Kinder Book Club: Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun
Just in time for the new school year, and the attendant social pressures, I stumbled across another great book.
Check out Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage to be Who You Are by Maria Dismondy (author) and Kimberly Shaw-Peterson...
A Plan to End Hunger in Minnesota
If you find yourself with busy hands for an hour, dig up this excellent hour on Minnesota Public Radio. Tuesday’s Midday broadcast Can We End Hunger in Minnesota, invited Rob Zeaske, the executive director of Second Harvest Heartland,...
How Children can Help Victims of Japan’s Disaster
The images are heartbreaking. The news coverage brings more tales of danger and potentially greater catastrophe every hour. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake, massive tsunami, and now nuclear crisis devastating Japan is impossible to turn away from....
For Informed Citizens, Young & Old
I believe I have mentioned my public radio addiction in previous posts. For so long public radio has been my inspiration to get active in my community. I didn’t expect it to be the target of our social action, but on February 19th, the...
The Complicated Psychology of Helping
If you have been using the concepts of Doing Good Together to become a helper in the world and to teach your child to become an intentional helper, check out this article on the psychology of helping. Carl Pickhardt, PhD, published “Teaching...
New Year’s Resolution: Grow Empathy
It’s resolution season again. My daughter has resolved to “Heal the World” according to the endearing kindergarten spelling on our chalkboard. My own list is a bit less lofty, but still cumbersome, as yours might be. Still,...
Meals on Wheels: A Lesson in Civic Engagement
Meals on Wheels of Ramsey County is loosing $70,000 in Federal Funding in 2011. The daily promise of hot food and the personal contact of smiling volunteers will be replaced by the offer of Presbyterian Homes: a paid driver delivering frozen...
Patriotic Paper Bag Art
We tried out another Doing Good Together Kitchen Table Activity this week. If you have a box of crayons, a stack of plain paper bags, and a child interested in learning about and helping our soldiers and first responders, this is a good one.
Operation...
Pre-K Book Club: War and Peas
War is not an easy word to define for a five-year-old. It is an impossible concept to understand at any age. Unfortunately, war has been in the news daily since long, long before Miss Kindergarten was born, and she has asked for an explanation...
Compassionate Siblings, Kinder World
A new study out of Brigham Young University suggests that loving siblings inspire a charitable mindset, more so than parental influence. The research found that sisters had an especially profound impact on mental health overall, and kindness...
