Gratitude reading list and a freebie

For the last few years my grandmother has sent us, in lieu of Christmas gifts, a catalog from Heifer International and money with which to donate an animal. Each year my children carefully consider which animal to choose and wonder aloud about the family who will receive it. This year, I thought we might use this tradition as a jumping off point to spend some time considering how children in other parts of the world, especially in the third world, live. We read and looked at the books below, looked at maps and talked about how our lives are different, and not-so different, from the lives of so much of the rest of the human family.

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference

Beatrice's Goat

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth

The Good Garden

Josias, Hold the Book (We read this book a few years ago when we did a unit on gardens and I am so happy to return to it because I just love it.)

This Child, Every Child

If the World Were a Village

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (My foodie husband found this one fascinating.)

Material World: A Global Family Portrait

Houses and Homes

Bread, Bread, Bread

As a result of all this reading and reflecting we also filled up a change jar in order to provide microloans through Kiva to two Ugandan farmers.

Would you like to try something similar? When we made our loans Kiva sent me a link which will let you make your first $25 loan for free!