If you ask most parents they will tell you they want their children to grow up to be caring individuals who give back to others and their community. What you may not know is how early in life you can begin nurturing the skills like kindness, generosity, and compassion.
As parents, we have to set an example and encourage the behaviors we want to see in our children. However, we also need a community that supports our children on their journey. Our partners at Primrose Schools have a focused nationwide initiative that engages young students through its Caring and Giving Food Drive with activities that can easily be replicated by parents at home.
The Caring and Giving Food Drive at Primrose offers a unique take on the traditional food drive. Students earn dollars by doing age-appropriate chores at home. They come together as a class to count the donations they raise and create a shopping list of healthy foods. As the class raises money and prepares their list, teachers facilitate discussions on how their efforts help those in need.
The children take a field trip to the local grocery store to purchase items on their list to donate to a local shelter or food bank.
In some cases, the class may visit the shelter to deliver the gifts and see how they help others. Each activity supports the lessons at the heart of the Caring and Giving Food Drive: compassion, citizenship and giving without expectation.
Want to help nurture these skills at home, but not sure where to start? Here are a few great resources from Primrose Schools:
- Nurturing Caring and Giving Children. This blog post provides parents with information on how children learn character development skills and tips on how to nurture them at home.
- Parent Resources: This post lists several character development skills and links to resources that correspond with each positive trait.
- Character Development infographic. This colorful visual highlights results from a national parent survey and shares facts about nurturing character development in young children.
I love that my children have the opportunity to learn to have compassion toward others who need help. Hard work, a giving heart, and desire to do for others is what I want to watch my children pass on to the next generation.
