The Kids’ Service Project – Selling Their Paintings to Raise Money to Buy a Goat, Sheep, or Chickens…
One of the lovely things about homeschooling is that we can reach out to our community — both near and far. The kids and I helped a bit here in our community by volunteering at the local food pantry during the fall. They bagged apples and passed them out to people who came to the bi-weekly food bank. This semester, we’re doing a service project that spins off from our studies of Africa. The kids chose to raise money for Heifer International, a group which helps people around the world gain self-reliance through the gift of livestock (such as a cow, goat, a flock of chicks, etc.). Heifer International also provides training in environmentally sound agriculture. When the livestock have young, the recipients agree to pass on the gift by giving away one or more of their animal’s offspring to someone else in need.
The kids worked hard on some art projects they sold to our family members to raise money for Heifer International. Here are some finished projects:
We read the book, Beatrice’s Goat, (affiliate link) which showed just how much of an impact getting livestock (in this case a goat) could be for a family. In the story, after getting the goat, Beatrice’s family was not only able to send her to school, but they also were able to build a new home and pass along the gift to another family in her village.
We worked on these projects over the course of several weeks (fitting it in here and there), but it makes more sense to put it all together in one post! So below the kids were doing watercolor sunsets. You can see one of the children’s books in the left picture that inspired us.
Another day, we looked at pictures of African homes. The kids made thatched huts to add to their painting and then carefully added the silhouettes of various African animals and of the acacia tree.
The kids then held up their paintings for a photo and we made a collage to email to our family and close friends to offer them for sale. We had a suggested price of $5 to $10.:
Our next project sprang from our study of West African cloth. We looked at lots and lots of examples of Kente cloth and then made our own drawings loosely based on what we had studied. The kids had learned that people often carry things on their head and we used a project I saw on the Internet (though I’m sorry to say, I can’t remember where that was. If you recognize the style of this project send me the link and I’ll link back!)
And again, we took photos of the kids holding these projects to “sell” to the grandparents and the aunts and uncles to raise money for Heifer International:
So what will the kids get? We’re not sure yet. They have lots of options… a cow, goat, sheep, llama, flock of chicks, ducks or geese, a pig, a well… They’ll have to talk about it and decide together…
So far, the kids have raised close to $150 — probably enough to buy a goat or sheep and a flock of chicks or ducks. Some family has been on travel, so we don’t have an exact figure yet. Here is the Heifer International Gift Catalog.
Tomorrow, I’m going to tell you about our wonderful trip to Heifer International’s Global Village! (Click here to see that post.)
Other related posts that might be of interest:
- African Art Projects – Moroccan Tiles, African Masks, African Music
- West African History — Free Notebook Pages, African Picture Books — which includes these free pages
- Geography of Africa — The Countries and Physical Features
- West African Art Projects: Morrocan Tiles, African Masks, African Music
- Cooking with Kids: A Taste of Africa and the Middle East
- Learning about Islam — Free Worksheets and Resources for Kids
- These posts on Ancient Egypt
- Africa Unit — Basic Facts about Africa which includes the free pack I made below.
World Facts Packet Do your kids know the 4 largest countries? Which countries have the most people? The longest river? This packet covers basic world and U.S. facts. You can find out more about it here:
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
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~Liesl
