K is for Kindness: Learning About Acts of Service

     We are excited to announce that Inspired Academy Homeschool is being featured on UpsideDownHomeschooling.com as part of the series "ABC's of Homeschooling Through the Holidays."
     We chose to dedicate our blog post to the letter K.  Our post is called "K is for Kindness."  Kindness and service is a main focus in our homeschooling goals, because above all, I aim to encourage my family to be good, happy people.  Academic progress will unfold as it should, but nourishing the love for our fellow human beings and respect for each other is so important to our future.  The holidays are a perfect time to spread service and kindness, and there are opportunities to do so all year round.  Read about the easy and rewarding act of kindness my daughter and I completed together.  We were even able to include family and friends in the project.
CLICK HERE to read the full details of my post.
Happy Holidays!

Random Act of Cookie Kindness - A Back To School Treat

     While assessing my goals for homeschooling, it hit me that I want to start every school year with a service project.

     Learning the joy of serving others is an important part of educating our family.  I myself have struggled with finding the motivation to serve.  If it isn't convenient or easy, I rarely find myself looking for opportunities to serve others.  I want it to be different for my children.  I want service and acts of kindness to be a regular part of living for them. And I figure through teaching my children the importance of thinking of others, I can slowly help myself progress in that area.  My children have certainly inspired me to become a better person. <3

"Through service to others, we develop a Christlike love and we experience joy. Service teaches patience and long-suffering as well as gentleness, goodness, and faith." - Merrill J. Bateman

     Marley and I planned to bake cookies together and pass them out to some of her friends. I explained that we wanted to start out our school year by doing something nice for others.  She liked the idea.

     The first part of the project was actually baking the cookies.  Baking is always fun for kids.  I let her do a lot of the pouring and mixing.  And when the cookies were done, she was more than happy to taste test. ;)  We used this recipe: Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they turned out very delicious!

     We put the cookies in ziploc bags and packaged the cookies in white paper bags and attached cute little tags on the bags.  I designed these tags myself and printed them out on card stock.  Simple and effective to make the bags look pretty. To use this image, click on the image to enlarge, then right click on the large image and click "Save Image As." Or download here.

     I told Marley that we would leave them on her friends' doorsteps.  I said she could knock on the door and run away so that it was a little surprise waiting for them.  The knocking and running away was her absolute favorite part!  I watched her tiptoe up to the doors, leave the bag of treats, knock loudly, and then quickly run away.  Marley was ecstatic when she actually saw someone answer the door and pick up the bag of treats.  She turned to me with the biggest smile and said "They found the cookies Mommy!" It was such a precious experience to see her getting joy out of doing nice things for her friends.   Our first project of the school year was a huge success!

    

  

Service Project - Count Your Blessings

     BLESSING BAGS. We have all seen people on corners asking for help due to their bad circumstances.  I'm pretty sure we have all wanted to help somehow, but didn't really want to hand over cash (which I think is fine!). I've handed over cash before, but I prefer to give something I know will be helpful like a water bottle or a banana. A friend of mine shared this idea on FB, and I loved it so much that I knew it would be a great homeschool project for me and my daughter Marley. The blessing bags are filled with useful hygiene products and snacks, and are ready to go in your car for when you come across someone you feel prompted to help. And if you never feel the need to give them out, its also great emergency preparedness for your car!

     We made our field trip out to the dollar store and went through the aisles picking out things we wanted to put in the blessing bags. While walking through the store, I explained the project to Marley and we discussed how some people do not have homes or food, and its nice to help them sometimes because Heavenly Father wants his children to care for each other. She recalled the time when her dad gave a homeless man the shoes off his own feet because the man needed shoes. She was excited to tell me "Daddy gave the man his shoes, because he doesn't have a home like us." Today she also pointed out to me that if someone doesn't have a home, they can't have a Christmas tree! She loves her Christmas tree. Making her aware of people in need was a cherished lesson.

     When we got home we laid out all the supplies on the table and lined up our empty Ziploc Bags. Marley did all the packing, I just kept handing her the bags and told her how many of each product to put in the bag. (Counting practice applied!) I felt like each item we placed in the bag was a reminder of how many small blessings we have. Literally counting our blessings. Marley was very happy to do most of the work herself. Independence is a wonderful thing to a 3 year old. We made 6 blessing bags. All the supplies were around $35 and we had a few items left over.

     

          Once the bags were filled, I asked her what message we should put inside the bag for the people. I gave her 4 or 5 options and she picked "Heavenly Father Loves You." I printed out the messages and cut a strip for each bag. We read the words together. (Reading practice!) She also placed the messages in the bags. Afterward I rearranged the bags to make them efficiently placed and pretty, but she doesn't need to know that. ;)

     This was an enriching project and perfect for this time of year. I feel like we both had a memorable and sweet experience putting these together and I look forward to handing them out with Marley in the car. I am thankful for all of my blessings! Pay it forward.

     

Sending Candy To Our Troops

     A friend from church told us about a dental office in my area that was doing a "buy back" for leftover Halloween candy. They pay $1 per pound and then send the candy to our troops over seas.  I loved this idea! Knowing my girl would not find it easy to just give away her candy, I thought she might feel better about getting money in return.

     Learning opportunity! We discussed soldiers and how they protect our country. Since it is November, we were able to add American soldiers to our Thankful Tree.  I asked her if she would like to draw a picture for the soldiers to send with our candy. She quickly sat at the table waiting for her markers and crayons with a big smile.  

     The office greeted us with big smiles and were very excited to see that my daughter drew a picture for the troops. (Her picture is of a soldier next to a rainbow.) She created the rainbow using Do A Dot markers. We love these! The office receptionist thought it was so cute, she asked to take a picture of my daughter holding her picture and the candy.  We received $5 for our 5 pounds of candy and went straight to the store, where my daughter picked out a Decorate Your Own Piggy Bank. She has been wanting a piggy bank for a while, so decorating one was extra special for her. 

     The whole morning was fun and memorable. And I am glad to know that she is aware of our US troops and that mommy and daddy are grateful for all they do.