When we first started discussing the read-a-thon, she said "I think I'd like to keep the money." I told her that was not an option, and we discussed St. Jude's Hospital and how nice it would be to help the children there. Since O is very interested in all things medical, helping the children at St. Jude's is very appealing to her. She also knows a little about St. Jude's and sees pictures of some of the children there often since her Guhguh and Grandpa support St. Jude's and have pictures of the children on their refrigerator.
O will read books to for this read-a-thon until Christmas. We will then collect the money and send a check to St. Jude's. She is more and more excited about this everyday, and she was thrilled to tell her grandmother about it on the phone yesterday. She's already talking about her next read-a-thon, and she's looking forward to researching other charities to support.
O has been reading Bob books, Hooked on Phonics books, and books printed from Hubbard's Cupboard. We only write books on her list that she has read completely independently.
What a great idea! Friends of ours run a foundation that helps to support St. Jude's if you'd like to check it out. Their 7 year old daughter died of brain cancer and it was her wish that every year on her birthday that her family would raise enough money ($1.4 million) to pay for all that day's expenses at St. Jude's. They've done it for the past 2 years and every little bit helps to make it happen each year.
ReplyDeleteYou can read more about it here:
http://catieswish.org/about/about-the-caties-wish-foundation/
This is such a great way to teach your kids about giving. I love that she's doing it all on her own too - shows her that one person can make a difference.
ReplyDeleteok this is awesome-- went to St Judes w/a group to put on a carnival for the kids about 10 yrs ago - was in love w/ the place before, during that, and still am- it's amazing...so is there a way to get in on this read a thon?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to encourage and reward reading, but also teach about giving. And it's not like your child asking just asking you to donate money, but they are "working" themselves to earn that money. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! I will definitely keep it up my sleeve!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! Karen
ReplyDeleteSippy Cup Central
Great, great idea, Melissa! I love activities that teach the importance of giving to others. So important to teach it at a young age :)
ReplyDeleteYesterday, the girls and I went to the library and I saw a book called Pat, Cat, and Rat. It is part of the We Read Phonics series (http://www.webothread.com/server/TreasureBay/website/main/scripts/wereadphonics.asp) I had never heard of this series before, but I got the book for Arin. You would not believe how excited she was to have a library book that she could read. She has the BOB books and the Hooked on Phonics books, so I didn't think she'd care much about this book, but the fact that it was a library book made it so much better to her. Just thought I'd pass that along in case you run out of books for your carity list. Perhaps your library will carry this series and O will be as excited as Arin was!
THanks, Cara. I'll look for those books today at the library.
ReplyDeleteFrugal Momma- Thanks for the info on Catie's Wish. It looks like a great organization, and we may donate our money to St. Jude's through Catie's Wish.