Moline Christian Second Graders Support Others through Care Packages
The second graders at Moline (Michigan) Christian School spend time each week creating care cards for people who are ill or facing difficult circumstances. Teacher Jill Rosenboom began the project about two years ago. “One of their daily responsibilities is to work on writing, one of their options is to write a card to someone,” said Rosenboom. “At first, they would all write to their mom or dad, and then started to ask me who else they could write to. I go to LaGrave church, and they always have a prayer sheet in the bulletin. I started to bring that to school, and we would pick one person to pray for that week and write cards to.”
The students generally focus on someone who is having surgery or recovering from an illness. They follow a formula when writing the cards: they tell the person a little about themselves, say some encouraging words, and include a Bible verse.
“The idea was for the kids to care about someone that they didn't know, and be willing to encourage them without having a connection to them,” said Rosenboom. “We started receiving responses back and got cards from a lot of the people that we wrote to. I decided to devote a bulletin board to the project and I post the responses on the board. One man even wanted to come visit the room and personally thank the kids. Last year, I got a knock on my door at home, and it was a man who had gotten the cards, and he wanted to drop off some chocolate to give to the kids. I want the kids to be willing to participate without receiving praise or thanks, but the correspondence has just been really special to them and they love it when I tell them I got another response from one of our care card friends.”
On her Caring Bridge page, Mary Doornbos, a teacher at Grandville Calvin Christian High School, wrote about her experience in receiving a package: “Each student colored a card that said ‘Thinking of You.’ On the inside, each student introduced themselves and told me about their family, friends, activities, pets. (There are many pet chickens in Moline!) Then, they wrote out Bible verses. If you are an educator, you will notice what this outstanding teacher did. They practice art, penmanship, story telling, Bible memory verses, and share the purpose of being light in the real world. I do not know Jill, but I am so grateful for her and her students. If you know her, tell her well done!”
Said Rosenboom, “I hope the students learn that they can touch people's lives and brighten their day simply by writing a card. I want them to believe that kids are able to serve God, and that he has jobs for everyone even if they are only seven or eight years old.”
