Simple Generosity for Small Kids

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the holiday that is sometimes referred to as a Day of Service, I have been thinking a lot about how to teach my kids about service and why it is important.

First, I want them to understand that the world is bigger than our house and neighborhood.

Second, I want them to be able to connect with people and help with solutions to social problems.

For the first goal, we try to read books about different cultures and places.  As they get older I plan to travel with them farther away from home to experience different areas of the country and the world.

The second goal starts with simple acts of kindness and giving.  I have given a few examples here.  The important thing is to make acts of service part of your everyday life.  Talk about them and how they make you feel and how they make someone else feel.  I also like to frame things as problems to solve.  For instance, if worms that are stranded on the sidewalk are dying, how can we fix that and help them?  Kids are very creative, so you may be surprised at their ingenuity.

10 simple acts of service:

1.  Make it a habit of saying positive things about each person in the family (maybe during a family dinner).

2.  Designate a piggy bank for Donations.  Have your children choose where to donate it.

3.  Bring towels to the park to help dry the equipment after rain or a dewy morning.

4.  Save the worms - help worms stranded on the pavement get to grass after a rainy day.

5.  Bake cookies for a friend (or Firefighter or Mail Carrier).

6.  Write a letter to a friend or family member.

7.  Start a book or toy donation drive with your playgroup.

8.  Pick up trash (at the park or on a walk)

9.  Return your cart to the front of the store or offer it to someone on their way in.

10.  Practice saying Please, Thank You, Your Welcome and I'm Sorry.  

Here are some other resources I have found along the way:

Book recommendations:

Martin's Big Words, The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  By Doreen Rappaport

10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh

Children Just Like Me published by UNICEF.  (This is an excellent book that highlights a local child from countries all around the world, including their favorite sports and food and pictures of the family and house.  My son loves finding things in common with the boy from Tijuana, Mexico as well as a young girl in a remote village in Thailand.)

Websites:

Www.iMom.com. Lots of articles about raising kids and family relationships.

Volunteer websites

http://www.allforgood.org/

http://www.volunteermatch.org/