|
||
|
||
|
The Plan: I wrote up a scenario about an immigrant family that our church had supported to come to America. I gave all the pertinent information including, ages, kids, background, job, how much earned per month, etc. I then broke down a monthly budget for the family and told the kids how much was allotted for food money. Since I had four groups I divided the weekly budget by four and each group got $20 to spend on food. They had a list to guide them but they could also buy things not on the list if they felt it was something the family would need. (However, they couldn't buy 100 packs of ramen noodles. There had to be variety) It was all non-perishable items and then each group had ten "pretend" dollars to spend on perishables. (These weren't bought. The kids just wrote down what they would buy and the prices) Each group got sent to a different grocery store: One in town (they walked there from church), two closer to Madison, and one warehouse type grocery store in Madison. The prices were very different from the grocery store in Waunakee vs. Woodman's. When they got back we set out the food that each group had bought, explained what we bought and why, how much things cost etc. It was a great way for the kids, who come from an affluent area, to experience stretching the value of a dollar and learning about how to bargain shop. We talked about food brands, foods that can last for numerous meals, packaging and the expensive foods, etc. We talked about which grocery store was cheaper and why. But then we talked about transportation and the difficulty that possess. For example, the family didn't own a car and the bus system doesn't come out to Waunakee. So although Woodman's is cheaper, how would they get there? Piggly Wiggly in town is accessible by foot, but the prices are much more expensive. We also looked at the amount of food that was bought and they realized how little they were actually able to buy. We talked about the importance of the food pantries and how it helps families subsidize what they aren't able to afford. The coolest part was after we did all that my sister, Jenny, talked to the group about poverty. Last year she taught at a school where her class had 60% poverty. She took a course last year by Ruby Payne, who has some excellent books with some great research and who does presentations around the US. Jenny talked to the kids about what poverty is, how it happens, why it is difficult to get out and break the cycle, that it's not racial, etc. The kids were so engrossed. They had a lot of really great questions and I feel they learned much more about the world around them. Jenny also talked about what they can do to help. She explained what she can do as a teacher to help, what I can do as a youth director to help, and then talked about what the kids specifically can do to help. It was SO cool! The next day Jenny and I were talking about how the scavenger hunt went and she made the comment that whenever those kids now give something to the food pantry, it will mean so much more to them, knowing how it is helping others. I'm passing this idea along because, especially as the holidays are coming up our youth hear a lot about giving to others but they may not always have a deeper understanding of why and how much they help, how fortunate they are, and how they can make a difference. |
||
|
[ PROGRAMS ] • [ HOME ] © Copyright 2005 by the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin Resource Center. Please see our usage policy. NW Synod of Wisconsin Resource Center |