The neighbor kindness errand
Kids learn kindness by doing a real job for a real person. Pick one neighbor, ask what would help, and do it together.
- Time
- 1 hr
- Cost
- $0–$10
- Ages
- 5 to 12
- Where
- Your street
What you need
- Paper and markers for a card
- Work gloves, if the job is bins, leaves or sweeping
- A rake, broom or snow shovel, if the job needs one
- Food to share, only if the neighbor said yes to it
- A sticky note or card for the ingredient list
Before you go
- Stay together. Your kid never goes to a door, into a house or into a car alone. You're beside them the whole time.
- Ask first. Only neighbors you know, and only after they've said yes. Don't move bins or touch a yard without asking.
- Food: ask about allergies, and label every ingredient. Milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame are the big ones.
- Watch the street. Bins sit by the curb. You handle the side nearest traffic.
Steps
- Make a short neighbor list. List three or four neighbors you know and talk about what might be hard for each right now.
- Let your kid pick one job. Your kid picks one neighbor and one job: bins, raking or sweeping, a card, food, or a visit.
- Ask first. Dad asks the neighbor first, with the kid there. For food, ask about allergies. A no is fine; pick another.
- Get it ready. Kid writes the card. For food, list every ingredient on a taped note. Gloves on for outdoor jobs.
- Do it side by side. Go together. Kid does the job or hands it over, with you beside them. Keep the visit short.
- Talk on the walk home. On the walk home, ask how the neighbor felt and how they felt. Add it to a list on the fridge.
If it stalls
- If they're shy at the door, they can hold the card while you do the talking. Next time they say one sentence.
- If they pick something too big, like mowing the whole lawn, shrink it to one piece: the front walk, or just the bins.
Neighbor · job done
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date