Meeting the School Community
Topics: Middle Years (5-9), How to Get Involved at School
Robert Coles writes: “In elementary school, maybe as never before or afterward, given favorable family and neighborhood circumstances, the child becomes an intensely moral creature, quite interested in figuring out the reasons of this world: how and why things work, but also, how and why he or she should behave in various situations.” 3
School Provides New Opportunities for Growth
At this age, children encounter a new set of potentially traumatic experiences —leaving the home, entering day-long school, meeting a large number of same-age peers, and usually adhering to strict daily routines.
"A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold."
Children in early elementary grades are quite able to express their feelings about fairness, selfishness, sharing and caring, justice, and equity. Listening to and sharing their impressions will help them successfully negotiate the new school environment. Most school situations require your children to learn to take turns, to listen, to share, and to obey basic rules. You can help your children by encouraging and rewarding these behaviors at home.
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| Student artwork "Peace is Beautiful" by Miranda, Brethren High School, Brethren, MI |
Philanthropy Concepts for the Early Elementary Age Child
Your children are now ready to understand these philanthropic concepts:
- Why a community needs rules, and why they are important in protecting individuals
- Cooperation
- Sharing
- Respect for individual private property
- Recognizing and dealing with emotions, such as jealousy or gratitude
- Selfishness and selflessness
Ideas for You and Your Children
- Introduce philanthropy as a word. Children at this age love big words. Define it as the sharing of time, talent, or treasure.
- Identify local heroes, such as a local religious leader, a kind volunteer, a school crossing guard, the reading volunteer at the library, or the local volunteer firefighter. Discuss their importance.
- Introduce diverse cultures and encourage your children to develop interest and trust in people who look different from members of your family.
- Use your children's natural emotional connection with animals, with nature, and with other children of similar ages to talk about caring and sharing.
- Introduce your children to play or social groups that offer some focus on caring, sharing, and helping. Youth organizations or the youth group in your congregation are good places to start.
Literature and Storytelling
A list of age-appropriate storybooks with a variety of themes about giving and sharing may be found in the Learning to Give Annotated Bibliography of Children's Literature.
Make Family Count
"Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice."
Begin to involve your elementary-aged children in activities that demonstrate giving and sharing and build confidence in their own abilities. Tell family stories of philanthropy—both when your family has been the recipient of giving and sharing, and when your family has given. This connection may be as simple as your family's enjoyment of the symphony's children's concert sponsored by a local company—to assistance given a grandparent or parent during their lives. It might include a funny incident when your family has given a gift, or a touching moment when someone in your family made a special effort to reach out and help another person. These family stories make the complex ideas mentioned later in the curriculum real, understandable, and important to children.
Reprinted with the permission of Learning to Give. © LearningToGive.org.
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