“No one has ever become poor from giving.” Anne Frank. Anne Frank nailed it with this quote. The research shows that people who give have longer-lasting happiness than those that receive it. Our brains release serotonin when we see others smile, consequently making us feel happy.
The holidays just feel like a time for giving as well. Perhaps it is something in the air or the needs of our students are just more prevalent around the holidays. You notice that people do not have winter coats, enough money for thanksgiving dinner, or enough for Christmas presents. People also seem to be more generous around the holidays.
Ask Your Students About Ways to Give
Students love doing projects and feeling like they are making a difference. Share with your students some of the needs that you are seeing in the school. Ask them if they see any other needs. Then brainstorm with them ways that they would want to give back to their community. Their generosity and creativity are boundless. Students that have ownership of the project will give more.
Thanksgiving Baskets
Thanksgiving can be a tough time for families that are struggling with enough food to eat. Typically, students are home from school several extra days for the week of Thanksgiving requiring parents to feed their children the meals they would have received at school. As a culture, we serve a large meal on thanksgiving that many families can’t afford.
Partner with a local food bank or church to help you provide Thanksgiving meals for families. Use the resources in your community. Create a new program if none exists. Think about offering a Thanksgiving dinner at your school for families that might need assistance or send home the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal.
Giving Tree
A giving tree is a simple idea to get students and families involved in giving. Set up a tree, big or small. You can even set up a paper tree on the wall with fall leaves. On ornaments or leaves write a need that you have.
Needs could be food items for your Thanksgiving baskets. They could be clothing in specific sizes, toiletries, or gifts. We have seen giving trees made to collect gas and grocery gift cards. Another giving tree option is to put your adopt a family Christmas needs. You can place an ornament for a 10-year-old girl, or you could place an ornament for each individual item that 10-year-old needs. The options are endless. Create a tree that works for your school and community.
Winter Drive
It is apparent when winter arrives the needs of some of our students. Students have outgrown or worn out their hats, gloves, and winter coats. If you live in warmer parts of the country this might not be as big of an issue but for those locations that get below freezing, this can be a big deal.
Work with your students to have a Hat, Gloves, and Coat drive. Turn it into a contest and whichever class brings in the most items wins a prize. Set up a goal for the entire school. If the school meets the goal they all earn an extra recess or a movie day.
Gently used coats are also an option. Younger students grow out of their coats every year. They might have only worn it a few times. Middle school and high school students might be hesitant to wear a used coat.
Holiday Cards
Students can participate in giving by taking time to write Holiday cards. There are many people in our country that are lonely and might not receive much mail or many cards. You can partner with a nursing home to send cards to residents or write cards that can be sent to Military personnel.
Serving Others
Students can give by serving others. They can serve younger students by hosting a reading day. Before Winter Break students can read holiday books to younger students as an activity.
Caroling is a great opportunity for music classes to share their skills with those around them. Students can visit and carol around nursing homes or simply down the hallways of school spreading a little Christmas cheer.
Students can also work on service projects. This is an opportunity for them to show their appreciation for those around them. You can use these as volunteer hours or a school project. A few ideas might include shoveling snow or raking leaves.
SEL Unfiltered
Do you want to hear more? Check out the rest of our SEL and the Holidays series on our SEL Unfiltered podcast, wherever you stream your podcasts.
Check out other episodes in our SEL and the Holidays series, including Teaching Gratitude, Supporting Students’ Holiday Needs, Holiday Diversity, Holiday Fun, and Holiday Self-Care.
Game of the Week
Every week on SEL Unfiltered we like to bring you a game or activity. You can use the game with your students, in the classroom, or in a small group. This week Kaitlin and I played a round of Thanksgiving Categories.
Thanksgiving Categories is a fun way for students to use their critical thinking skills. The game works by selecting a category. We selected Thanksgiving Dinner. Then each player is to name something in that category that starts with their name. The person is out when they can’t think of anything to name. You can make the game easier by allowing students to name anything in that category regardless of the letter it starts with.
