Coming Out of Hibernation

Haven't posted here recently...excuses are many, and uninteresting.  It is definitely much harder to think about volunteering and social action with kids during a Northeast winter, when it seems too damn cold to be creatively engaged with the world.  The bears may have it right.  I think I also hit a stretch of being a little weary of this project - not so much of finding ways to engage my own family in acts of community but of hoisting the banner for it, and trying to rally people behind me in my meager way.  People don't rally easily, I understand that, and I understand why (for all of the reasons that led me to start this blog in the first place), but still, it's hard not be disappointed, and think about giving the whole thing the toss.  But I'm not going to (inspirational music swells), at least not yet.  At some point, I will stumble into how to do this well, and that's worth plodding on for.

Here, by the way, are a few things I've learned so far.  I know that the kinds of activities that I'm looking for right now include those that:

• Engage kids and adults together: Younger kids learn through modeling and they feel valued (based on my anecdotal conversations) when they're engaged in something that adults also feel is important.  I felt less good about an activity we did recently that had the kids doing a craft project, ostensibly for a good purpose, that was not designed to engage adults at the same time.  It was nice, it was worthy, I don't think it registered as valuable to any of the kids who were there, any more than the bunny ears project they might have done at an Easter egg hunt.  I kicked myself for not realizing this in advance.  We have really enjoyed the things we've done together, whether that is digging at Added Value farm, chopping carrots at a soup kitchen, marching across the Brooklyn Bridge, or spreading compost at a community garden.  This doesn't mean I don't think integrating social justice and social responsibility into school curricula isn't incredibly important, just that the way we integrate these activities into the daily lives of families seems to make more sense when the activity isn't just "for kids." It's a 'show don't tell' moment in the work of families.  I also love the idea of kids developing their own activities for their peers (see below) but that's quite different from activities that may do little more than pay lip service to the real role kids want to play in our communities, even at a young age.

• Bring kids physically into communal space: We've done a couple things via internet, and I've posted a bunch of opportunities here that involve things you can do at home - 'shopping' for those affected by Hurricane Sandy at Amazon, 'buying' cows etc. from Heifer International.  These are great home-based activities, and I do think folks can actively engage kids in these projects in a way that's meaningful for them.  Still, I think opportunities to get out of the house and interact with others while engaging in acts of community (volunteerism, social action, protest, political engagement, holding the door for the next guy, etc) are invaluable.  I'm not a social media luddite and appreciate the immense power and value of virtual communities and new ways of organizing.  But I want my kid to see people, actual people, coming together to accomplish tasks of value to all of us.  The two-dimensional iteration can come later, once she knows what it stands in for.  Call me old-fashioned, I can take it.

• Let kids set the agenda:  So, somewhat in contrast to the first point up there, I'm really interested in projects that let kids build on their ideas of how to change the world and engage the adults in a supporting role.  This is a bit more challenging with younger kids and maybe more geared to the 9 and over set, but, looking forward, I'd like to understand how to do this well, and how to catalyze these kinds of activities.  I haven't been that great at it with my own daughter as yet, who is seven, and she's been a good sport about letting me pick out what we do and gamely going along for the ride.  But I'm going to try.  Watch this space, and send me your ideas.

What have you learned recently about engaging your kids in acts of community?  I'd love to hear about it.  Later this week will post some new volunteering opportunities.  Send me ideas or links if you've got 'em.