Betsy's Season of Giving and Student Teaching

My friend, Betsy, is almost finished student teaching.  It's been and up and down experience, but this is a HUGE "up" to me.  It's a testament to incorporating what you love into a curriculum, even for little kids, to start instilling humanitarianism!  This made me feel so good!  With Betsy's permission, I posting it here:

Our theme for this month is "A Season of Giving." Kids tend to think only of what they are getting at Christmas, so we wanted to balance that out a bit. Among other small service activities and lessons on giving, we--as a class--are raising money to donate livestock through Heifer International. The kids are so excited about it!



Yesterday I started the unit by reading a picture book about a girl in Africa who had a goat donated to her family and how it changed their lives. Then I showed pictures of houses (basically shacks) and dilapidated schools in developing countries (from National Geographic) and discussed how the lives of the very poor in other countries differs from our lives here in Utah. Then, later in the day, we watched short, kid-focused video clips (downloaded from the Heifer website) about the different animals we can give and how they will benefit the family that receives it. And at that point the kids were really excited! :)


Today, just one day after introducing the unit, we already have $30! I made this little chart to track our progress. The kids are cracking into their piggy banks to donate all they have, and they are doing chores around the house to raise money.


It's so fantastic to see them so excited to give. Kids rule. :)