ARK - Acts of Random Kindness for Kids & Adults with Free Printables

ARK Jars Make Great Gifts.

Children are great imitators. Would you like to make a difference in our world? Small acts of kindness amount to a huge difference, especially when you teach children to do service and develop compassion and charity. You are leading the way to a better future. You are wonderful if you notice and act upon people needing something. Anything can make a difference  - even a smile or a hug.  

ARK = ACTS OF RANDOM KINDNESS

My friend April came up with this idea -
ARK JAR GIFT IDEA with FREE PRINTABLES:

• Noah's Ark for Jar
• Ideas for Adult ARKs Jar
• Ideas for Kids ARKs Jar or Box

CHILDREN LEARN CHARITY AT HOME:

I asked my friend Katie Norris of Mommy with Selective Memory if she had an example for my post. This was her endearing reply:

"I've had the same babysitter since my daughter was born. I love the consistency of having the same person and one thing that has never changed is that every Wednesday night, my babysitter spends her evening feeding the homeless. As part of this tradition, she likes to take hard-boiled eggs for them to eat. She says the homeless people really appreciate this because eggs are so full of protein, and it's not something they get very often. So, every week at the grocery store, I buy 36 eggs, and every Wednesday, my babysitter cooks them with my daughter's "help."

"However, it occurred to me the other night that I was missing a big opportunity. All of this time, my daughter has just assumed that her babysitter REALLY likes hard-boiled eggs. Since my daughter is now four years old, she is old to understand what is really being done with these eggs. I explained to her that Renee is taking the eggs to people who don't have a home to live in. My daughter's eyes got really big and she said, "But Mom, if they don't have a house, where is their bed?"

"Okay, so I guess she might be a little too young still to fully grasp the concept of people living on the street, but she did understand that we were trying to do something nice for other people and she was very proud. It made me realize that it's never too young to start thinking about doing nice things for other people."

  

HELP CHILDREN HELP OTHERS

My daughter and I instigated Collect Teddy Bears for Policemen or Fire Firefighters by simply placing a box in the church foyer. Many children donated their gently used stuffed animals. Sarah had to think awhile about which stuffed animals to donate - but that is all right. She eventually donated quite a few. They went to children who were experiencing emergencies. 

We also made a box to collect items for nursing homes such as lap blankets, non-slip socks, hats, gloves, housecoats, bird seed and bird feeders. I had purchased some ornaments at a 75% off After-Christmas sale. The staff''s faces really brightened when I donated them and some used decorations I wanted to pass on.

 
CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS HELPING OTHERS:

My daughter is twenty-two and has special needs, yet here are some ways she and her friends help others:

• Be a friend to another child with special needs
• Make pillows out of old t-shirts
• Help at school with xeroxing or office work
• Help at a daycare by being a buddy to a child who needs one
• Help clean a church, home or other establishment
•  Write notes and make drawings for soldiers or residents in nursing homes 
• Work in the church nursery or primary
• Tie a lap blanket. Cut strips around a flannel piece and tie adjoining strips in knots. Cut about 1"wide and 5" long. For a warmer blanket, place 2 pieces of same size flannel on top of each other. Cut them together and tie the front to the back. Sarah has made lap blankets for a boys' home, nursing homes, domestic violence shelter, and The Salvation Army.

Sarah made a box for her ARK notes. I call it her "Blessings Box." I bought the Noah's Ark stickers at a Christian bookstore. There are many free images of Noah's Ark on Free Clip Art. For free coloring pages, click on Noah’s Ark Coloring Pages

AGENCIES NEEDING ASSISTANCE:

• Save the Children  -To view a “Save the Children” video interview with Mark Shriver and others regarding poverty in the United States, click here. For more information to help feed children in America, where 1 in 5 children live in poverty, visit this site or help them feed children in other impoverished countries. I was shocked at the poverty in Tennessee.
• Red Cross.org needs blood, money and volunteers.
• Operation Gratitude lists many ways we can help. Teachers are needed to have students write letters, or drawings, of appreciation and support. Soldiers like to give donated beanie babies to children in war-ravished countries.
• World Wildlife.org helps save animals.
• Operation Shoe Box - Child Christmas 2012 - See a video on how shoebox gifts affect children.
•  Operation International Kindness - Collects school supply kits to ship internationally. 
• Imagination Library, Books for Kids and Reach Out and Read 

A STRANGER PERFORMED AN ARK FOR ME! 

One day I took my daughter to the zoo. We gave the train conductor a cap that I had when I taught kindergarten. I didn’t need it anymore and noticed that he did not have one. He was so happy to have the cap that he insisted that we ride the train for free that day. Later, when we stopped at the convenience store to buy drinks, the cashier told me, “That’s okay, ma'am. It’s been taken care of.”

“Do I look that bad?” remembering how I had gulped down some of the drink and filled it to the top again. It had been a hot day at the zoo.

“No ma'am.” She smiled at me. “Sometimes this just happens.”

It sure made my day and I still remember this simple act of random kindness. I don’t know who to thank – so I’ve done it to a stranger. 

                 When you're feeling down - 

               lift someone else up.

You may be interested in my books: Kindergarten: Tattle-Tales, Tools, Tactics, Triumphs and Tasty Treats for Teachers and Parents and The Happy Mommy Handbook: The Ultimate How-to Guide on Keeping Your Toddlers and Preschoolers Busy, Out of Trouble and Motivated to Learn. Both have been number 1 bestsellers on Amazon and are also available on Barnes & Noble and Kobo. 

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Author Vivian Kirkfield of Positive Parenting Participation joins me for an Acts of Random Kindness video with books, crafts, ideas and benefits of teaching children to do service:
 

  

 I'm honored to be part of The Best of
2012 Blog Hop and Linky Party
created by ~Rainy Day Mum
 

 Participating Bloggers include:

 

~52 Brand New ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ The Magic Of Play ~ At home with Ali  ~B-Inspired Mama ~ Blog Me Mom ~Boy Mama Teacher Mama ~ Busy Kids = Happy Mom ~Carrots Are Orange ~ ~Caution! Twins at Play ~ Coffee Cups and Crayons ~ Confessions of a Montessori Mom  ~Craft To Art ~ ~Creative Family Fun ~ Creative Kid Snacks ~ Creative Learning Fun ~ Creative Playhouse ~Creative with Kids ~ Cute and Peculiar ~ Activités pour le Préscolaire ~ Dirt And Boogers  ~Edventures with Kids ~ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ The Good Long Road ~ Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails ~Glittering Muffins ~ Go Kid Yourself ~ Growing A Jeweled Rose ~ hands on : as we grow ~ Here Come the Girls ~Home Learning Journey ~ Housing A Forest ~ Mama Smiles ~ In Lieu of Preschool ~ Inspiration Laboratories ~Inspired by Family ~ It's A Long Story ~ JDaniel4's Mom ~ Kids Creative Chaos ~ Kid World Citizen ~Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers ~ Kitchen Counter Chronicles ~ ~Laughing Kids Learn ~ Learn with Play at home ~Lessons Learnt Journal ~ Life At The Zoo ~ Little Artists ~ Living Life Intentionally ~ Living Montessori Now ~ Love, Play, Learn ~Loving My Nest ~ Mama Pea Pod ~ mama miss ~ Mamas Like Me ~ Mess For Less ~ Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas ~ Momma's Fun World ~Montessori Tidbits ~ My Buddies and I ~ My Little Bookcase ~ My Nearest and Dearest ~ No Twiddle Twaddle ~ Nurturestore Octavia and Vicky ~ One Perfect Day ~ ourfeminist{play}school ~ ~Picklebums ~ Play Activities ~ Playdough to Plato ~PlayDrMom ~ playful learners ~ playing with words 365 ~ PragmaticMom ~ Putti'sWorld ~ RainbowsWithinReach  ~Rainy Day Mum ~ Raising Playful Tots ~ ~Reading Confetti ~ Red Ted Art ~ Royal Baloo ~ Science Sparks ~ Scribble Doodle and Draw ~Small Potatoes ~ Smiling like Sunshine ~ Sun Hats & Wellie Boots ~ Sun Scholars ~ Teach Preschool ~ The Educators' Spin On It ~The Fairy and The Frog ~ The Freckled Homeschooler ~ The Golden Gleam ~ The Imagination Tree ~ The Iowa Farmer's Wife The Outlaw Mom Blog ~ The Pleasantest Thing ~ This Reading Mama ~ Toddler Approved ~ Train Up a Child ~ True Aim ~Two Big Two Little ~ What Do We Do All Day? ~ Connecting Family and Seoul