July is Mandela Month and while 67 minutes may feel like a long time to do something for someone else, there are lots of ways to celebrate the legacy of Madiba and teach your children about the values of Mandela Month in a fun, non-invasive way.
Include children in Mandela Month by planning child-friendly, age-appropriate activities. Teach the children about Nelson Mandela and why he is an important part of our heritage in South Africa. Children do not need to do the full 67 minutes of service. Any amount of time is sufficient to make an impact.
There are so many ways to include your children in Mandela Month. With July almost over, it is time to jump on this beautiful bandwagon and teach your children the values that Madiba left us. Read on, as we share a few fun, exciting, and easy ways to include children in this special month.
Visit the Library for Books About Nelson Mandela
Visiting your local library is always an adventure waiting to happen. During Mandela Month, it is an opportunity to look at or even take out books on Nelson Mandela and teach your children, in an appropriate way, about his life and work.
Some libraries have special event days and library corners for children. If your local library does, you can ask them to include Mandela Day and the life and times of Nelson Mandela Day in their next one.
Most libraries have books about Nelson Mandela in a few sections. Whether you find a coffee table book, a textbook, or a general interest book, you should be able to find something with some great pictures and photos to show your children.
Be sure to keep the information age-appropriate and use vocabulary that your children can understand. Also try to keep it light-hearted and focus on the positive message that Madiba left behind. Tell them about the positive changes that he made in our country.
Chat to your children about the values that permeated Nelson Mandela’s presidency. A few values that you can focus on include the following:
- Equality
- Forgiveness
- Compassion
- Helping others
- Education
Involve Children When Planning Mandela Month Activities
Once your children have learned about Nelson Mandela, you can tell them about Mandela Month and how people usually celebrate it.
One of the most endearing features of children is that they often get excited about ideas and come up with plans of their own. This may take much of the pressure off you to think of activities. Follow your children’s lead to assess their areas of interest and how you can get them going with Mandela Month activities.
To help children who don’t have their own ideas, decide on the activities they will be doing, you may wish to provide a short list of options.
You can either provide a list of 5 or so activities and let them choose 1 or 2 from there, or you can give them options. Use phrasing like:
“Would you like to pick up litter from the street, or wash the old lady’s car?”
Either way, ensure that the process is fun and interactive. The idea is to give back to the community and to make children want to do this again in the future.
Get Involved in Mandela Month Activities with the Children
Perhaps one of the most important parts of getting your children involved in Mandela Month activities is that you should get involved, too.
Not only will you set a good example for your children and be a good role model, but you will also get to spend some amazing quality time together and also supervise the chosen activity in a meaningful way.
Here are a few Mandela Month ideas for you and your children. You can adapt them, add to them, edit them, or change them completely to suit you and your children. Maybe they will spark completely different ideas for you! (If so, please let us know so we can add to our list of ideas, too!!)
- Visit grannies and grandpas at a nearby old age home
- Pack food parcels and hand them out to beggars at traffic lights
- Pick up litter from the street in your neighborhood (wear gloves)
- Pick up dog poop from the pavements or park near your home (wear gloves)
- Organize a clothing drive for an old age home, women’s shelter, or children’s home
- Help someone in your neighborhood who needs your help. (e.g. the old lady down the road who has had an operation needs help with her garden, or needs help to wash her car, or needs help carrying her groceries inside.)
- Take a Sign Language course so that you can communicate with Deaf people that you meet.
There are endless ways you can help people around you. Most of them can be fun and feel good, too. This is something we need to teach our children and instill in them.
Wrapping it Up
Mandela Month is all about giving back to those in need and those around us. It is a time to reflect on how we can help. For those of us with children, or in childcare occupations, it is also such a beautiful time to show children how great it is to think of others and help people other than ourselves for a change. Let’s use Mandela Month as a springboard to get our children involved in the business of thinking of and helping others.