate, Tinkerlab
If you've missed any of our other kindness challenge posts so far, you can catch up by clicking the links below:
100 Acts of Kindness Project 2012 Intro post
Kindness Challenge #1: Saying Thank You
Whoopie Pie Love {via Red Ted Art}
Jar of Hearts {via The Outlaw Mom}
Rainbow Painting Surprise {via Glittering Muffins}
Winter Warm Up {via Kitchen Counter Chronicles}
Kindness Challenge #2: Show Love to Relatives {via Living Montessori Now)
Five Easy Ways to Show Love for a Working Parent {via Dinosaurs and Octopuses}
Our Kindness Jar {via Teach Preschool}
Everyday Kindness in Everyday Life {via No Time for Flashcards}
Kindness Challenge #3: "Heart Attack" a friend {via Made on Maple}
Collaborative Memory Project {via Hands On:As We Grow}
Stylish Kindness for the Birds {via AngeliqueFelix}
Act of Kindness for Delaney Rose {via PlayDrMom}
Also, have you donated to The Heart Project yet? As our ultimate kind act we are trying to raise over $2,000 for the American Heart Association by February 14th. I actually think that we can raise more than that... since we raised a $1,000 in just one day. We'd love to give you our free ebook filled with 100 + heart projects for kids when you donate. Go check it out!
In honor of The Heart Project we have a great Books We {Heart} giveaway happening right now... so don't miss out. Click here for more details.
This is so great, Kristina! I started my daughter on the habit of passing her old toys along to charity when she turned 3, and she wouldn't stand for it, but 7 months later she's fully on board. It takes time! We also take food to our local church, and it's a great example of how actions speak louder than words. By watching me do these things, and going along with me to learn how it's done, I can see how these experiences and mindsets seep into her consciousness.