H.E.A.R.T: Martin Luther King Jr

Denise and I had the privilege of leading the 5-9 year old at our homeschool group this past week. We spent a lot of time talking about kindness and about how we can all work hard to be peacemakers just like Martin Luther King Jr. 

We did an egg demonstration for the kiddos (thank you, Pinterest) where I cracked open both a white and brown egg. We talked about how we may look differently than each other on the outside but that we are all the same on the inside. We all have a heart and we all have feelings (etc). What a powerful visual. I was close to "preaching" at one point when we started talking about where the eggs came from. They both came from a chicken just like we all came from God. He created us perfectly and in His own image. Uniquely and differently but perfectly and all for His honor and glory.   

Among a few of our other activities were cards with random acts and we sorted them as we talked about which were peacemakers and which were peacebreakers. I also shared a moving demonstration I found here about how our acts of kindness, no matter how small, effect the world around us. At the end of the demonstration I gave each of the kids a cube and we eventually all connected our cubes so that they created one large mass. We got the chance to talk about what kind of effect it makes when we come together as a group to do something kind for others and dropped that large mass into the water. What a splash it made! There is power in numbers. We have the opportunity to make a "bigger" splash when we join hand and hand with others for the same cause. 

Denise organized a craft that fell in line so perfectly with the tone of the day. You're so awesome, Denise! 

 

The kids took a lot of pride in their work and came up with some really wonderful ways in which they would change the world. 

Finally, I challenged the kids and their families to complete "100 Acts of Kindness" by Valentines day. (It's an activity we use to do in the classroom and I really enjoyed it). It basically consist of finding a way (anyway) to keep track of your family's acts of kindness. You could keep track with tally marks, filling a jar with pom-poms or even recording each act in a journal. 

I, personally, really wanted to use the activity as a chance to encourage my kiddos to look for the good in OTHERS. If I over think the idea too much I start to get leery, worrying it'll turn into some sort of competition or create unnecessary narcissistic behavior and bragging. In hopes to veer them away from those things, I laid a few ground "rules" but just didn't call them "rules". 

The following day after our homeschool group, our crew took some time to sit and talk about all the wonderful things we had learned. We decided we wanted to be peacemakers and do our best to be kind to others. It was then I got the chance to share the ground "rules" and explain how we were going to keep track of our 100 Acts. The smiles are their faces showed how excited they were. Even so, I noticed they weren't overly eager to begin looking for excuses to write something down just for the sake of writing something down. I counted that as a blessing and as a great start.

 

What a beauty, no matter how short or long, that chain is going to be for days and days to come. 

A little side documentation (since I always seem to be the student with the most to learn): I felt God nudging me through this experience. Nudging me to let go of all that over-thinking and control over what's going to happen to my kids if "I fail". Sometimes (a lot of times) I need to do a little (A LOT) less worrying and a lot more trusting Jesus. He knows my heart and my intention and will take care of the rest. I need to trust Him more and realize He ultimately has control over it ALL.