Kids Learning Service

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...

Sometimes we need to move to creative ideas, fun activities, or full on bribery to get kids to do service. It's not the best reason for kids (or any of us) to do service, but it gives them the chance to learn how to step up and serve. Hopefully they'll also gain some meaningful connections that will change their attitude about it along the way. Here are some suggestions for getting them started: Service can be hard work, reward yourselves with a treat that is somehow special to what you are doing. After we drop off the box we deliver from the food bank each month, we head over two blocks to  Thirst  for sodas and popcorn (after all, they have happy drinks & treats). It was also started by an 18 year-old, so we like to support his gumption.  Throw a party!  Service project party - choose a project and have your kids invite friends over to work on it. We did this once for the  Festival of Trees , a fundraiser for Primary Children's Hospital. My daughter...

Picture it: students (and a few adults) lined up in front of a school assembly. Their ponytails are cut off in sync, and there's suddenly a group of volunteers with short hair standing in front of hundreds of people, and dozens of ponytails are donated to  Wigs for Kids  to be made into wigs for children with cancer. Every year, this assembly kicks off a spring of cancer awareness and fundraising.   Gemma has been growing her hair out all year to donate at the assembly next month. By last week she couldn't handle her hair anymore, but still wanted to donate it. Imagine her delight when I told her that we could get it cut now and send it in to Wigs for Kids OURSELVES! Friday was the big day...she donated 12 inches and loves to run her fingers through hair that isn't all tangled.  

Surprise! I'm not perfect. Yes, I went to the salon the other day and actually sat down and relaxed for an hour and a half (!!!) and have lovely, bouncy curls now, but this is how my life really looked at the time... It was the first time in 6 months I've had my hair even trimmed, and sadly it was obvious, my husband was stuck in a parking lot for 3 hours in a different state because of snow, my children were farmed out: one at swim team, she had a ride home but had to borrow my house key because she lost hers (which incidentally, one guess who got locked out at 7 a.m. the next morning?!), one on the way back from a high school competition, but had no ride home from the school because I was sitting in a salon chair, one away at college but I couldn't remember if she'd checked in to let me know she was still alive (a requirement for her moving away), and the youngest safe and content at a friend's grandparent's house (I usually don't ask if my kids ca...

One of the teachers I work with asked for help in finding ways to tie service into their curriculum (the quintessential definition of Service Learning). The class was already painting portraits of their pets (seen in the background of the picture to the left) for a fundraising auction for Guide Dogs for the Blind . I was lucky enough to find an amazing volunteer from our local chapter that gave us some additional ideas for service that will be incorporated into next year's unit as well. The night of the art auction was a great example of project-based learning. The unit was actually a  poetry unit, one of the poems they studied was about a boy that adopted a dog from an animal shelter. Each student read an original poem based on certain author's styles (such as Robert Frost). The art teacher talked about the art techniques and math skills used in painting the pictures, and of course, the community partnership and service was a big part of it. Service ways you can serve an...

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 ...

As I drove up to the Capitol to meet my children this afternoon, I realized that there is another type of service that can be fit into a busy schedule (and can be done from home!). Advocacy can be service because it is standing up for something you believe in to make the world a better place. I know not everyone has a friend who tells you they are taking your kids to the State Capitol to advocate, in this case for our after school program, but there are other ways to help children serve through advocacy. Find something that is meaningful to your children, either an issue that is up for debate, or even just a concern or compliment (to show support for their work). Figure out who the appropriate person/people are to contact, find their contact information. This morning I googled the email address for our representative and senator (I typed in "state representative for Kearns Utah"). Other people that children can advocate with are teachers and school officials, safety org...