I started this post yesterday and then erased it and then started it again. What my children are proposing to do is remarkable. . .and yet they are not. Don’t get me wrong. . .I think they’re fantastically remarkable. What I mean is they’re ordinary children. Anyone can do what they’re going to do and yet the right set of circumstances and learning opportunities presented itself to spark the idea. . .and it doesn’t matter to them how big it is.
So the point of my post is not to brag about my kids. I think all kids are capable and that’s kind of the point. My point is to look at what happens when school moves from beyond the school room, workbooks, and desks and into the real world? My kids would never have the opportunity to have read the book that started it all. . .because it’s one of those “religiously themed” books that the NEA would like to keep out of my home school. If they had to be at a desk “learning” they never would’ve gotten to practice their business skills at the lemonade stand. Had they not earned money at the lemonade stand, they never would’ve gotten to give it away. And had they not gotten to give it away, they never would’ve wanted to give away more. Thus, was birthed an idea.
The Idea
Awhile ago, I wrote about my kids working at their first lemonade stand. Sunkist gives lemonade stands away for free and asks that in return, you donate part of your proceeds to a charity of your choice. It’s on the honor system, but my kids chose to buy chickens and goats through a “gift catalog” to send to another family with 33% of the money they raised. My daughter and her friend split the rest of the money evenly.
Chickens and goats are nice but you could see the wheels in my daughter’s head turning. The next morning she came out with her brother and they had a plan. They don’t want to send chickens and goats. . .they want to send art supplies.
“What about the kids who are sad? Art can make them feel better,” my daughter pointed out.
And so was birthed an idea: to sell Christmas crafts and their own artwork to buy art supplies for other kids in need. And yes, this was their idea. I have had a little input only so far as to stop the planning of a trip to Russia or China. The rest of the plan is all theirs. It’s a good plan too.
I can’t say that we’ll send crayons all over the world like they’re thinking. But through this process they’ve honed their letter writing skills by writing to people and asking for donations. They’ve learned how to keep detailed records of money coming in and money going out. They’ve picked a project of sending 100 boxes of colored pencils and sketch pads to a place in China.
And it all started with a ‘religious book’ (the biography of George Muller to be exact), a flexible schedule, and an opportunity that wasn’t wasted. It makes me wonder if we miss other opportunities to do great things when we miss those little educational moments?