As a mom of three I am constantly worrying that I am not raising my kids right. I always remind them of how lucky they are, and torture them with tales of "when I was your age..." yada, yada yada. Do we all do that???
All I want is to raise good humans, who truly care about others and the world around them.
Last year I was asked to take over a program at the boys school that was supposed to teach the students about community service and kindness. So, I stepped in and did what has always been done there before. We collected canned goods for the local food pantry. We collected winter mittens and hats for the local homeless population. You know, the typical things done at the average school in America.
When the kids came in with their collected items, the goods would be packed up and dropped off at the coordinating local charity or organization in need.
However, something became glaringly obvious to me. These sweet kiddos, with their generous donations, had NO idea why they were doing this, and where it was actually going.
This was a lightbulb moment for me. We can preach goodness and charity and community service all we want. But are the kids actually connecting the dots on why???
I gathered the rest of the committee of parents at my home, and came up with an after school program idea that would try and help the kids understand.
I can't even describe how good it felt to be a part of, and to watch the children get so involved. Plus they had a blast doing it.
Each week we had a different theme, charity and project. I donated several of my ATD products– which was so fun to have the kids use and witness first hand. We also invited in speakers to teach more about the particular organization we were working with that week.
As each week went on, I was more and more inspired to make something more out of this. It was so well received by not only the kids and the organizations we involved, but also by the parents, grand parents, teachers and staff at the school.
This is it. THIS is what we need more of in this world. These are the kind of adults we want to create. Kind, generous, thoughtful, respectful and grateful little humans.
And so, GratiKids was officially born, and I couldn't be more proud!
So let me ask you this;
Is this a program or event you would like to see offered to your kids at school?
Are you a parent looking for creative ways to teach your kids gratitude, empathy and kindness outside of school?
Are you a teacher that would like to see more ideas like this incorporated into your school?
If yes to any of the above, contact me here.
And to purchase a GratiKids activity kit for home or as a special gift, click here.
Thanks for supporting ATD and GratiKids, friends!
