One thing I want to instill upon my children is that there are many people in this world besides them. When we only think about ourselves we are not aware of the ways we can help others. I seem to be teaching this to my kids over and over again. It does become redundant unless I find a new analogy to use to make it seem like a new and exciting concept. I recently ran across a snippet of the candy and experiment. I took the idea and ran with it.

Candy and Ice Experiment

Supplies Needed:

• Candy of your choice
• Ice cubes

Directions:

1. Ask everyone to eat a piece of candy.
2. Discuss: How does it taste?
3. Ask everyone to put an ice cube in their mouths and leave it in for as long as possible.
4. Immediately after removing the ice, replace it with a piece of candy.
5. Discuss: Now how does the candy taste? (Because the ice has numbed the tongue they should not taste the candy.)

Discussion

Why did the candy taste different the second time? What caused the change?

When we only think about ourselves our heart (tongue) is numbed toward others. When we are unable to taste the sweet candy – we are unaware when others need help, we are not able to taste the sweet reward for giving service to others.

There are many acts of service we are able to give each day. Service, big or small, is equally important. Learning to recognize when service is needed is a learned skill. Small acts of service are often easier to perform because they can be done immediately. What are some small acts of service you saw/did/could have performed today?

Next time you are with your family, or at school or in a group or…ask yourself is there something I can do for someone else? When you begin tasting the sweetness of service you will crave it and want to do it more and more. The more service you perform the more you will be able to recognize where service is needed. You might need to work at reminding yourself to ask the question, “Is there something I can do for someone else?” but soon it will become part of your life.

After our candy and ice experiment discussion we made some fun treats to doorbell ditch to a few friends who could use a little pick me up.