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Back to School Service Project Ideas
2012
Family Home Evening: Back to School Service Project Ideas
A new school year is just around the corner. There are many stores that are already advertising their back-to-school sales. One thing I loved was going to the store and purchasing my new school supplies. There’s just something fun and exciting about getting brand new pencils, notebooks, binders, backpacks and so on. However, there are many that are unable to experience the thrill of going to get the very basics to begin their new school year.
Gather your family, group, neighborhood, church group, etc and make a check list of basic back-to-school items that you can circulate around your circle of influence and seek donations of these items. Remember that you can take these lists into local medical offices and businesses and ask for them to gather items as well as an office service project.
Here is a simple supply list for you to use:
- #2 Pencils
- Crayons
- Color Pencils
- Scissors
- Erasers
- Glue Sticks
- Spiral notebooks
- Pencil case
- Pocket folders
- Pkg. lined paper
- Binders
- Rulers
-Black, blue and red pens
- Calculators
- Boxes of tissue
- Hand Sanitizer
- Subject dividers
- Pocket dictionary/thesaurus
- Highlighters
- Student Planner/Calendar
- Stapler/Stapler remover
*Once you have your items collected contact your local schools and school district and find out how you can drop the needed items off to be distributed to those who the schools/districts know are in need.
This is a very simple service project that you can involve just you and your spouse, your children, group, organization and so on and make such a huge difference in helping someone in need.
Please share this post with your friends, family and organization and help to spread the word!
25 Summer Activities You Must Do!
2012
With the summer days winding down and the new school year about to begin, here is a list of 25 Activities you MUST do before summer is over!
I’m sure you’ve gone swimming, gone to a movie and those types of summer activities— but, complete this revised Summer Bucket List to finish the season with a BANG!
Summer Activity Bucket List:
1. Put together a Lemonade Stand and give away cups of ice-cold lemonade
2. Buy a giant watermelon, go outside with spoons and eat the watermelon. Afterwards, wash off with a hose!
3. Create and go on a scavenger hunt or go Geocahing.
4. Gather lots of sidewalk chalk and create your favorite summer vacation spot outside. Make it big, colorful and have fun!
5. If you live where there are fireflies, go outside and enjoy them. Pick out one and see how long you can follow its light around.
6. Attend your state/county fair.
7. Go on a day trip somewhere new, fun and away from home.
8. Spend a day barefoot.
9. Hang sheets on a clothesline and run through them with your children.
10. Get white T-shirts and tye dye them!
11. Take a blanket, go outside and watch the clouds and make shapes/things out of the clouds.
12. Make homemade ice-cream in a bag.
- Ingredients
-
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup salt (The bigger the granules, the better. Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is fine.)
- Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
- 1 pint-size ziplock bag
- 1 gallon-size ziplock bag
- Instructions
-
- Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.
- Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it’s done.
- Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag. Easy cleanup too! Serves 1.
13. Melt crayons on a canvas.
14. Pack a lunch and go on a picnic to a new park you’ve never been to before.
15. Pitch a tent in your backyard and camp overnight– NO ELECTRONICS ALLOWED!
16. Make cards and deliver them with flowers to widows and shut-ins.
17. Get some old socks and make some puppets and put on a puppet show.
18. Get a white sheet hang it outside, projector and lap top and have an outdoor movie with your family and friends.
19. Organize and put on a neighborhood talent show.
20. Have a HUGE water fight.
21. Try new cookie recipes and take your new favorites to some friends.
22. Swing on a swing for a long time… twist your swing and spin around.
23. Host a family game night.
24. Organize and hold a family reunion.
25. Finger paint and create an art gallery in your home.
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What are some of your favorite summer activities?
Family Activity Night
2012
Family Activity Night Ideas~ Family Home Evening
Here are several great activity ideas for you to do with your family (couples, too) for a Family Activity Night.
1. Cooking Class: Host a cooking class with your children (of all ages) and give each family member a responsibility in creating dinner and dessert. Teach how to measure, cook with the stove/oven safely, setting the table and of course, the clean-up!
2. Cake Decorating: Prior to this family night, bake a small cake for each family member to decorate. Gather all the decorating tools and icing and go over different decorating methods. Afterwards, have everyone try out their new skills by decorating their own cakes. Instead of having a number of cakes at your home, take some to your neighbors and share the goodies.
3. Service Coupons: Gather computer paper, markers, scissors and any other craft items you want to use for this project. Have every person write/create service coupons for different things that each of them can do for others in the family, friends or neighbors. You can put these in a jar and have others pick out of the jar for items of service that will be performed for them and that they will perform for others.
Look for more ideas to come soon….
Have a great Family Night!
New Year Individual and Family Goals
2012
Purpose: Setting goals and establishing resolutions is the number one way people begin the New Year. The most important aspect is to plan according to what you really want to accomplish in realistic time frames. You can plan for one long-term goal(s), something to focus on throughout the year and you can also do smaller, short-term goals to work on for a few months at a time, or even shorter. The most important aspect is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
This lesson is to help jump-start individuals and families to set goals to for the New Year.
Lesson:
Goals have multiple layers: first, you create a visual in your mind of the goal(s) you would like to accomplish. Once you have in mind what you want to do, you’ve already accomplished half your goal.
1. Visualize yourself at the end point of reaching that goal.
Create a detailed plan to reach that goal. Will this be reached in 3, 6, 9 or 12 months? When will you have accountability on how you’re doing on reaching these goals? How often will you have this accountability? You can invite family and/or friends to help keep you focused on the goal(s) that you create.
What type of goals are you wanting to create for the upcoming year?
Career (do you want to achieve a promotion, finish an important project, increase sales, etc), Financial (pay off one credit card, two credit cards, all debt, pay off car, learn how to coupon and use them weekly, etc), Education (go back to school- finish your degree or begin a degree program, learn a new language, take a community class, etc.), Family (plan a vacation and set a budget, create a budget for your family, etc), Volunteer Service (make goals to volunteer monthly or do toy/food drives, make 24 Hr. Survival Kits, etc.), Physical (make goals to work out, lose weight, run a race, etc.), Personal Enrichment (learn to play a musical instrument, paint, cut hair, etc.).
2. Write it down.
Keeping a written log, journal or even create a blog to keep a daily or weekly record of your experience working towards your goals. Blogging can be a powerful way to keep yourself accountable and to engage others which will help you stay focused.
3. Create the plan.
Use budget sheets, goal sheets, calendars and whatever other materials you can find to get a detailed break down of your goal.
Set SMART Goals (from mindtools.com):
- S – Specific (or Significant).
- M – Measurable (or Meaningful).
- A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
- R – Relevant (or Rewarding).
- T – Time-bound (or Trackable).
Discussion:
1. Is goal setting important? Why or why not?
2. How can setting goals help you discover new things about yourself and help you live your best life?
Activity:
FREE Budget Tracking Sheets & other Financial Worksheets
FREE Blog Access (create a free blog to journal your progress in reaching your goals)
Treat:
Hot Chocolate & Marshmellows and No Bake Cookies
Hershey’s No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 3 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.
