Sharing our Blessings

John and I chose a name off the Walmart Christmas tree. It is a tree with the names of children whose families cannot afford to buy them gifts. We looked over the ages and chose an 18 month old little boy. We wanted a child close to Tizita's age. His wish list included a mop, broom, musical toys, and a warm blanket. Pretty easy requests. We had such a fun time shopping for our little guy. We bought him a cuddly, soft blue blanket, a broom that talks while you sweep, an stuffed Elmo with a book that talks, an Elmo cell phone with music and sounds, a pair of pajamas and an outfit. John picked out a Packer sippy cup, too. Everything is wrapped up and ready for delivery. This year seemed like a great year to spread the wealth. We have been blessed with so much this past year and this was a very simple way to give back to someone who doesn't have as much as we do. We did this a few times when the girls were growing up. It seemed like an easy way to teach them the joy of giving. My Preshool class also chooses a special project to participate in over the holidays. Last year we collected books for the Ethiopia Reads program. My kids were so excited to bring in books to send to children in Ethiopia. It gave me a chance to educate them on how we are all alike on the inside even if we look different. This year we are collecting food for our local food pantry as well as children's books for the pantry, also. When a family comes in for food their children can pick out a book as a gift. Another great lesson in sharing with those who have less than we have. We have also collected baby items for our local pregnancy center, sent shoe boxes filled with gifts to the children who survived Katrina, collected items for a local soldier in Iraq, and bought gifts for a family we adopted in our city. I really enjoy using these activities to teach the children about sharing with others. I hope they will take this lesson out into the world with them.