feed the real need: Sawyer the Blogger

September 11, 2011

Sawyer the Blogger

Hello this is Sawyer. I am 6 years old. I like to ride my scooter off of the picnic table but without getting hurt. I'm not allowed to do it anymore. We are not going to go to a restaurant for 5 months. I was hanging out with my cousin and I got to go to McDonald's with her family but I felt sad because I knew I was breaking the rules. My Mom said it's OK though. I did not feel sick and then I went to their house. I played there for a long time and I got to play Wii and PlayStation. Hello-whoever you are! You can join the Blog but you don't have to. Bye!

THE EXPERIMENT

One day we went out for lunch. On the way home I was explaining to the kids why we don't eat out for every meal, that we had essentially paid an extra $15 or $20 for our lunch so that we didn't have to shop, prepare or clean it up -- and it hit me: I said, "That's enough money to buy a child in Africa a mosquito net." The kids took that and ran with it. They wanted to know if it was enough to buy a pair of shoes (yes), a book (yes), a uniform (yes), water (yes), shampoo (yes), a soccer ball (starting to drift slightly but yes). We decided as a family that we would not eat out again until Christmas and that we would take all of the money we saved and give it to charity (At this point I needed to explain that charity was the word we use when we are talking about organizations that help people in need and not just a girl in Milo's grade with that name). As a family we only really eat out a few times a month, but my husband and I usually eat out on dates and the kids and I will grab lunch every once in a while, so this is not going to end with piles of money but it will teach the kids a little about sacrifice and a lot about others' needs....I hope...... This blog is to journal our little experiment and maybe convince any of you to join us :) We are heading into our 5th year and plan to do it every September - December.

take the feed the real need challenge

Want a fun teaching experience for the kids? Join us and take the feed the real need challenge! Substitute one trip to a restaurant with one home-cooked meal and donate the money you saved to a charity of your choice - we have some suggestions on the left column of this page OR you can add to our Feed the Real Need Fund if you'd like to contribute to an animal via Heifer International. Send us your experience and we will post it on our blog! It doesn't have to be fancy - have your 4 year old write the post, don't take pictures (or do), and you don't have to disclose what amount you donated - we would really just love to hear about your experience!

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