I actually decided to tackle two acts of kindness on Christmas Eve to finish up this experiment, since I knew on Day 25 – Christmas – I’d be busy with family.  So I technically completed Day 25 on Day 24 – but I think that’s fine, right?  

I decided to go to a big bookstore and volunteer to do story time.  This act of kindness did not go well, haha!

First, I found this idea on another blog.  I read about a woman who did this and the pictures were adorable.  Lots of little kids gathered around her listening intently.  I loved reading stories to children when I did nutrition education in elementary schools, and also loved listening to them as a kid, so I thought this would be a perfect activity to finish off 25 Days of Christmas Kindness. 

I found one of my favorite books for kids – Green Eggs and Ham – to read at story time.  As a dietitian, I’ve realized there are lots of cute books nutrition books for kids (or books that talk about exercise, foods, or health in general).  Here are some of my favorites:

• Green Eggs and Ham – The quintessential lesson that it’s important to try new foods before deciding if you like them.  Great for picky eaters!
  
• Nutrafruit Heroes – A team of fruit superheroes must save the day for the kids that have lunch without fruit!  The book goes over some of the important nutrients and health benefits of fruit in a kid-friendly way.
  
• Dora’s Dance to the Rescue – An elf traps Swiper in a bottle, so Dora must dance her way to the castle so she can make a wish to get him out.  The book is interactive with different dances and movements that you can have the kids do along with you.
  
• Vegetable Soup/The Fruit Bowl – A two-in-one book that talks about different fruits and vegetables from A to Z.
  
• The Little Red Hen – This story is about a hen who has to go through the steps of making bread all by herself when her friends won’t help.  Great for talking to children about where food comes from and how it’s made.  This story also features great teaching points about helping others and sharing.
  
• Rodeo Ron and His Milkshake Cows – Rodeo Ron visits the town of Cavity and realizes the kids drink nothing but soda.  He has a “shake off” with the soda bar owners and his milk is the winner!
  
• D.W The Picky Eater – Arthur’s sister, D.W., is a picky eater.  She hasn’t been going out to eat with the family because of this, but then realizes she might be missing out.  She decides to try a new food and loves it – and finds out it is made with spinach, a food she thought she didn’t like!
  
• From Seed to Pumpkin – This is a great story in the fall, and talks about how pumpkins grow.  You could read this book and then make baked pumpkin seeds or a pumpkin bread with the kiddos.
  
• The Ugly Vegetables – A little girl is mad when her mom’s garden has ugly vegetables, not pretty flowers like other people.  But when her mom makes a delicious soup that the whole neighborhood likes to eat, she realizes the ugly vegetables are awesome.
  

Anyway – I grabbed Green Eggs and Ham as well as Twas The Night Before Christmas and thought I’d read these for story time.  I asked the staff at the bookstore if it’d be okay to go over and read, and they loved the idea since they didn’t have any scheduled story time activities that day.  So I walked around and let a parent and their kids know that I was going to read a story over in the story time area.

Instead of the excitement I expected, the kids yelled at me that they didn’t want to listen to a story!  At this point, I felt extremely awkward.  The only other kids in the area were older, so no one wanted to listen, haha!  I put the books down and made my husband walk quickly out of the store with me.  I felt like a big creeper and just wanted to get out of the store at that point.

Last act = failed.  I tried, haha.