‘Tis the season for gratitude and giving! At Barrow, the Winter Holiday Drive for Greenwich House is a fun and accessible way for the whole family to participate in an act of kindness. Thank you to the Community Engagement and new Friends of Greenwich House Parents Association Committees for organizing.
Winter Holiday Drive for Greenwich House
Monday December 2 – Friday December 13
Boxes will be in the lobby for dropping off holiday gifts for those who participate in Greenwich House’s Older Adult Center and Youth Services Program
Are you curious about how to extend this activity to further blossom gratitude and generosity in your children?
The Raising Grateful Children project at UNC Chapel Hill researched gratitude experiences with families as their children grew from kindergarten to young teenagers. This study concluded that gratitude is an experience that has four parts…
What we NOTICE in our lives for which we can be grateful
How we THINK about why we have been given these things
How we FEEL about the things we have been given
What we DO to express appreciation in return
We are often very good at encouraging children with the DO part… “Say thank you!” or “Let’s write a thank you card.” But what about the first three? And how does this all connect with being generous?
Gratitude requires children – and adults – to use a set of complex social emotional skills like perspective taking and naming emotions. These are skills that children are starting to foster between 3 and 5 and can be nurtured through opportunities just like the holiday drive. For example you might try this…
NOTICE-THINK-FEEL-DO MODEL
NOTICE – “I notice how happy you are playing with your favorite Legos (doll, puzzle, art supplies).”
THINK – “Why do you think you love your Legos so much?”
FEEL – “How does playing with them make you feel?”
DO – “There is a way you can help others feel these same things you do. Greenwich House gives children in our neighborhood a place to play after school. When we donate a gift to the holiday drive, it will be delivered to these neighbors so they can play ___ and feel ___ too.”
OR
NOTICE – “I notice how much much fun it was to spend time with our cousins and grandparents this Thanksgiving. You were playing and laughing!”
THINK– “How do you think different people celebrate the holidays? What if someone’s family lives far away?”
FEEL – “How do you think it would feel to be alone or without family during the holidays?”
DO– “Greenwich House gives gifts and serves a holiday meal for older adults in our neighborhood so they can be together during the holidays. When we donate a gift to the holiday drive, it will be delivered to an older adult in our neighborhood so they can feel ____ during the holidays too.”
** Bonus! You and your child can even help wrap these gifts together for the Older Adult Center on Saturday December 14th!
WANTS AND NEEDS
What if my child asks why someone needs games, toys, or other special gifts, you ask? Great question!
The distinction between a want and a need can be hard to understand, and we as adults know that it can be complex and nuanced. The Winter Holiday Drive is an opportunity to start a conversation during this giving season. Try making a list of needs and a list of wants together. For this purpose, the “needs” can be simplified for your child, for example: food, water, clothing, shelter, safety, and love. Making a list of wants is very fun! For example, my list includes: far away trips, seafood platters, and fun gadgets! Where do you and your child think winter hats or puzzles go on this list? Why?
You might use this list to share something like: “We all have needs and wants. Our family has lots of things that we need as well as things that we want, but there are some families that have to spend most of their money on things they need, and do not have as much of the things they might want. One way we can help is by finding something we think they might want or need and donating it, like winter hats for some older adults or art supplies for some children in the neighborhood. Would you like to help pick out a holiday gift that you think would make someone feel (safe, loved, cozy) in our neighborhood this winter?”
Some books you might read related to giving…
2s and up:
It’s Mine by Leo Lionni
The Spiffiest Giant in Town by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffle
3s/4s and up:
The Berenstain Bears Think of Those in Need by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson
4s/5s and up:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
If you have other ideas for how you inspire gratitude and generosity in your family, please share them with us! Or if you try a conversation using some of these ideas, let us know how it goes, including any questions that come up for you… maybe the community has some helpful tips!
