Putting the Busy Back in Busy Bags

Every Sunday, we depend on two activity bags to get the kids through the church service. Thankfully, we don't need to worry about packing and hauling them ourselves, as there's a ready supply hanging near the church entrances.

So when I was trying to think of a simple, kid-friendly service opportunity lately, the busy bags came to mind. The kids and I could shop for new supplies, empty and wash the bags, and restock them for the year. It wasn't time consuming, expensive or complicated, but if other families depend on the bags as much as we do, I knew it would make an impact.

I checked with our church volunteer coordinator who was thrilled by the idea. They could use the help.

While Natalie (4) was in preschool, Gavin (2) and I picked the 15 bags up from church and headed to Wal-mart. With back to school specials, we were easily able to find pencil bags and boxes, markers, mechanical pencils, notebooks, notepads, simple puzzles and flash cards. We found tons of sticker sheets at home and combined everything with crayons and coloring books someone else from church had donated.

At home I dumped the bag contents in a pile on the floor and set Gavin to work picking out all of the broken and used crayons. He dropped them in a large bowl while I threw the bags in the washing machine. We organized all the new supplies in piles on the floor.

Later that day while Gavin was napping, Natalie and I took turns putting new items in the bag. We talked about how it was important to volunteer our time and spend our money in ways that help others too. As she picked out markers for each bag, she told me about how she likes to color with crayons and markers during church. Now other kids can do the same.

A couple days later, Gavin and I brought the bags back to church, hanging them up on the racks near the door - this time much heavier with supplies. He was excited to bring them back and visit with the ladies working at the church. I'm not sure how much of the service aspect he picked up, but I'm not too concerned at this point. It's more important that service feels normal, a regular part of our lives.

It doesn't hurt that there will be a new coloring book waiting for him on Sunday either.