Like giving books for birthdays?

Some kids don't get much for their birthday.  That's why I'm excited about what Barefoot Books is doing.  They've launched a new campaign:

• If you buy Bear's Birthday through the month of July, Barefoot Books will donate a book to Birthday Wishes, an organization that gives birthday presents and parties to kids who otherwise wouldn't get any.  Great stuff, right?  This is relevant to me right now as both my kids and my husband will be celebrating their birthdays in the next month.
• You can also send a free birthday e-card to the bear-lover in your life!  Fun!
• Did I mention there's a huge summer sale going on right now, too? (through Aug. 15, 2011) 

Barefoot Books works with Books for Africa, Ecolibris, First Book, and several others.  If you want to be a responsible consumer, think about where you buy.  Supporting companies that make a difference in the world (not because it's good for the bottom line, but because it's good for the planet) makes a lot more sense than just walking into a Walmart and picking up the first thing you see.

If you'd like to make the leap, check out my website or find other gifts that promote community uplift, global awareness and corporate responsibility.

Teaching kids to give back-

The Fairyland Cupcake Kids

As I was planning a big garage sale this summer at my house, I had a friend offer to come over and keep the kids busy running a lemonade and cupcake stand.  Great idea!  She also had the fabulous idea of giving the proceeds to a local charity.  We chose Neighbor Impact, because they have a facility in the town where we live, and because they do tangible things like give food to people and help families find housing. 

I advertised the event on Facebook, Craigslist and by pink signs, and included the information about the lemonade stand. 

The garage sale and the lemonade stand were a hit! The local paper even came and took a picture. Can you tell we live in a small town? The girls made big bucks in their princess dresses, even though most of the time they were playing in the back yard.  I guess the moms did some work, too.  The following week we took the girls to get a tour of the facility.  It was great to see what the charity is doing in our community and how they are appreciative of even the smallest offering.
 

I'm pretty sure we ate most of the cupcakes ourselves.  On the other hand, I think the average donation at the lemonade stand was at least $1 over the price of the item.  So our girls learned that people like to give.   Other things they learned:

• Money- counting it, identifying it, making change
• The value of a cupcake (i.e.- don't eat all the merchandise)
• How to greet a customer 
• Sharing with friends
• How sweet it is to "give back."

Cereal Science: What's in your breakfast cereal?

I LOVE teaching my kids things.  I love the "aha" moment that inevitably follows and I love the challenges they lay before me.  The other day we were sitting at the breakfast table with Kashi multigrain puffed cereal (which is tasty and healthy, so I don't mind mentioning it on my blog).  I was picking out the puffed rice for my 8 month old when I realized there is a list and a picture of all the grains on the back of the box.  I immediately took out a handful of puffed goodness, piled it up on the table in front of my 4 year old and turned the box to her.  She got it right away. 

"Mommy- which ones are which?"

I read the names and descriptions of  each of the grains and seeds and we spent the next 15 minutes sorting and discussing them.  We sorted by size, shape, color, taste, texture and general puffiness.  It was a beautiful moment.  It was a learning moment. 

Every day is full of moments like this one.  Totally out of the scope of any curriculum (there might be one out there I don't know of that includes Kashi grain recognition as a skill set), this moment still stands out to me as a reason (albeit a rather "fluffy" one, pun intended) why I love to homeschool.  If we were running late for the bus, this moment would not have happened.  A clarification:  kids who take the bus in the morning can find time in their day to make such observations, of course.  I'm just happy we can be more flexible. 

Down the road I look forward to more nutrition talks around the breakfast table, in the grocery store, and in the garden.  I'll keep you posted.