Remembering our veterans

Age:  any
Type:  craft

In 2011 there were approximately 21.5 military veterans in the United States.  On Veterans Day, my girls and I had the opportunity to thank a hand-full of these brave men and woman by making patriotic themed cards and pictures.  On a sunny November day we headed to a local community center which was sponsoring an event where you could write words of thanks on cards which were delivered to a nearby veteran's hospital. 

Explaining to the girls what it meant to 'serve' our country in the military was a difficult concept for them to understand.  However, because of some other projects we have undertaken, they do get the sacrifice that soldiers have to make as far as being away from home and loved ones.  The community center also offered some suggested words of thanks that we could include in our cards.

Looking to thank a veteran?  Here are a few suggestions to get you started!

"Thank you to all the brave men and women who sacrifice so much for our country! We are proud of you - your selflessness and bravery will never be forgotten!"

"Everyday we remember the sacrifices that are being made on our behalf, so that we can remain free and safe from those who would wish to hurt us. We thank you now and always."

"Thanks for the many sacrifices you make daily to protect us. You are in my prayers."

"For all of those serving or having served, thank you!"

"Thank you for defending, and and fighting for our country and keeping us safe."

Candy Candy Candy

Age:  any
Type:  donation

Just when I think my girls couldn't possibly collect more candy than they did the year before, they some how manage to do just that!  This years haul was so impressive my oldest actually was making "candy" angels on the floor in the middle of her stash!  No worries here about what to do with all that loot however, as once again we participated in an Operation Gratitude candy collection.  This is our third year participating in a candy collection where we donate our candy to be sent to our military personel serving oversees.  For more details or to find a participating collection location check it out here!

No Tricks Just Treats

Age:  Over 2
Type:  Baking/Donation

As part of our new holiday giving plan, a Halloween inspired service project was first on our list.  We decided to support the local Ronald McDonald house with a basket of goodies.  Our local Ronald McDonald house hosts 29 families at a time, most of whom have well children in addition to their hospitalized child.  For these siblings, Halloween this year will be very different, so we hoped to spread a little spooky fun with our trick or treat inspired gift basket.  Filled with pumpkin bread, suckers, craft supplies and coloring books, we had a blast assembling it and delivering it to some very appreciative families!

Super 6 Summer Service Project Ideas

With my first year as a mom of a school age child nearly under my belt, I am ready for summer vacation!  For the last month I have been madly 'pinning' summer activities, crafts, recipes and other fun things for my girls and I to do together.  As I was doing so, I realized that what was missing was a little hearts post on the subject!  While summer does provide some much needed respite and time to run through the sprinklers and lick melty popsicle off our fingers, it can also be a great time to engage in serving others.  So without further ado, I present the Super 6, a collection of summer-themed projects for you and your little one!

1 - Guest Groundskeeper
For many people summer is a time of family trips and vacations.  It is also a time when that summer heat can quickly undo all that hard work you spent planting in the spring.  Next time your neighbor goes on vacation, volunteer to water their flowers.  Tiny watering can in hand, watering flowers is my almost 2 years olds absolute favorite activity.  Sure the sidewalk, my shoes, the tires of the car may all get a little water as well, but eventually the job gets done!

2 - Fresh Fruit Baker
In Michigan summertime in synonymous with an abundance of fresh berries!  Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries - we love them all.  My girls and I have already been out strawberry picking and almost 20 pounds later we were left wondering what we could possibly do with this haul!  The solution - jars of homemade jam for crossing guards, teachers, babysitters  - a thank you for those people who have made this school year great! 

3 - Lemonade Stand Owner
My six year old has already been hounding me about when she can have a lemonade stand again (this year will apparently be Rock Star themed :).  A classic activity that has jobs perfect for ages 2 and up and a great way to collect donations to a favorite cause.  Consider spending some time researching different organizations and charities that your little heart would like to donate to!  Another twist for the older ones could be holding a car wash!

4 - Thirst Quencher
I am not one to ever complain about the heat - the hotter the better as far as I am concerned.  We only get so many of these kind of days in Michigan!  Still, there are those days where the heat and humidity combine in one hot mess where the girls and I just want to curl up in the house in our AC.  Not everyone has the luxury of seeking out the cool air on these kind of days - garbage and recycling still need to be collected and mail still needs to be delivered.  So how about leaving out cool bottles of water with a little note of thanks for these service providers.  Sure to bring a smile and a little relief on a hot day!

5 - Garden Helper
My first post on the little hearts project was about an experience I had with my first daughter in our church garden and the impact that it had on us.  This summer I plan to enlist the help of all my girls as we head back into the garden.  No longer just something for rural areas, urban farms and gardens are popping up just about everywhere!  Many communities have their own gardens and need volunteer support to keep them going.  I have posted about it here and here previously.  Nothing says summer like fresh veggies and pulling a few weeds is the perfect project for little hands!

6 -  Mini-Parade Maker
A summertime service project list would not be complete without an art project for the little ones!  Who doesn't love a good Fourth of July Parade?  Unfortunately for children hospitalized during the July 4th holiday, attending a parade is not always possible.  So consider bringing the parade to them using these two super cute ideas from Family Fun to make July 4th Hats and Noise Makers.

I hope you have found this list helpful in getting you and your little heart inspired to serve others this summer!  Would love to hear about any of these projects that you - so please send along :)

Happy Summer!!!!

little hearts, big impact

This morning I was reading this months edition of our local parenting magazine when I found an article about a little girl who was recently awarded a Spirit of Detroit Award for outstanding service.  And by little girl I mean 5 years old!!!  I immediately went to the web to find out more (you can read an article here). 

According to the articles I read, realizing during Halloween that some children were too sick to trick-or-treat, Rielly Rudolph set out to bring some spookiness to them.  With the help of family and classmates she decorated and donated 175 pumpkins to a local children's hospital which were put in common areas for all to enjoy. 

Needless to say, I was touched.  I love that Rielly saw a need and responded with empathy and action.  Little hearts at work.  My heart melts.

Christmas Countdown: 25DG&G

Inspired by a post I saw on Facebook (okay full disclosure it was by my sister-in-law :) since today is December 1st, here on thlp we are starting a full on Christmas Countdown.  Not a countdown in a traditional way, but a fresh approach to serving others by participating in 25 Days of Giving & Graciousness.

We aren't talking monumental acts of kindness (though those would be certainly be awesome) but everyday making a conscience effort with your little ones to do something kind, considerate, thoughtful, unexpected, etc for someone else. 

Please share your ideas and success stories from 25DG&G and I will be posting as we go!

Halloween's Over....Now What!

Age: 2 and up
Type: Donation

This year trick or treating took on a whole new meaning in our house with a 5.5 and almost 3 year old.  They happily ran (literally) up and down the streets of our neighborhood for HOURS!  To say it was fun was an understatement.  My husband and I chatted with friends and neighbors we ran into as we tried to keep up with our girls.  At the end of the night they both spread out all their candy and we took stock for a moment of an absolute pile of candy.  A huge, chocolaty, delicious pile of more candy then we would ever let them eat.  So now what to do?  Thankfully I found a great website which can be found here. 

Halloween Candy Buy Back has a super easy search which allows users to type in their zip code and find a participating dentist closest to you that will be collecting candy.  What do they do with all this loot you are probably wondering?  The candy will be used to fill care packages sent to the troops in the month of December through Operation Gratitude.  This year Operation Gratitude will be sending 60,000 care packages!  I called the office closest to us and they are collecting candy all week up to 10 pounds.  Haven't weighed ours yet, but I bet we are close to that!

So have your little hearts set aside a few favorite pieces and help you pack up the rest of those goodies.  Some amazing men and women far from home are sure to appreciate your sweet treat!

Easter Ideas - Coin Box for Lent

Type: donation

Age: over 2

During this Lenten season many of us have chosen to go without or to do more - relying on God's strength to help us when we are weak. Surely there is a lesson in this for our little hearts as well. Thanks to reader Jessica for providing this example from her son!

During Sunday School, Jessica's son was given a small box to collect coins which would be used for mission work. I thought it was touching (and quite funny) how she explained it in her message to me, so I will include Jessica's words here...

"My son is desperate to put money in "for Jesus" every chance he can get - so he asks me quite frequently if we have any. He was excited to find some foreign money in his play wallet today and sooo wanted to put it in there. I had to keep a constant eye on it, because what in the world would the church do with all that strange coinage?"

Don't you love that passion and excitement at the prospect of giving!!!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful story and great idea Jessica!

Easter Ideas - Palm Sunday

Type: service
Age: 3 and over

Though many years removed, I can still remember Palm Sunday at my hometown church. The altar was always festooned in rich purple fabric and at the close of the service, each attender received a small palm cross much like the ones shown to the right. I can picture my Dad tucking his into the jacket pocket of his coat, and I bet if I looked, there might still be one of these crossespressed into the pages of my youth Bible.

Reflecting on this, I thought it could be a perfect opportunity for our children to get involved in celebrating the Easter holiday. While making the crosses might be a bit challenging for little hands, distributing them certainly would not be. If your place of worship has a similar palm Sunday tradition, consider asking if you and your little one could hand out these symbols at the close of service. Imagine the joy it would bring the worshipers to see your little one serving, and what better way to help reinforce the message of Easter to your child.

As always, please let me know if you give this project a try. I'd love to hear about the results!

National Reading Month Ideas - Birthday Books

Type: donation, books

Age: any

I have written several times about my older daughter, but this particular idea features an idea appropriate for any age child. In this case it is my 1 year old daughter, Brier. When it came time for her first birthday in December, I looked around at the mountains of girly things we already owned and couldn't conjure up any ideas for what family could get her for this occasion. So instead, we decided having guests bring gifts to donate would be the perfect idea!

Each guest to Brier's party brought a book personalized for her to commemorate this big day, and another book that would be donated. As I have previously posted, we LOVE books, and you can always add to your collection, so Brier happily opened all her specially selected new books. Afterwards we wrapped up the dozen or so donated books and headed to Detroit and and a place called the Matrix Organization which has a Headstart program in the heart of the city. For my husband, myself, Schuler and Brier, it was an amazing experience touring the facility and seeing how excited they were to be receiving this gift.

For your child's next birthday, consider making a donation in your child's name. Not only will you be impacting your community, but yours and your child's lives as well.

National Reading Month Ideas - Milk + Bookies

You never know where inspiration is going to come from - and this post is no exception as it came from, of all places, a celebrity mom blog! Seems that many of the cool Hollywood mom's (including my personal fav Jennifer Garner) are supporting an organization called Milk + Bookies. According to their website:

"Milk + Bookies is a non-profit organization that teaches young children how great it feels to give back while celebrating the love of a good book"

I can't think of a mission statement that touches my 'little heart' more - as in addition to identifying with the service portion, I am an avid reader and lover of books. So in honor of National Reading Month, I wanted to highlight the work of this organization.

If you and your little one decide to support Milk + Bookies, please let us know. We'd love to hear how it went. As always, we love your ideas, comments and feedback!

Giving a little love

Type: Craft
Age: 2 and up

It's an exciting day at the little hearts project - we have our first official guest submitter! Thank you to Jeanine for her fabulous Valentine's idea. Perfect timing!

Already accustomed to 'sticker time' with her son Hunter, Jeanine thought it would be an easy transition to turn this activity into a Valentine's service project. Inspired by a local store who was collecting these Valentine's to be delivered to a senior living facility, the crafting began.

With any craft project, you can easily adapt the tasks to be oriented to the age of your child. In this case, since Hunter is only 2, Jeanine made the front of the cards herself using doilies and construction paper. The little guy went to town decorating with stickers - lovingly placed I'm sure! If your child is a little older, they may be able to handle the cutting, coloring or even writing on your valentine.

It is easy to get caught up making lots of Valentine's for friends and classmates, but why not deliver a few extra to a senior center in your area. It is sure to make them feel very loved to know your little helper was thinking of them!