tzedakah project

Here is a fun way to start little ones early with giving tzedakah, or money to charity. I mentioned this one in  post before on my other blog, which you can read here: http://messianicwoman.blogspot.com/2010/05/teaching-tzedakah.html
This one features The Wonder Pets because I found it on NickJr.'s website, but you can also make your own. This one is at:
http://www.nickjr.com/crafts/wonder-pets-family-charity-bank.jhtml

Any clear container will work. With it being see through, the kids can keep track of their progress. As a family, decide which charity or what purpose you would like this money to serve (and use a smaller container so that it can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time!) If you choose to, you can come up with a kind of reminder to put money in the bank. For example, every time you come home from the store, every time the kids do something thoughtful, or something interesting or unique to your family. Involve the children in the process as much as possible so that they understand this money is to be given away (or spent on something) to bless someone else's life, not their own. It will help them develop their gift of giving, and lead to a lifetime of tzedakah.