These "LEAGUE Learning Links” provide ten quick and easy 5-minute mini-lessons to help promote The LEAGUE vision and scheduled events in your classroom. You can choose from among these mini-lessons and use as many of them as you would like and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of ones, time, talents, and treasures for the common good) and to promote those philanthropic acts that have been identified as supporting The LEAGUE events. These mini-lessons will also help ensure a deeper understanding of character traits, civic engagement, and promote student leadership. It is recommended that students be encouraged to play as much of a role as is possible and appropriate in presenting these lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Mrs. Ester lives around the corner from my house. She is quite old, but she still works in her garden everyday that she can. My mom told me that Mrs. Ester is an artist.
   
   One day when I was walking past her house on the way to my friend’s house, she was working in her garden. I stopped and asked her if I could see any of her paintings. She laughed.  “I don’t draw or paint,” she said, “except with flowers.” Pointing to her garden she said, “See. My flowers and plants are my paint, and the soil and sky, they are my canvas. Like an artist I get to share my paintings with people whenever they walk by.”
   
   I thought that was pretty neat. Mom was right, Mrs. Ester is an artist!
   
   Discuss: Is it possible to be an artist and not even know it? How was Mrs. Ester able to share her talent as an artist with others? In what ways might sharing her talent with others help make her neighborhood a nicer place in which to live? What talents do we have that we could share with others during our Art from the Heart event? What can we do during our Art from the Heart event to make our school and neighborhood a nicer place to live?
   
   
2. Read: Do you know who wrote the books: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat?  How about Green Eggs and Ham? Did you guess Dr. Seuss? If you did, you are right. Dr. Seuss’ real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. You can see why it was easier for him to use his pen name, Dr. Seuss.
   
   A pen name is a name authors sometimes use instead of their real name. They use a pen name because it’s shorter and easier to pronounce. Sometimes people use a pen name to honor someone important to them. For Dr. Seuss, “Seuss” was both his middle name and his mother's last name before she married.
   
   Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated forty-four children's books. These books were very different from other books written during that time. Dr. Seuss was told that children were not learning to read because their books were so boring. So Dr. Seuss started writing books and illustrating them with funny and unusual characters and pictures.  Because Dr. Seuss shared his writing and illustrating talents with children, many children not only learn to read, they also enjoy what they are reading.
   
   Discuss: What do you like best about Dr. Seuss’ books? How did sharing his talent help others? Not very many people know that it took him almost a year to write The Cat in the Hat? That’s right! Even though Dr. Seuss had a lot of talent, he still needed to work hard. Do you think our Art from the Heart event will be hard work? Why or why not? How might what we do for our event help others?
   
   
3. Read: One of the first games most children learn to play is tic-tac-toe. Players of tic-tac-toe soon discover that the best play leads to a tie, regardless of where the first player puts his or her X or O. It isn’t long before most children realize that there is a “can’t win” strategy. When that happens, they move on to more sophisticated games.
   
   Eight year Damian put it this way, “It’s no fun when you play a game and lose all the time.  It’s no fun when you play a game and you win all the time either. But when you never win and never lose at a game, it’s time to find another game!”
   
   Games are fun if they are interesting and challenging. Tic-tac-toe can really get boring in a hurry. There is a saying that goes like this: It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game that counts. This saying means that whether you win or lose at the game, the important thing is that you participate and did your best.
    
   Discuss: Our Art from the Heart event is asking us to play the game; to participate in the activities. How can it be fun? How can it be challenging? In what ways might those who receive our gifts be declared the “winners”? In what ways might those who made the gifts be declared the “winners”?
   
   
4. Read: Have you ever asked yourself “what if I… I wonder if …” questions? What if I really tried hard in math, I wonder if …? What if I tried out for the play, I wonder if …? What if I asked her to be my friend, I wonder if…? What if I didn’t do what everyone else was doing, I wonder if…? Many people spend their entire lives, asking themselves the “what if I… I wonder if… ”  questions. They think about how their life might be different, perhaps even better.
   
   We have all heard that every action has a consequence. It’s also true that not taking action has a consequence. Talent is not something that is handed to you. It’s more like a muscle. You have to work it in order to have it. Because we don’t come with a set of instructions that tell us how we work best or what we do best, we are left to discover our own talents. We do that by taking part in many activities. We do not decide ahead of time that we are or are not good at something.
   
   The key is try it, you might like it! If you find that you do like it, flex that muscle and develop that talent. That’s who you were meant to be. If you don’t like it at least you know that you don’t because you’ve tried it. So join the treasure hunt for your talent. It’s fun and often it can really surprise you! Everyone with talent had to discover it and then work at it.
   
   Discuss: In what ways might our Art-from-the Heart event give those who participate in it an opportunity to answer a “What if I…I wonder if…” question? Too often we are concerned about making a mistake, not looking good, or failing to perform.  What are some ways we could talk to people to encourage them to try it; to be involved in our Art from the Heart event? What talent muscle do you need to flex?
   
   
5. Read: Jennifer was always doodling. She would doodle on napkins, scraps of paper even in the margins of her spelling book. Not only did she doodle a lot, her doodles were really cool. When she was asked why she doodled, she said she wasn’t sure. It was just something she did without thinking. That’s why it surprised everyone when she didn’t want to participate in her class’ Art from the Heart event. “My stuff isn’t good enough,” she said.
   
   “It is too!” her friend responded. “It’s certainly a lot better than I can do. I hope you change your mind.”
   
   Discuss: Sometimes others can see our talent better than we can ourselves. We are really fortunate if someone like a classmate, a friend, a teacher, a parent or family member encourages us to use our talents. Can you think of a time when someone encouraged you, or you encouraged someone else? How did that feel? Our Art from the Heart event is one that asks each of us to do our best. How can we help convince those who feel they have “no talent” participate anyway?
   
   
6. Read: Mr. Brown asked the local hospital if his class could do anything to help the boys and girls who were there because they were ill or injured. Ms. Beth, the head nurse of the Children’s Ward shared an idea with him. Later that week she came to Mr. Brown’s classroom to tell the class about her idea. “We have just repainted the play area in our ward and we don’t want to put those old stuffy looking pictures back on the wall. So, we are hoping that your class will be willing to draw and paint new pictures to put in our play area. “Would you be willing to do that for us?” she asked.
   
   There seemed to be a lot of excitement about the project and the next day, the students began working on their drawings and paintings. Soon comments like: I’m not good at art. Why doesn’t Clesta just do it, she’s the artist in the class? I’m not going to do one! These remarks were heard around the room. But Mr. Brown said they all had to create a drawing.
   
   When everyone finished their art work, he collected them and delivered them to the hospital. Three days later, over twenty “Thank You” notes arrived in Mr. Brown’s classroom. They were written by boys and girls who were in the hospital. These are some things that they said: Wow, I wish I could draw and paint this well! Thanks so much, these are really neat! Your class must be a class for artists! These are just super! Thanks for sharing!
   
   It was the “Thank You” note from an eight year old girl that made everyone feel good and sad at the same time. It read, “Thanks for your pictures. I can’t wait to draw and paint again, but my doctor told me it might be a long time before I can do that. I broke both of my arms in a car accident. I hope that someday I can draw and paint a picture for someone in the hospital just like you did.”
   
   Discuss: Why do you think the letter from the little girl might have made everyone feel good and sad at the same time? Do you think the students in Mr. Brown’s class had any idea how much their drawings and paintings would mean to the children in the hospital? Do we know how much people will enjoy what we do for our Art from the Heart event? Why is it important to do our best even when we think that what we do is not important or good enough?
   
   
7. Read: The children’s books The Berenstain Bears began with the writing and drawing of Stan and Jan Berenstain. At the age of five, they were both already drawing but they didn't know each other as children. They met much later when they were in college. They dated, got married and had two sons. Their sons grew up and now help write and illustrate the Berenstain Bears books.
   
   The first children’s book that Stan and Jan wrote and illustrated together was called The Big Honey Hunt. It is about a family of bears who act just like real people in real family situations. Many more books have been written about the Berenstain bears, each offering good advice about things that we should and should not do. How we should and should not act. How to be kind and not be mean. How to eat the right things for our body and how to be truthful. I guess you could say that the bears teach us how to make our world “more bearable!”
   
   Discuss: Would you say that Stan and Jan Berenstain put their talents to good use? When we consider the things that we are good at, how might we put our talents to good use? Why are we not too young to begin to use our talents? How do we hope to make the world better and “more bearable” by doing what we are planning to do for our Art from the Heart event?
   
   
8. Read: The Boys Scout Troupe No. 556 completed their cookie sales for another year. Andrew was a great salesperson! He sold 47 boxes of cookies. It was the most boxes of cookies sold by anyone in his Troupe. His Troupe leader, Mr. Salazar, had told the boys that the person who sold the most cookies would get a prize. Andrew was proud to receive his prize. It was a 240-piece art set. It included paints, crayons, and pencils of every color. Andrew didn’t think he was very good at art even though he liked to draw and color. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to do with his art set. That was until his teacher announced this year’s Art for the Heart event. Andrew decided that he would bring his 240-piece art set to school. He would let all the kids in his class use it to make cards and notes during their Art for the Heart event this year.
   
   Discuss: What was Andrew’s talent? How did he use his talent to help others? Is everyone talented in the same way? What do you think happened as a result of Andrew sharing his talent with the rest of the students in his class? In what ways could we use our talents to make our Art from the Heart event a success?
   
   
9. Read: Sometimes when we are really sick, we are not allowed to go out-of-doors. Maybe we have a bad cold. Sometimes when it’s really cold outside or stormy we are told we need to stay indoors. Most of us don’t like not being able to go out-of-doors and play. There are some people who seldom, if ever, can go out-of-doors. Doctors call these people “shut-ins”.  A “shut-in” is a person who cannot go out of doors. Usually it is because they are very, very sick and have been for a long time. Other “shut-ins” might have a disability that makes it difficult for them be out-of-doors. Many “shut-ins” say that they feel “shut-out”, too. Often, they feel forgotten. Imagine if you were told that you could not go out-of-doors to play and while you were “shut-in” nobody came to talk to you. Jamie is in a wheelchair and often he finds it hard to go out in the snow.”I have to stay inside,” he says sadly. “Nobody comes to see me. It’s like I don’t even exist.” Sad to say, but that is the way many “shut-ins” feel.
   
   Discuss: How is sending someone a card like talking to them? Whether the cards we make for our Art from the Heart event go to “shut-ins” or not, how can our cards help make sure no one feels forgotten?
   
   
10. Read: We probably have all heard the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. It’s the story about a speedy rabbit who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady - the Tortoise - challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch. The rabbit ran down the road for a while. Then he paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?" The rabbit stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."
    
    Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never stopped until he came to the finish line. The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for the Tortoise that they woke up the rabbit. The rabbit then stretched and yawned. He began to run again. But it was too late. The Tortoise was over the finish line. After that, the rabbit always remembered not to brag about his lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!
    
    There are some things we can learn from this fable. It teaches us about perseverance; the importance of completing a task without giving up. It teaches us that it is possible to overcome what seems like a lack of talent by never giving up. It teaches us that we learn from our mistakes if we can remind ourselves to always do the best we can at all times.
    
    Discuss: How might the things we learned from this fable help us “run and complete the race” of our Art from the Heart event? What does this story say about approaching a big job? What do you think this line, taken from the writing of Dr. Seuss, Inch by inch, it's a cinch has to say to us about participating in our Art from the Heart event?