Specificity is the secret to crafting for a cause. At least in our house! Knowing where their cards were headed really motivated them to create cheery art.

Our Color-A-Smile effort fell a bit flat a few weeks ago, in spite of my high hopes for re-purposing our craft time. This time, I loaded our table with construction paper cards, glue, magazine cut-outs, and stickers, and then I got specific.

With the help of Make a Child Smile, I began a new conversation with the girls. Since summer is the season for banged up knees and splinters, I started there. A few questions really got them thinking.

• How did you feel when you fell off your bike this morning?
• How do you feel when you get your own mail from grandma?
• Do you think we could send some mail to another child who is feeling hurt or lonely?

I read them the brief story for Make a Child Smile’s featured kid, three-year-old Isabella. My five-year-old seemed really alarmed that Isabella was stuck in the hospital. Without any more direction, they made fairly elaborate cards for her. Then the girls, especially Big Sister,  helped me write a note to her based on the information on the site.

Isabella has big dogs at home, so my girls told her about our cats and our chickens. Isabella needed cheering up, so my daughter made up a knock, knock joke for her. Plus, they both stuffed the envelop with stickers so she could make a project of her own.

Happily, the card making didn’t stop there.

I now stock their art corner with a few folded pieces of paper, some stickers, and a few markers in a zip-lock bag. Whenever they hear of a family member or neighbor who gets hurt, out comes the card kit. Isabella has received a few others from us. So has a little girl over at another great site: Hugs and Hope, though their database is a little more difficult to search.

Adding a picture and a story to their craft, whether it was a distant family member’s surgery or a sick child we’ve never met, has made all the difference. Their creations get labeled “to Mom” much less often than with our Color-a-Smile effort. Even my two-year-old pulls out the card kit, saying, “Let’s make another wittle kid happy today.”

Have your kids cheered up unwell or lonely friends, family, or even strangers with homemade cards? How have they reacted to the experience?

Tags: Craft, Improving Lives

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her two preschoolers. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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