Project 365: March 7

These children have the power to change the world...one book at a time!

Will it be the water buffalo or a flock of ducks and geese? The cow or the llama? Maybe they'll throw in a hive of honeybees. Who knows?! We do know that at the end of March someone will be getting a new animal!

It won't be one of these children though. As part of a missions project, these children, along with their friends, will collect sponsors and then begin reading. For each book they read during the next month each child will collect money. At the end of March, when all of the books have been read and all of the pledges collected, the children will pool their money and decide what animal(s) to buy.

We are participating in the Read To Feed program sponsored by Heifer International. For as little as $10 we can buy a share of a pig or a share of a trio of rabbits, and for a much as $1000 we can buy a Milk Menagerie! That's a heifer, 2 goats & a water buffalo - all milk-producing beasts!

We started out our unit by reading a book called Beatrice's Goat, written by Page McBrier and illustrated by Lori Lohstoeter. Beatrice's family lives in Africa and was so poor that she couldn't afford to go to school. Instead she kept the chickens and watched her 5 siblings. As one of our first graders said, "All she did was work, work, work!" Once the family received their goat, they had milk to drink, and leftover milk to sell! The money saved from selling the milk went to buy Beatrice's school uniform & books. Her dreams of attending school were answered. In addition, they were able to buy medicine and clothing, and build a new house with a steel roof! The true story of Beatrice and her goat showed our children how just one small goat made a huge difference in the lives of Beatrice and her family.

If you know any of these readers, please encourage them on their journey to read enough to buy an animal! It'll be fun to see how the kids come to a decision when the reading is done, and just how many animals they end up buying!!