Tonight when I got home from work I told the girls I needed their help with two projects. I had many bags from Target with me, and I explained to them that we had two things to prepare: 1) a birthday present for their friend Charlotte for this weekend; and 2) a care package for a soldier in Afghanistan. We talked about soldiers who live far away from home and miss some of the things they like to have, such as candy and shaving cream. The girls liked the idea of sending a soldier something that he might want – M suggested a blanket and pillows. I told them that I had gone on the internet and found a list of things that a certain group of soldiers want, and that I bought some of them.

Then we turned it into a game – I took out items from the Target bags and the girls had to put them in a pile – Charlotte or Soldier. The girls were very good at it! Art supplies – crayons, pencils, pads, paints, stickers – all went in the Charlotte pile. We put them in a plastic purple basket and wrapped it all up in cellophane with a big bow – an art supply present for an artistic friend. Candy, shaving cream, toothpaste, mouthwash, foot spray, socks, gum, macaroni and cheese, and goldfish – all went in the Soldier pile. We packed all of the items into a post office box, which took some wrangling, but worked out in the end. In the midle of it, I pulled out some things I'd bought for M&A (dry erase workbooks for letters and numbers), and the girls were so appreciative. A gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you so much, Mommy!"

After we finished, we went up to the computer and looked up the soldiers in Afghanistan who will be getting the package. The girls were very interested in checking them out. It's fun to get the girls involved in projects like this and to teach them about giving and sharing.

Also – Buppie came over today and gave the girls their second piano lesson!