'Tis the season to give and be grateful

One of my biggest goals in being a mom is teaching my daughter how to be kind, think of others, and be grateful for all she has. From an early age, I have talked to my daughter about how we can make a difference in other people’s lives every day by what we say and what we do. Here are some things we do in our home!

• Grateful: Every night at dinner, we go around the table and say what we are grateful for that day. It can be an action, a person, or something silly. Everyone has to participate! 
• Donation: I include my daughter in the process of cleaning out her clothes and shoes and donating them. 
• Give: We sit down as a family and pick charities to which we donate money. We let our daughter pick something near and dear to her heart. She is a huge animal lover! 
• Time: We have worked at a soup kitchen, collected for local drives: books, diapers, canned foods. 

Recently she has taken notice of the increase of homeless persons in our city. She asked if she could run a lemonade stand and sell her artwork to raise money. I was beyond proud of her and can’t wait to watch her seeds of gratitude grow.