Not all lessons come in the classroom or, these days, online.
Four Guelph youngsters got a lesson on the sidewalks and streets of east Guelph Tuesday, organizing a food drive for the Guelph Food Bank that saw them collect and drop off 180 kg of food.
Jodi Roadknight organized the drive for her children Elias, 5, and Aiya, 3, along with their cousins Jack, 8, and Julia, 6.
"Homeschooling was wearing a little thin so I thought we could take advantage of the time and just show the kids how they could be community ambassadors," said Jodi.
"It's a good way to show them that it doesn't take a lot to organize something and to have something come to life like this and, really, what it means to help other people."
The Roadknights dropped off notices in the mailboxes of houses in their neighbourhood north of Eastview Road a couple of days earlier informing people of what they were doing and asking for food donations to be left on their porch or at the end of the driveway on Tuesday.
The children then pulled a wagon around the neighbourhood collecting the food and loading it into a pickup truck.
"The one hurdle was finding a neighbourhood that still had mailboxes," Jodi said. "But to see them today, they're having fun with it. It's not a chore, and the results are huge."
Aunt to all Christine Brown was along to help supervise the day. Dad and uncle Mike Roadknight drove the pickup truck.
"The truck's getting full," she said as the cans and boxes of items piled up.
"The kids got money too," Brown said with a chuckle, referring to one grateful person who handed the kids $5 to get themselves a treat for all their hard work.
"The people who come to the door have all been excited and grateful about it," Jodi said. "That's something you can't just teach."
Jack said it was "a bit of work" but still "fun."
"People are saying thank you" and others leave nice notes with their donation, he said.
Jacka and Julia attend Edward Johnson Public School while Elias and Aiya were in town visiting from North Bay.
