Kids Learning Service

I love this guy! I like to show this video to students to inspire them and break down what service really is. And you get to dance at the end, so what else can I say? Thanks SoulPancake for being so clever and entertaining, and putting life in perspective. See their Youtube channel for more of the good stuff  https://www.youtube.com/user/soulpancake .

This is a cool article from the Parents Magazine blog that talks about benefits for children when they serve, as well as gives some ideas for serving. Thought I'd share. Also I thought I'd share a picture of my "baby" when we made and handed out burritos with the Burrito Project  (this one is in Salt Lake City, but the organization is found throughout the U.S.) to people who are homeless. She didn't want to get out of the car to hand them out, but since I wasn't about to leave her alone in the car across the street from the city bus depot, I made her come along. She did great and even commented on how grateful the people that we gave the burritos to were.     Volunteer With Your Kids     https://www.parents.com/parenting/better-parenting/style/volunteer-with-your-kids/

I'm a mom. I've stood in the checkout line with kids having meltdowns, trying to stop the cart in the aisles, refusing to go somewhere, let alone do service, and have carried a toddler and a heavy box of food from the Food Bank one flight at a time because I wanted to teach my kids to serve. So why do we do all of this? Because of who our kids (and even us adults) can become. It also can help who they (and we) are today: health, happiness, and skill-wise. After I've convinced you with all of the good reasons below, visit my Pinterest page for kid-friendly ideas, or comment below with what kind of service you're looking for and I'll brainstorm for you. https://infographicjournal.com/5-benefits-of-volunteering/

Round #1. Does anyone else think I look like a muppet? Standing alone in front of a class of 5th graders and their teaching staff is embarrassing enough, but having to stand there TWICE while 13 whipped cream pies are hurtled at you is kind of humiliating. Particularly when a plate sticks to the side of your face. So how'd I end up in this spot? It starts with a brilliant idea someone had. Ok, that someone was me. And it sounded like a good idea at the time to challenge 56ish 5th graders to see who could do more service over spring break, me or all of them put together (like I said, brilliant idea). After all, I was driving all the way to Seattle to help my mother-in-law get her house ready to sell (drive time counts if you are going specifically to do service). That's 26 hours just for driving. The first day there I was on a roll with 9 hours of painting and ordering pods. The next 2 days I forgot to count my hours so I probably underestimated what I did at 12 hours. W...

If you haven't heard yet, I'm going on a trip this summer. Take a guess where it's to: a. Seattle, b. Korea, c. Vietnam, d. Hong kong. Drumroll please...all of the above!  My friend and I signed up to join a Global Community Leadership trip to vietnam with Youthlinc . We'll be teaching story telling conferences and visiting with people to write narratives that share their stories. I'm really excited to have the chance to do leadership, service, and work towards my degree in such a beautiful place.  Seattle and Korea are just layovers, but I'm adding Korea to my list of countries visited (if I touch the ground there it counts, even of it's only for 4 hours). We even added a couple of extra days to go to Hong Kong ( ) because I lived there as a missionary a million years ago but haven't had the chance to go back. My 12 year-old is jealous she can't go with us so she's starting to save money to go on a humanitarian trip with Youthlinc to ...

On the train with my littles and my nieces When I started this blog, I wanted to do more than just make a list of things other people could do. I knew that meant I would need to try out new service ideas. This week I decided to get off the train on the way back from the gymnastics meet we were attending to give out valentines to people who are homeless. Do people who are homeless  need  valentines? No, but  everyone  needs something to make them smile and forget hard things they are facing. I teach students that you should assess needs to ensure that service is meaningful and appropriate, so in this instance I asked myself: What is a valentines treat that is portable, somewhat healthy, and filling? How can we make it themed without giving out cutesy cards they would have to store or get rid of? If you remember from my first post, I am surrounded by amazing people doing amazing things. One of those people told me about a volunteer they met at the Burrito...

Sorry if the title got you excited to be a volunteer at the Super Bowl. They really might need volunteers there, but living in Salt Lake, I wouldn't know for sure. If you've heard, let me know below. What Super Bowl service describes is ideas for squeezing service with your kids into a busy life. These ideas can be done by your kids while you are making dinner, on a rainy day (or during the summer when they need a break from the heat), during layovers at the airport (or other loooong waits with kids- just pack some paper and colored pencils or crayons. Take a manila envelope already addressed and stamped and you can throw it in a mailbox before you board so you don't even need to take it with you), Sunday afternoons, while the kids are watching TV, or yep, even during the Super Bowl. (These are also great ideas to do for school, scouts, church and other groups). Yesterday, my daughter, A, and I did service for soldiers, hospitalized children, seniors, and kids needed ...

J volunteering at a First Lego League robotics competition T eaching our kids how to serve can take time and effort, and who doesn't have a busy life? Serving doesn't mean we need to stop everything and spend a large chunk of time (or money), it just means we need to use some creativity. One of the best ways to do this is by finding opportunities in things we are already doing. Every year our school hosts a First Lego League  robotics competition. This year my two youngest girls competed on teams (Cosmic Caribou and Robo Kitties, could they be any cuter?) while I volunteered. Needing a large amount of help, teenagers are welcome to volunteer and J loves to spend the day with his friends, the snacks, and silly hats (a requirement for volunteers!). So, while this event actually took an entire day, it was somewhere most of us needed to be anyway. It didn't take any extra time or effort, and kept him from sitting around at home playing video games all day. Are there ...