We’re really gearing up for the Winter Holiday Season – for us that means Advent, Christmas and New Year and one of the things we start off with is thinking about others and those less fortunate than ourselves. So we set about teaching children about giving to others especially at this time of year.
As a family it seems that Winter brings us a similar sense of clearing out that Spring does for other families we declutter and make space, possibly because we move inside and realise how we haven’t used the space for such a long time to live in. With J and T getting older especially this year J this is something that we want him to be involved in and what happens to the stuff afterwards.
Christmas means new things coming in – well it does in our house at least so we need to make space for those things and with J he’s made the leap from baby/toddler to preschooler and this means that his interest in toys has changed so we’re encouraging him to sort out his toys and select ones to give to others.
We donate our stuff to two charities
The first is very close to home and helps to fund our preschool, the preschool is free for us and no student has to pay to attend, they also aim to fund all school trips within the school as well as give back to the community so each year they have a Christmas Bazaar where all funds are split between the preschool and the local community.
Our second donation is to a Children’s Hospice EACH one of my good friends works as a Nurse and told me about their donation scheme, they take toys, furniture, clothes, books basically everything and if they can’t resell in the charity shop then they are able to resell the goods for recycling which brings in funds as well. The hospice provides care for children with life threatening and terminal illnesses as well as support for their parents.
Sorting through toys is such a hard task for J – because a lot have been away as they are too young and T has never been interested in them bringing them out is like new again and we are spending time talking about how other younger children will benefit from having the toys rather than him having them. T is joining in – but I think she is having fun just putting things in bags which she loves doing.
We are joining together with Projects for Preschoolers and some other amazing bloggers to host Kids Winter Holiday Hop – In the Spirit of Giving and would love for you to pop by the other blogs and see what they are doing with their children.
www.projectsforpreschoolers.com – www.stevespangler.com – www.rainydaymum.co.uk – www.laurakellydesigns.com – www.mamamiss.com
www.raisingfigureskaters.com – www.rockabyebutterfly.com – www.herecomethegirlsblog.com
www.housingaforest.com – www.creativelearningfun.blogspot.com
Pop on over to Projects for Preschoolers for the main hop information as well as a chance to win with a seasonal giveaway (open to UK and US residents) and a linky to come and link up your In the Spirit of Giving post.
How are you encouraging your children to give to others this holiday season?
Cerys Parker
Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, high school teacher and mum. Realising that life doesn't have to be put on hold and you don't just have to survive whilst the kids are young she shares ideas to inspire you to LIVE with the kids, with activities to do together, recipes to cook and enjoy and family travel to make memories to last a lifetime.
It’s really neat to see how the kids respond to the task of going through their belongings once they grasp the concept of giving to others. I’ve seen my own kids start to make up things, create art or hunt for pieces to toys just so they can put it in the donation box. I love that spirit! Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful idea to share, thank you!
Lovely ideas Cerys. We give our stuff to a local charity shop, but maybe I should put a bit more thought into it. xx