Plymouth Mom's Blog Inspires with Ideas for Children to Help Others

Community service is not just for adults â?? this is the thought that led Plymouth mother Holly Skelton to start her own childrenâ??s community service blog called The Little Hearts Project.

Skelton, 33, is the mother of three daughters â?? Schuler, 5, Brier, 2, and Sommer, 8 months. She has been blogging for just more than a year.

â??Throughout my life, in Girl Scouts or sorority or just something my husband and I did, it (community service) was always so rewarding, so exciting,â?? Skelton said. â??But I was in a position where I had â?? well, at the time, I had two kids, I knew I was going to have three kids, and as much as I would love to make a weekly commitment, like go into a soup kitchen, the point Iâ??m at in my life â?? I just donâ??t have that kind of time.

"So I thought, what can I do with my kids? We do art projects together; we go to the museums together; why not do a service project together?â??

Skelton began looking for ideas online.

â??It seemed like everything was geared for older kids, you had to be at least 12,â?? she said. â??Obviously, little kids canâ??t do real physical things. There are things they canâ??t do, but there are a ton of things they can do. And I just couldnâ??t find a lot of resources for that.â??

So she came up with her own ideas and wrote them down in an online blog. Many of the activities that Skelton suggests are things she does with her own children, such as baking cookies, returning cans for deposit and donating the money and community gardening. The projects she blogs about are not huge but are simple, easy things to do with children. 

Skelton said she tries to stay away from one-time events and rather suggests ideas that parents can do with their children anywhere, not just in Michigan.

Skelton, author of a childrenâ??s book that just got published, was pregnant with her third daughter, just laid off from her job and found out her book was being published, all within a month of starting the blog.

â??This was just one of those things that I felt really excited about, passionate about â?? I felt it was just something I needed to do,â?? she said. â??My real hope is that people will send me their ideas, pictures of their kids, what their schools are doing or what theyâ??re doing in their family. And Iâ??ve definitely gotten people to send me things, and Iâ??m happy to post them on the blog.â??

Milford resident Jessica Beaubien has used Skeltonâ??s Little Hearts Project blog as a resource of things to do with her two children, Bastien, 3, and Hadley, 2. Beaubien said she was introduced to the blog by a co-worker, who happened to be Skeltonâ??s sister-in-law, and has been following it ever since.

â??I think Holly's idea is wonderful and commendable,â?? Beaubien said. â??When Bastien was little, I actually asked Meals on Wheels if we could volunteer â?? thinking the elderly would enjoy a visit with a fresh, new baby along with the delivery of their meal. Meals on Wheels turned us down, saying they had more than enough drivers, so I was left feeling discouraged â?? with no other ideas of how to involve a baby in service projects.

"So when Holly's blog came along, it was a true blessing, full of creative ideas that got me thinking of new ways to be active in service with my children,â?? she said.

Currently, Beaubien is teaching her children how to save money for charity.

â??They each have three penny jars,â?? she said. â??Whenever they do a job, such as helping with laundry, putting away the clean silverware, filling the bird feeder, etc., they get nine pennies. Three go in a jar for saving, three for spending and three for giving to someone in need. And when each jar reaches $1, we take out the pennies and do with them just what the jar says. This is somewhat similar to the Change Through Chores project Holly wrote about.â??

Beaubien said she will continue to do community service projects with her children.

â??Children tend to be such innately cheerful givers, it is truly inspiring to work with them,â?? Beaubien said. â??It is my hope to raise children who have only ever known a life of giving â?? who recognize that in almost every situation, there is an opportunity to give. I believe living this way helps us live a life of awareness, purpose and gratitude.â??
http://plymouth-mi.patch.com/articles/plymouth-moms-blog-inspires-with-ideas-for-children-to-help-others