Last month we had a fun Family Night to teach our kids gratitude and empathy for others with handicaps. We did a Blindfold Dinner to teach this. Once a week we try to have a Family Night with our kidlets. We plan activities, treats, and try to teach them important values and lessons in life. Usually Family Nights are very simple–less than an hour. This one took a little longer, but it was worth it.
We blindfolded each kidlet. Then we led them to the dinner table. We were very careful not to let them see what we were having for dinner beforehand.
Little Son wanted his to cover his whole face (maybe he was able to sneak a peak that way?).
We served them homemade hamburgers. But in order to make it a challenge for them, we did not put the hamburgers together for them. We just put the ingredients on their plate (cheese, buns, meat, veggies, etc) , along with chips, and fruit. They had to figure out what they were eating and also put it together blindfolded. They were able to see what it would be like to be blind and have to make a dinner, or even just eat a hamburger without eyesight. We encouraged them to use their other senses.
We gave each of them little cups of the condiments. To make it a challenge we put out ketchup, mustard, and maple syrup. The maple syrup was to throw them off a little and make them use their other senses to figure out what to put on their hamburger. We also did not give them utensils. They had to spread it with their fingers. This made it so we could talk about appreciating simple things we take for granted.
They still liked the food, blindfold or not.
Finally, at the end we let them take the blindfolds off. We served them simple sherbet floats and strawberry dessert for being good sports. While they ate dessert we talked about the things we take for granted. We also discussed how it’s still possible to do things with a handicap, though it was a challenge at first. We talked about being kind to others and grateful for what we had.
In the end, we hope they had fun with this silly dinner and gained a little respect for those with disabilities and were thankful for what they do have.
