Teach Your Kids to Give Using the Once-a-Month Strategy (April)

“Stuff” sucks us all in, doesn’t it?

 

Yes, kids, you do need one more lego set to add to the one million you already have. And I think those new pair of shoes are calling my name… (Then all the complaining when it’s time to pick up…but no, we’ don’t have too much stuff…)

 

Enough. 
 

Last fall, my heart was stirred to reflect on what it really meant to say that you are a Christian and follow Jesus. I read two books that challenged my thinking: 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker and Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt.

 

My husband and I decided to make some changes in our family life: Give more, take less, share God’s love in a tangible way. So, we decided to start this once a month journey. (If you want to read the start of this journey, click here.)
 
This month, the high school where I teach was participating in a school-wide food drive to help stock a local food shelf.  Perfect.  We took our boys’ shopping and filled our cart – what a great lesson for our kids.

But then prideful me was all I’m so inspirational, my students will see me give and be like, I want to give too! Mrs. Donely is such a great example. She’s changed my life. What would we do without her! Blah-blah-blah! (My pride laughing at me, not with me. I can be ridiculous.)

 

 

Because, no such luck.  Not one student brought food to share. Not one. (Nomination for Inspirational Teacher of the Year – never happening.)

 

When I received an email saying my class had won one of the food drive days for bringing the most food. I had to quietly email the teacher back that my students didn’t bring any food at all, and to give the reward to the next highest class of food donators. 
 
I have to admit I felt discouraged.  I had success with my own kids, I’d secretly hoped to inspire my students. But, I’ve learned that success isn’t always measured in results. There is a value in a seed of generosity being planted.  For my students, maybe next time the seed will sprout into the action of actual giving. (And how well do I really know some of those kids’ stories?  Some could be the ones needing the food.) 
I set an example for both my kids and my students.  This month, we followed God’s call to feed the hungry. That is enough for me to call declare April a success. 

 

Our family’s Once-a-Month Giving/Service Projects was featured on parenting.com. (This blog’s original name was Since I Became a Mom before it became Empowered Moms and Kids.)

Update:
The year is over and you can see what we did each month here…

If you decide to take use this giving strategy, remember this is YOUR THING. There are no “rules” to follow. Do what God places on YOUR HEART. Whatever works, big or little. Your family will be moved by however you decide to extend your hand. And hopefully, so will the people you give to.

 

Read what parenting.com says about the benefits of teaching kids to give:

“The benefits of actively fostering children’s charitable impulses are enormous. Besides helping counter the overdeveloped ‘gimme’ impulse, it gives kids a powerful boost in self-esteem to realize they can make a difference in someone’s life. ‘And as corny as it sounds,’ says Patricia Schiff Estess, a New York City writer and the author of Kids, Money & Values, ‘when you help a child help others, you are helping to create a better world.'”  

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Favorite eye-opening books that nudged me to see the amazing part of God’s work that we can do daily. Exciting stuff we get to be a part of.


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