It sits on the counter in the kitchen, a reminder of our goal this year.
Earlier this year, we shopped the Compassion Gift Catalog and they made their selection. The kids decided to save their money to help a family buy a water treatment system.
Recently, we had problems with our well water. It tasted and smelled horrible. We drank bottled water and called a repair company. Soon everything was back to normal again. Easy. Not so, for those in poor countries around the world. They may have to walk for miles just to get dirty water. Not drinking it is deadly, because their bodies need water to live. Drinking it can be just as deadly as well, because of all the parasites and bacteria it contains.
Just how do you teach children about compassion?
Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
Compassion is more than just feeling sorry for someone else’s pain. It’s more than seeing someone hurt and shedding tears out of empathy. Compassion is stepping into the pain of others and helping to change the problem. It’s being willing to get one’s hands dirty and to sacrifice for someone else. Just as Christ did for us.
Recently, I found a homeschool curriculum on Compassion International’s website designed to teach children about compassion. We’ve been using and love it. It takes you on a geographical tour around the globe, learning about different countries and the needs of the people. There are passages of Scripture to read and discuss. There are also fun activities that help explore the lesson further. We made our own rain forest in a bottle when studying Brazil.
The curriculum covers a five-week period with two lessons per week. Best of all, it’s free! You can check it out here.
Compassion for others comes from the heart. You have to realize how much you have before you can see how little someone else has. You have to see how blessed you are in your particular circumstances before you can help someone who is not. I like to point out to the kids regularly what we have that those in other countries do not have. Something as basic as clean water is something we all take for granted.
As a mother, I would be horrified to give my child dirty water. I can only imagine how mothers around the world feel as their children drink from contaminated streams. This curriculum is a great way to open the door of your child’s heart to a suffering world around them. And perhaps they too can give a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus.
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love your definition of Compassion and more importantly, how you’re acting on it. I didn’t know about the Compassion curriculum, either-thank you! I’m going to look into that and remember it when the time comes…
love my visits here, Christina. thank you.
I accidentally stumbled upon the curriculum one day when I was on the site. It was a nice suprise to find:) Thanks for visiting!
This is fantastic! I am inspired. Thanks for sharing the site. I can see how it will fit perfectly into our curriculum next school year.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you are able to enjoy the curriculum too:)
Hi. I am getting your blog by email. Do you have another way I can follow it? RSS or Blogger? I guess you’re not on blogger.
Anyway…so glad that you wrote on this and gave the curriculum info. I am struggling with my oldest son who will be 16 in a few weeks. He is not content and I don’t see compassion often. Sadly, here is a list of things that he would like: ($2500 mountain bike, New Ipod, Android phone, new $200 cleats for soccer, oh and a car for his birthday). It’s sad. We are military family which means these are not in the ballpark for us. I talked to him today about being content. Not about being happy, which is temporary. I talked about having an attitude of gratitude like Paul did even while in prison. How can I help him. Sometimes I talk and just wonder what, if anything, is getting through. We volunteer at a homeless shelter with our small group. He just wants to hang out with his friends. He wants, he wants, he wants. I would appreciate any helpful advice about this from reader/blogger, etc.
Thanks
Sounds like my 4 year old. Every week he’s asking for a new lego set. We’re all selfish by default, it’s our natural tendancy. Even though I teach my children about compassion, it won’t make them compassionate. It’s a heart thing, a fruit of the Spirit. But I do want to provide many opportunities and exposure to compassion. Just as you do with serving the homeless. Childhood is a journey from selfishness to realizing that there is something greater to live for than oneself. It comes down to praying that the gospel will grip our children’s hearts and show them all they have in Christ. When you realize all you’ve been given, you want to share that with others.
Has your son ever been on a mission trip? I still remember the way my mission trip experiences as a teen changed me. I will be praying for you and your son’s journey in faith. Blessings to you and thanks for visiting!
You do the niftiest things with Mason jars! And this one use is superlative.
Good advice to Journeying Sue, too. 16 years old is hard. There are things you can do with a 4-yr old that just won’t work anymore with a teen. Prayer is definitely the best starting point. And the mission trip is an excellent idea, too, if someone can get him motivated to go. I would add hang in there, and keep standing firm, and praying. We had a prodigal for a while, and that was heart-wrenching, but God can make all things new.
Heart wrenching! That’s it. He is going on his first mission trip this summer with our large church. It’s a choir mission trip so I’m not sure how much it’s like a “regular” mission trip. Maybe I’ll talk to one of the leaders and find out and let them know about his heart which might not be apparent in the Youth Group setting (I”m not a big fan of Youth Groups).
Thanks for caring!!
Sounds like a great curriculum! I also love the water pump savings idea! Great post!
Thanks, friend! Glad you visited today!
Thank you for the link to the free curriculum! We recently sponsored our second child in Africa so I’m always looking for ways to show my girls how lucky and fortunate we are.
I love the way you’re intentionally teaching your kids about loving-real loving, not selfish love, but compassionate love. Thanks for sharing this. It’s made me think we need to start a similar project with our kids.
I found you on the Hip Homeschool Hop. Come visit us at Layers of Learning.