National Giving Day (aka Giving Tuesday) is coming right up! This whole Thanksgiving and Christmas season is the perfect time to remember how much we have to be thankful for and think of ways to give back. Teaching our children to think of others and try to help others is a year round job. However, during the holidays, good deeds for kids are even more important. Learning to give back can and should be fun. It feels good to give and to make a positive difference. I included a list of good deeds examples for kids who may need a little inspiration.
I have made a free printable good deeds chart for kids to help celebrate National Giving Day. It is perfect to inspire children to do good and it works alone or in conjunction with the Elf Pets: A Saint Bernard Tradition. I’m a brand ambassador for The Elf on the Shelf® and am a sponsored blog partner, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.
Good Deeds For Kids
Kids don’t have lots of money or power and it can be easy for them to feel unimportant. If you dismiss their efforts they may feel powerless. On the other hand, if you praise their efforts, they may realize everyone, no matter how small, can make a difference. We can all do good deeds to make the others happy and make the world a better place.
Doing good deeds helps us feel good. It helps us feel like we can make things right or make things better. It lets us fix things. This message is one of hope. When you let a child be filled with hope and enthusiasm, well, it will remind you that you can do it too!
Good deeds come in all sizes. Little ones can help and praising their efforts will lead to them doing it again! Say something like, ” I saw you offer to help your brother with his homework when he was getting frustrated. That was very nice of you to notice and explain it to him. I am so proud of you for going out of your way to help him.”
I love this quote for inspiration, “I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do.”- Jana Stanfield
Good Deeds Examples
Here are examples of good deeds for kids:
- Hold the door open for someone
- Say bless you when someone sneezes
- Help carry in the groceries
- Offer to do the dishes
- Share a toy
- Push in your chair when you leave the table
- Give toys to charity
- Encourage younger children in their efforts
- Give a compliment
- Pick flowers for someone who may be sad
- Bring out the trash without being asked
- Pick up litter
- Comfort another child
- Go get help when someone needs it
- Make a card to brighten someone’s day
- Share your snack
- Draw a picture to give to a family member
- Pick up something someone dropped and return it to them
- Help someone look for a lost item
- Lend a hand
- Volunteer to help a teacher clean the board
- Volunteer at a food bank
- Read to someone who needs company or cheering up
- Write a thank you note to tell someone something you appreciated that they did for you
- Smile and ask others how they are
- Pick up your toys and put them away
- Pull weeds in the vegetable garden or flower beds
- Volunteer to serve food at a soup kitchen
- Collect clothing donations to bring to a homeless shelter
- Make a care package to bring to someone who is sick
- Make a happy note to share with an elderly neighbor
- Leave quarters in a vending machine
- Leave a thank you note for the mail carrier
- Share coloring books with younger siblings
- Make a bird feeder
- Help young children learn to do something
- Walk a neighbor’s dog (only if age appropriate)
- Volunteer at an animal shelter
- Make a homemade gift such as a friendship bracelet to share with a new friend
- Collect donations for a food pantry
- Give someone a bottle of water on a hot day
- Put up sticky notes with kind messages
- Collect plastic bottles to recycle
- Volunteer at the local library
I hope this good deeds list gives you some ideas for things you can do for others. Sometimes the simplest of nice things can have a significant impact on a person’s day! Your act of kindness may seem small to you but it can be the things that turns someone’s direction in a positive way.
National Giving Day
National Giving Day is a great time to remember how fortunate we are and to share with those who are less fortunate. It is a great day to give money to your local food bank or give volunteer time to your local homeless shelter. But all good deeds count and kids should be encouraged to participate too!
I was inspired to make the good deeds chart by National Giving Day but I think it is perfect to use right on in to the Christmas season to help spread a little Christmas Cheer. I also think it works fine alone or perfectly in conjunction with Elf Pets: A Saint Bernard Tradition.
We recently shared our review of Elf Pets: A Saint Bernard Tradition and it has been really fun watching my son get into “making Christmas magic”. The other day as he helped me carry the groceries up the stairs without me even asking, I said, “Leo, that is so nice of you!” and he said, “I’m filling up Bernie Pie’s (our Elf Pet Saint Bernard) Barrel of Christmas magic for Santa.” He knows just how to spread Christmas Cheer! It is fun to see how many ideas he comes up with to help others.
Free Printable Good Deeds Chart For Kids
I made the this free printable good deeds chart below. It is a great way for kids to get excited about doing good deeds. It also makes it easy for us parents to be able to track and offer positive feedback on the progress they are making.
Just right click on the image above and select the print option in the top right corner to be able to print out the Good Deeds Chart. Or drag it to your desktop and then click on file from the top menu bar and select print from the drop down menu.
You could also create your own good deed chart with ideas specific to your family. It is all about ideas for giving back or helping others. When I say give to charity, that can take on many forms. It can be as simple as them dropping their change into the church charity collection basket or they can go all out and do a fundraiser or donate their own savings. Similarly, collecting items to donate can be them selecting toys and clothes they have outgrown to donate or collecting food through a food drive. Thank you cards can be made for teachers, neighbors, and service men (and women)!
Each item on the Good Deeds Chart is designed to help them keep track of good deed related actions they perform and to help inspire them to do good deeds. Sometimes, we all need a little inspiration! Depending on your child’s age, you could print one sheet out for each week leading to Christmas or just one page as they work through it at a slower pace.
Good Deeds With Elf Pets
If you are interested in using the Chart in conjunction with Elf Pets: A Saint Bernard Tradition, you may want to peek at my video of when my kids got theirs in the mail.
You can find local adoption centers for Elf Pets and/or Elf On The Shelf at elfontheshelf.com My kids are so excited for #ScoutElfReturnWeek this year which is November 25- December 2nd. And they are loving having their Elf Pet to cuddle with and to inspire good deeds already.
Conclusion
Good deed for kids are a great way to empower them to make a difference and have a positive impact. I hope you enjoy this free printable good deeds chart and have a great National Giving Day. Have your little ones been getting excited to start spreading Christmas Cheer? What are some of your favorite good deed ideas?
CCA and B partnered with bloggers such as me for The Elf on the Shelf® brand ambassador program. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. CCA and B believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. CCA and B’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.
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