here is an amazing and totally easy family project that you can do immediately. in fact your kids (age depending) might even be able to do most of this without you.
1. grab an empty shopping bag.
2. clean out your pantry of canned or boxed food you won't eat.
4. leave this (now full) bag next to your mailbox this saturday and your mail carrier will pick it up for you.
the united states postal service is running the STAMP OUT HUNGER program for every community nationwide. they will get this food to the local food bank and help countless of people in need.
here is a link for more details: usps.com
the lesson: talking to kids about others who might not have enough food is an intense topic. know you child and what he/ she is capable of hearing/ understanding and think about how to share this information without scaring them. sometimes it's enough to say, "we have a lot and some families don't have much".
***added bonus: those oreos will no longer be there to mock you as you stare at them each morning while wearing yoga pants.
ok, it is COOOOOLD out there. and in other parts of the country it is even colder. here is an easy and helpful activity to do this weekend to help those who need something to snuggle up with and get warm. there are 2 easy ways to do this one:
1.) with you kids, clean out your linen closet and bring all unused blankets to your local homeless shelter.
or
2.) with your kids, go to the fabric store, pick out some fleece, take it home and use the "project linus" guidelines to turn it into a no-sew blanket to be donated to their local chapter (see website www.projectlinus.org for locations)
here is the link for the blanket PDF
project linus, a nationwide nonprofit says, "it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
the lesson: it is too easy to take for granted something as obvious as a warm blanket. talk to you children about helping when and where we can. can they even imagine what it would be like to not have a blanket? a blanket is not only for getting cozy and good for fort building, but also for keeping us healthy and warm with a good night's sleep.
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my kids eat the same lunch almost daily. peanut butter and jelly sandwich for one, and soynut butter and jelly for the other (who has a strict "no nut" policy at school, and yet, somehow they always let me in!).
making lunches is a deeply tedious task and one of my least favorite mom jobs.BUT since we're doing it anyway, here's a kooky idea...
what about a sandwich assembly line? a loaf of bread, a jar of PB, a jar of jelly, a butter knife and some ziplock bags. you and your kids can whip out a dozen sandwiches in no time flat.
take them to a shelter, a food bank or just hand them out on the street to those who look like they could use it. it is really fast and really fun and makes a really big difference to the people who are hungry.
the lesson: if we can help, it's our job to do so. this is the same lesson written here again and again but it's the lesson i really want my kids to own.
***added bonus: while you're at it make a few extras and stockplie for the week's lunch boxes.
By:
Meredith Alexander,
on 4/28/2009
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every spring BIG SUNDAY arrives and this year it is upon us may 3rd. this is a day where families everywhere volunteer to help a long list of organizations. similar to michelle obama's "call to service", this day asks you to just DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING to help out. anywhere.
i keep hearing schools talk about "100% participation" about different things from giving money to parking in the correct pick-up spot, BUT... what if we had a world where giving back had 100% participation? imagine what that would look like.
if you can't find anything near you, feel free to take ideas listed on this site and have your own "little sunday".
the lesson: true, our kids have homework and soccer and ballet and sunday school. our lives are FULL, but if we can expose them to helping and giving kinds of experiences, they will shine, grow and feel in ways that will reward not only the recipient of the help, but mostly your child. they will feel big and significant in the world. they can make a difference.
*** added bonus: i say SUNDAES for all participants of "big sunday"! of course, you'll have to organize the trip to ben and jerry's on your own.
what a fantastic book to show little ones how powerful kindness can be. the story of a boy losing his bear, sees it now belongs to a homeless (and friendless) man, and forgetting his own loss and pain, decides to forfeit his feelings for someone else's happiness.
to buy this book, see ACME LIBRARY on the right.
(this only works if you are on the acme sharing website)
By:
Meredith Alexander,
on 1/13/2009
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our new first-lady-to-be is a girl after my own heart. she's a mom of two, supports her busy husband, has understated style and wants everyone to give back. come on, we're 2 peas in a pod!
this monday, january 19th is DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR day and MICHELLE OBAMA'S day to "call to service" the entire country.
the m.o. for M.O. is to get everyone to do ANY kind of community service on monday, (which is also a school holiday, so we'll be looking for things to do). the idea is to "renew america together, one community at a time. it will take ordinary citizens working together with a common purpose to get this country back on track. this national day of service is an important first step in our continuing commitment."
this is an exciting project and one i hope you will consider doing with your families. to find local activities and to learn more about this national day of service, check out the website:
if you can't find anything that speaks to you, please browse the acme sharing archives with over 70 ideas for community service projects to do with your kids.
***extra credit - i would LOVE to hear from you. please let me know how you spent the day, how it affected your kids and what did or didn't work in teaching them the most important aspect of humanity: SHARING.
firstly, DRUMMER BOY, the best looking toy i have ever seen. i LOVE the illustrations from loren long. the story is an exercise in gratitude and love. very touching and with the happiest ending imaginable.
the next one, WHEN SANTA TURNED GREEN, is all about global warming at the north pole - melty, as you can imagine. cute and not scary. problem solving and christmasy.
and lastly, GREAT JOY, one that addresses homelessness in a very vague but powerful way (i know that sounds like it doesn't make sense, but when you read it with your kids, it does), this gorgeously rich book touches on it lightly enough so that you can give your own explanation. it opens the door for more conversation if you want to discuss it further.
*hope you will forgive this unbalanced representation of the holidays, but i couldn't find "acme sharing" worthy books on the subjects of hanukkah and kwanzaa, feel free to let me know if you've got some!
to buy these books, see ACME LIBRARY on the right
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By:
Sondra Santos LaBrie,
on 1/31/2008
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Now that our conference schedule is posted online for the first half of 2008, I'd like to request that those of you attending the following events Save the Date for an official Kane/Miller Kidlit Drink Nite.
|
Wednesday, March 26th
Wednesday, May 7th
Thursday, May 29th
Friday, June 27th
Details and venues will be announced on the official invites which will be posted to the K/M Kidlit blog. |
By:
Sondra Santos LaBrie,
on 1/23/2008
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Two upcoming events in the San Diego area fit in with what Kane/Miller is all about.
This weekend marks the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the San Diego Multicultural Festival held downtown tomorrow which will include a children's area, an international storytelling stage and many other highlights to draw families and residents from the area.
Taking place for the first time this year and sponsored by Kane/Miller is the Mira Mesa International Festival, featuring dance performances, and international foods. This one-day celebration of diversity, unity and community wellness will be held at Mira Mesa High School on Saturday, January 26th.
Talk turned to sports on more than one occasion this evening, amongst more than one circle of peers. First we discussed hockey when I was introduced to a publishing representative from Minneapolis. Quickly the conversation turned to the NFL (it is Sunday) and before I know it, we're discussing sports in different parts of the world and how the rules, equipment and even names vary.
It isn't something I think much about, but once it was pointed out to me, the sports that are represented in some of our picture books serve as yet another reminder of the similarities and differences between cultures and communities around the globe.
By:
Sondra Santos LaBrie,
on 12/7/2007
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I leave this weekend for a quick trip to Canada. Feel free to send me warm wishes as I visit with our neighbors to the North - the cold, snowy North.
My day begins early Sunday morning when I head to Atlanta. Yes, I realize that this is not the direction I'm supposed to be heading but you know how airlines can be. I hang out in the airport for a few hours there before flying into Buffalo, New York. From there, I will take my rental car and drive across the border. I have a feeling that it will be much more difficult to get into Canada than it is to drive South to Tijuana from here (and vice versa). My hotel is in Niagara-on-the-Lake which I hear is quite a pleasant little town.
Monday, I will meet our Canadian Distributors for a Sales Presenatation of our Spring 2008 titles, followed by a lunch with author and illustrator, Tina Burke, who recently moved to Toronto from Australia. I'm not sure where I will end up that afternoon, but I meet the crew from H.B. Fenn for a dinner meeting later that evening.
Tuesday morning I have an early lunch with an editor from a Canadian magazine before heading back to Buffalo to try and make it home by 11pm that night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the flights are not delayed but at this time of year, one can never be sure.
hi meredith. inspired by you and your wonderful kid-philanthrophy blog, i put together a service project for my daughter for her first communion this sunday. she is 8. as one of her gifts, we are presenting her with a list of 6 local service projects she can pick from, and do with either my husband or me. we will book a date this summer on a day that works for our family & the organization, and she can pick from helping animals (shelter) to helping the homeless/hungry (food bank), to helping kids with disabilities. we created a "journal" page to also wrap up with her gift, where she can write the name of the project she chose, the date, reflections before she does the project (what she hopes to get out of it), and reflections after the project (what she learned). this she can keep as a memory and for posterity. after she gets back from the service project, we will have a special family dinner in our backyard (she picks the menu) so she can share with us her observations and learnings. not sure what you call this, but we named it "Celia's First Communion Service Project" and hope to do it again with our other kids as well. (Celia is our first.) we do whatever family volunteering we can, and we really want to underscore that the point of any sacrament or "spiritual" rite of passage is to reach out to others in need. anyway, thanks for your inspiration over the year/s. . .