This good deed basket is a great Lenten craft project to do with kids before Easter or any time of year. It gives children a chance to think about doing things for others. We made this basket at my son's school during our Lenten retreat.
Besides being Catholic, the biggest reason we send our child to a catholic school is his ADHD. Why might you ask? The answer is simple…compassion. Many kids who have ADHD have a hard time making friends and are very often bullied. They also tend to make poor choices and many kids with ADHD have the tendency towards addictive behaviors. Our choice was to minimize that as much as possible to give our son the best chance at a higher self-esteem. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to sugar coat our school, some of these things happen but they are dealt with in a much different way than they are in public school. Compassion, love, and acceptance of others is a high priority at our school.
Every year, during Lent, each grade has a day-long Lenten Retreat. They do different activities and this year I was lucky enough to lead one. In the past, they have done a good deed chain. They would make a paper chain of good deeds and when they completed one they would break it off. I wanted something that would last longer and be reusable so I transformed this idea into a Good Deed Basket.
Yes, I could have gone with the old way but well what fun would that be for someone crafty? I had 46 kids and no budget so I had to come up with a thrifty way to make the basket.
I used solo cups, and with a regular hole punch, made two holes in the top. I made a list of good deeds for the kids to choose from and asked them to pick 8 each. At the end of the post, you can download them or create your own list on your computer. The options are:
- Empty all garbage
- Write a letter to someone who has done a service for you and tell them thank you
- Choose 2 items of yours to donate
- Sweep the kitchen
- Vacuum one room in the house
- Set the table for dinner
- Unload the dishwasher
- Feed the pets
- Say the prayer at your next family meal
- Pray for your school and classmates
- Write your teacher a note to tell her one thing you like about being in her class
- Clean your room the way Mommy wants you to
- Help a sibling with one of their chores
- Help with the laundry
The kids cut out the good deeds of their choice and glued them to the colored tongue depressor sticks. Next they took a pipe cleaner and put it through the two holes of the solo cup to make a basket handle. Finally, they picked out stickers and decorated the cups.
The parents, teachers, and kids all loved this Lenten Craft because it can be reused over and over again. The funniest part was seeing which chore the kids all said, “NO WAY” to, it was of course, Clean your room like Mommy wants you to!
Now go below and you can download my colorful Good Deed Sheet to print and make your own!
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