Welcome to Kids in Service

Kids in Service was created to inspire families to serve their communities together. We share service project ideas, book recommendations and stories of Incredible Kids serving their communities.  Please sign up for our monthly newsletter to keep up to date with all that we have going on each month on the site.

New This Month

“Let Your Heart Be Light…”

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white.' -Bing Crosby

December is the darkest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and that is why so many faiths and cultures have brought light into their celebrations.  COVID-19 has brought another type of darkness to many around the globe and it is my hope that the lights of the season will inspire you to be a light for yourself and others this month.

On the Kids in Service site this month we have lots of ideas to help you celebrate the season, learn about other December holidays, take care of yourselves and give back to others.  December is a busy month and it will be over before you know it. I hope that you and your family take some time to focus on self-care, kindness and giving.

 

CELEBRATING ADVENT & CHRISTMAS

We started celebrating the full 12 days of Christmas a few years back and it has stopped the “After Christmas Blues” from coming to town. Check out the simple ways we celebrate this festival.
Here are 10 projects that can help your children focus on kindness this holiday season.
There are so many fun ways to count down to Christmas and here are a few of our favorites.
This is my FAVORITE holiday present EVER and I have my children start work on it in mid-November.  This is a wonderful and inexpensive gift for your children to make to show someone in their life how much they mean to them. You could also make this a Hanukkah or Solstice present.
For years we have been following Passionate Penny Pincher’s Reverse Advent Calendar.  This year I was inspired to create two new giving calendars for Hanukkah and Solstice to encourage EVERYONE to participate in Season’s Giving.
The holiday season can be a busy and stressful time.  Here are a few ideas for you and your family to take some time for family self-care.

CELEBRATING HANUKKAH, SOLSTICE & KWANZAA

This year Hanukkah will be celebrated from December 10th-17th. In this post we are share our 8 favorite books for the festival of lights (with YouTube read aloud links). We also have some kindness project ideas and a fun, kid-friendly video, from actress Mayim Bialik, all about Hanukkah (if you want to learn about this festival)!
The 7 day festival of Kwanzaa begins on December 26th. We have a post with books and information that will help you teach your kids all about Kwanza.
Winter Solstice is on December 21st this year.  We have some books (with YouTube read aloud links) and ideas for you to celebrate the shortest day of the year with your family!

NEW YEAR’S POSTS

The start of a new year can be so exciting and a great chance to dream and plan with your kids.
Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white.' -Bing Crosby-6
This is a tradition we started years ago and keep all our past interviews in a folder to reflect upon each year during New Year’s Day breakfast.
This school year we are reading Deep Kindness by Houston Kraft. This month we are catching up on reading Part I and Part II. This book is short but MIGHTY and is an important read for EVERYONE. Click HERE for our Book Club Page and links to our “discussion”. Please consider joining us, it will be easy to catch up!
It is never too late to start a Christmas jar!  The first year my family participated in this special project, we started in mid December using spare change from around the house that we had collected.

Book Corner

Click on a box below to check out books that go along with that theme.

10 Quick Family Service Projects

All of us want to find time in our busy lives for service projects.  We know how important it is to teach our children the valuable lessons that go along with serving others (empathy, kindness, gratitude, courage, selflessness etc.) but unfortunately those well meaning service projects are the first thing cut off the to-do list… Continue reading 10 Quick Family Service Projects

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