Just Because

Third and fourth graders in my room at Meadow Glade Elementary have been busy “baking up a storm.” My classroom inherited five bread makers from the previous teacher to use however I saw fit. I wanted to incorporate the bread makers into the classroom in a useful and productive way.

As a class, we discussed several things we could do with the bread once it was made, and one idea stood out among the rest. The class decided to make “mission bread.”

Starting in January, each week 10 students were able to make a loaf of bread, and then the next week 10 more students would participate so that each student was making a loaf of bread every other week. The parents donated ingredients and each child followed the recipe on his or her own. Once the bread was baked and cooled, the students bagged it and twist-tied it shut.

Their mission was to give the bread to a new person each week and let them know they were loved and appreciated and that God loves them, too. Many lives were touched by this project including neighbors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and parents.

The students were excited every time it was their week to make bread, and their hearts were touched each time they were able to give a loaf of bread to someone else “just because.”

Featured in: August 2003

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