It’s one thing to teach your kids to share with others, but raising kids who love to share, who have cultivated a heart of generosity, is slower, deeper work. A heart for giving grows through regular practice alongside you, and it starts with you modeling it first. Over time, small acts of giving build generosity into your family’s routine and help your kids notice the needs around them.
These 15 generosity ideas for elementary-age kids give your family simple ways to practice across three areas: time, talent, and money. Each one is also a chance to live out your family values together, so your kids see that the way you give reflects what matters most to your family. Start with one or two this week, and let your kids' interests shape what comes next.
Let’s start with the giving of your time.
FAMILY GENEROSITY IDEAS FOR GIVING YOUR TIME
Generosity is so much more than deciding where to give our money. Time is a resource everyone has, which makes it a natural place for kids to start giving from what God has already given them. When you give your time together, your kids see your family values lived out in everyday moments.
Here are 5 ways you can model giving your time together:
- Spend quality time with your grandparents. Give them a call or set up a visit with a snack or a meal to share together as you catch up.
- Make kindness coupons. Spend a family night creating coupons your kids can give away this week, like helping with a sibling’s chores or offering to help cook dinner.
- Serve in your community. Sign up for a local service project together and talk about how your time meets real needs for those who live close to you.
- Let someone else choose. Have everyone share how they’d like to spend time together this weekend. Pick one person’s idea and talk about how putting others’ preferences first is a way to be generous.
- Invite someone to your table. Ask someone who might be alone this holiday season to join your family for a meal, and have your kids write or draw their place card with something kind or encouraging on it.
GENEROSITY IDEAS FOR GIVING YOUR TALENT
1 Peter 4:10 NIV says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” When your kids use their unique gifts to bless others, they learn that generosity is part of who your family is.
Here are 5 ways you can model giving from talent together:
- Serve at church as a family. Find a team where your kids can serve alongside you, like greeting or setting up. Talk to them about the teams they can join that excite them when they get a bit older (like worship, art, or children’s ministry).
- For kids who love art: Write a note or draw a picture for someone who works hard but may often be unseen, like your garbage collector or school custodian.
- For kids who love sports: Invite a neighbor or younger sibling to play, and help coach them in something they want to get better at.
- For kids who love the kitchen: Bake a sweet treat to bring over to your neighbors, or to share with the church staff when you show up to serve on Sunday.
- For kids who love music: Ask your kid if there is someone they know who would enjoy being cheered up by a song they like, or if they even want to write a song for them.
GENEROSITY IDEAS FOR GIVING YOUR MONEY
Giving money generously shows your kids that you believe your resources belong to God and that you are stewards of them. Your open hands with your finances teach them they can trust Him with their money, too, and use it to invest in what your family values.
Here are 5 ways to practice giving your money together:
- Give from allowance. Encourage your kids to set aside part of their allowance to give, and listen to their ideas for where it should go.
- Buy a gift together for someone. Hold a family meeting to choose who you’d like to get a gift for and why, then go out to buy it together. When you wrap it, take some time to pray a blessing over that person.
- Make care kits. Assemble kits to keep in your car for people in need, and talk about why it matters to pay attention to those in need in your community.
- Bring some supplies to the food pantry. Head to the grocery store with a grocery list together. Once you have all the supplies, pray for the people receiving the food on your way to dropping it off.
- Sign up for a holiday gift drive. If your church or school has a holiday gift drive, make an intentional morning of shopping, wrapping, and praying for the people who will be receiving the gifts.
KEEP PRACTICING YOUR FAMILY VALUES THROUGH GIVING
Generosity is a way to practice your family values, so keep coming back to them as you talk with your kids about each way to give. Your values will always help you answer questions about whether to give your time, talent, or money to something. As you live out your values through generosity, you reinforce what matters most to your family, and over time, your kids start taking ownership of it themselves.
If you need to revisit your family values or haven’t defined them yet, the 7 Generation Family Legacy Study can change that. Together, you’ll define your family values, or what matters most to you. From there, you’ll discover the mission and vision God is calling your family to and get started living them out in practical ways.