Christmas is coming very soon! Let’s really put this virtue into practice this week.
The Lesson
Generosity: We must strive to give life to others through our things, our time, our words, and our thoughts.
Virtue in Action
Like with all virtues, practice makes perfect. When we are in the practice of giving our things and time, we start to do them more often. The more we practice being generous with words of encouragement and motivation, and consciously try to offer sincere compliments, the more we develop a habit of generosity which transforms into a virtue.
The Challenge
After talking to your child about generosity, invite your child to take The Good Eggs challenge that Ms. Poach put forth to the Eggs. Choose a local charity that accepts clothing, toys, books, etc. Do a little research about the charity and take some time and look at the charity’s website with your child.
Tell your child you plan on going through your closet and drawers to find some things that may benefit your chosen charity. Explain how something you choose may be something you really like, but you know somebody else could really use it and enjoy it, too. Also explain how sometimes there is a greater joy in giving something important away rather than just the things you don’t want anymore.
After modeling this activity, go through the same challenge in your child’s room. Remind your child about the importance of generosity. Tell your child how much joy another child may experience by getting that something special from their own life. If you’ve shown the example of giving something you really like away, your child will more than likely follow your example.
A Step Further . . .
When you are finished gathering up the things you are going to donate – even if you donate one item each – consider contacting the charity and asking if you can bring your child to the center to personally make the donation, possibly take a tour of the facility, and spend some time helping in whatever way they may need. You may be able to help organize and sort donations or maybe even help distribute them to people in need.
This challenge can be much more effective than putting donations in a drop box or leaving it on the front porch to be picked up. Be sure to thank your child for participating and compliment them on the great job they did with this challenge.
Continue to take the time to talk about the importance of generosity with your child. Remind them we need to be generous with our stuff, but also with our time, our words, and our thoughts. Go out for a hot chocolate and recap your favorite parts of this challenge!
I wish you a beautiful, generosity-filled holiday season – enjoy the beautiful life that surrounds you!
See you in January - and more than ever, thanks for being a Good Egg!
Wishing you all GOOD things,
Sandy
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