From the book Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project
Illustration by Eyen Johnson
As many of you know, I am passionate about two things, authentic teaching, and The Jared Box Project.These two things work together perfectly, when you are authentically teaching about giving. It is so important all year, but especially this time of year, to remember to give back.
Jared McMullen was diagnosed with an incurable brainstem tumor in 1999. He carried a backpack full of toys and games to all appointments and questioned why the other children didn’t bring toys to their exam rooms. Jared shared his toys and invited the other children to join him in a game of UNO. At just 5 years old, he demonstrated faith, wisdom and compassion for others.
Jared’s classmates sought to honor his memory and created boxes filled with toys for the patients at their local hospital. What was intended as a one-time project has grown into a nonprofit that reaches into the hearts of children and their families across all 50 US States, and also internationally.
I did a presentation last year at a special education school. These children had a great deal on their plate, but all engaged and enjoyed making Jared Boxes. They already earned credit at their school store (for task completion and behavior), and during the Jared Box Project (the name of the project and a project!) they used their credit to buy items for the Jared Box that they were going to make. The students were all engaged, proud, learning, and eager to share their finished boxes.
For more information about The Jared Box Project visit TheJaredBox.org
We are so honored that we were asked to help tell Jared’s story, and to help spread the word about The Jared Box Project. The material we were given to work with was award winning.
2023 Mom’s Choice Awards® Silver Recipient
2023 indieBRAG® Medallion Winner
2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards Winner
2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards Semi-Finalist
Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, Penn State University
REPOSTED FROM THE JARED BOX PROJECT
Next up at The Jared Box Project!
Have you heard about the book, Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project? It was written by Ellie Smith and illustrated by her former student, Eyen Johnson. It tells the sweet story of Jared Boxes.
We are on a mission to put a copy of our book in Little Libraries across the country. The book is available on Amazon.
If you put a copy of the book in a Little Library, please send us a photo! This will be a fun adventure!
Almost exactly a year ago, Eyen and I became involved with The Jared Box Project. Eyen and I both agree that this is why we started creating books together. We just didn’t know this when we started out on our book journey over seven years ago.
This blog is about teaching authentically. But I also feel that it is important to live authentically! To me, authenticity means make it real and make it count. Our books were already “real”, and we both felt they helped children learn to enjoy reading. Now writing a book for The Jared Box Project made what we are doing “count” even more. We are really making a difference in a positive way.
Eyen and I just attended the celebration for the Millionth Jared Box! Yes, over a million Jared Boxes have been made and distributed. The Jared Box Project is now in all 50 States and several other countries. Making Jared Boxes is a wonderful authentic community service project. It is easy, it is fun, and it truly makes a huge difference to those who receive them.
For more information about The Jared Box Project, go to thejaredbox.org.
Eyen and I are thrilled to announce the publication of our latest book, Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project.
Tex is a young T-Rex. He loves to explore. For his birthday, his parents gave him a scooter. Tex is off to explore his neighborhood – or so he thought! This book tells the story of Tex and his introduction to The Jared Box Project.
The Jared Box Project was started in 2001 by the children of Our Lady of Victory School in State College, Pennsylvania, to honor their classmate and friend, Jared. Jared McMullen was a brave little boy who battled cancer. He carried a backpack full of toys and games to all of his appointments and questioned why the other children didn’t bring toys to their exam rooms. Jared shared his toys with the other children. He demonstrated faith, wisdom, and compassion for others.
For over 20 years, Jared Boxes have delivered countless smiles, laughter, and hope to children in hospitals across the country. Since then, more than one million Jared Boxes have been delivered to over 475 hospitals across the United States and in other countries.
The mission of The Jared Box Project is to entertain and put a smile on the faces of children in the hospital. A Jared Box is a “gift of play,” a plastic shoebox filled with small gifts, toys, cards, games, crayons, coloring books, and other fun activities.
The Jared Box Project is a “give local” project. Thousands of groups have made and delivered Jared Boxes to hospitals in their communities. Children and their parents are so thankful for these boxes that showcase the importance of play and are filled with well wishes, hope, and love. Join us. Make some Jared Boxes for the children in your local hospital. Bring on the smiles!
Tex the Explorer and The Jared Box Project is available on Amazon.
This book has been donated to the Jared Box Project By Ellie, Eyen, and Tex.
Early sketch for Tex the Explorer The Jared Box Project
Eyen and I are so honored to have been asked to write a book about The Jared Box Project. This is an amazing group that donated boxes of games, toys, etc to children in the hospital. They have donated over a million boxes to over 400 hospitals in the United States and also internationally.
As I have mentioned before, I started this blog as a way to get my books “out there” on the web. I had never even read a blog before, but the folks in my 55+ community told me I had to have a presence on the web for my books. Then the blog took on a life of its own and became a way for me to continue to promote authentic teaching and learning.
One of the concerns that teachers have is how to handle a huge authentic project on top of everything that they are already required to do. I can’t emphasize enough that you start small and take it from there. Many authentic projects are short, sweet, and accomplish their goal of engaging students without a lot of fuss. Some simply don’t work – time to move on. And some take over your life. The Martian Colony Project I worked on in 5th grade did just that. When that happens it actually becomes easier to incorporate your curriculum goals and objects as the project is so big you have everything happening right in front of you!
My books started as a deal I made with my illustrator, Eyen, to write a book together once he was an adult. We made this deal when he was in 5th grade. This was an authentic project that has engaged me and taught me so many things as an adult learner. I had no idea it would become this big. I had no idea we would publish five books together, with the Jared Box Book being number six – and more planned. I had no idea I would publish two books about teaching authentically with my principal, Peggy. I had no idea I would write a blog – I had no idea what a blog was!
When I retired, I wanted to stay mentally active. I wanted to stay involved in promoting authentic learning. I wanted to continue to help others and volunteer. Oh, and I wanted to explore unique craft stores and boutiques.
Being involved in the authentic project of writing books with Peggy and Eyen has accomplished all of that – even the shopping part – explained below! I never planned for things to happen this way, but I payed attention to opportunity and walked through doors as they opened for me. I didn’t get up one morning and decide to write seven – and counting – books. I made a deal with a fifth grader over a decade ago, and here we are! A real authentic project with students should start just like that. Have a driving question or goal, start out small, pay attention to opportunity, see where it takes you.
So Eyen and I are now working on our book for the Jared Box Project. I am honestly overwhelmed by this opportunity, in a good way! I would have been overwhelmed in a bad way if this had been a goal of mine a decade ago, or if the opportunity had presented itself before now. But this had been a long a winding word to get to this point, full of so many amazing authentic teaching and learning experiences.
Eyen and I will be donating the book to The Jared Box Project, and we both feel blessed to have this opportunity. And I have become hooked and making Jared Boxes – hence the shopping part – so much fun.
Our goal is have the book out by the end of next summer. Stay tuned. And meanwhile, check out The Jared Box Project !
The Educational Journey 