We all know this season is about giving and serving, but those concepts can be particularly difficult to teach to little ones who are more concerned with what Santa is bringing them for Christmas. We’ve been working really hard to teach our kids what it means to serve and give, and through a lot of fantastic teaching tools and repetition I think Reagan (at three years old) is starting to get it!
Something I really want to start doing with them when they’re young is service projects that they can get involved in. Really simple and basic tasks that they can accomplish on their own and feel good about completing! I brainstormed some ideas, and thought I would share them with you here!
Baking Cookies – My kids both love to get involved in the kitchen, and they especially love to help bake cookies! Instead of letting them eat all of the cookies next time, we are going to wrap them in cute Christmas boxes and deliver them to our neighbors.
Toy Donation – My kids have a superfluous amount of clothes, books, and toys and they are blessed enough to receive more of those things throughout the year. This might be a tougher concept for them to grasp, but I want to go through their toys together and let them pick out the ones they want to donate to other kids who aren’t so lucky. I’ve gone through their toys on my own before, but I think including them in the process will be a valuable teaching moment for them this time around!
Hand Written Notes – Not that my kids can write, but they’re pretty good at coloring pictures! I thought it would be fun to have them color and write little notes of gratitude to their church leaders, friends at school, neighbors, the mailman, grocery store employees (who always give them stickers), and grandparents! I think they’ll get a kick out of giving them out to people and showing off their artwork and it’s an easy way to teach them to give simple gifts.
Cleaning the Church – Our church is kind of unique in that we all take turns cleaning our meetinghouse, and our turn comes up every few months or so. I thought it would be nice to volunteer to come clean it again sooner, and to give my kids more responsibility in cleaning the building. Giving them tasks to complete on their own and teaching them that they’re cleaning the place where we worship Heavenly Father in hopes of making it a more valuable and meaningful experience for them!
Serving Each Other – I would love to teach my kids not only how to serve the ones around them, but how to serve each other as well! Whether it’s sharing their favorite toys, helping put their laundry away, cleaning off their plates, washing their dishes, or giving up their turn for each other, I want them to find joy in doing nice things for each other. And I’m hoping they will start doing things on their own because they love it so much!
I hope to be an example of service to my kids year round, and I know that the best way to lead and teach is by example! I hope that by involving our kids in these tasks early on that they will find a joy and love for serving and make it a habit as they get older.