MSU Extension 4-H Military Family Programs

The Smile That Went Around the World 

• Title: The Smile That Went Around the World 
• Author: Patrice Karst 
• Illustrator: Jana Christy 
• Publisher: DeVorss & Company 
• Date of Publication: 2009 
• Audience Age: 3 years and up 

Summary 

This is the story of how one boy’s small act of kindness helped his smile travel around the world.

Pre-Deployment Activities 

Take pictures of each family member smiling their biggest smile. Then print them off and laminate them by using clear contact paper. Give the pictures to your service member so they can take their family smiles with them as they travel. As a family think of two or three activities that might help other people. These could be activities like helping a neighbor get their mail or shoveling their driveway, volunteering at an animal shelter, helping at a soup kitchen or other activities. Pick the activity that your family likes best and schedule a time to participate.

During-Deployment Activities 

Do the helpful activity you chose as a family. During the activity take pictures of family members. Use those pictures to create a family story book with each member contributing to the book with drawings and descriptions. Just as your service member is helping people around the world you can show them how your family is helping people back home. Send smiles to your service member. It could be anything that has smiles on it like a drawing, picture, magazine page, sticker or small item. Send the smile with a note of encouragement or a favorite thing that happened to you that day.

Post-Deployment Activities 

Take new pictures of each family member smiling. Compare them to the pictures that you took at the beginning of the deployment. What is different about the pictures? Talk about the changes that have happened during the deployment. Think of ways your family can send smiles to other service members and their families. Look for opportunities to help another military family through their deployment.

Supporting Military Families During Deployment with Books & Activities

Deployment involves moving an individual or military unit within the country or to another country. A mission or task might include training, supporting communities during times of disaster, helping foreign countries or fighting in a war. The many changes happening with each departure and return create difficulties for both service members and their families.

Michigan State University (MSU) Extension and Michigan 4-H are committed to supporting the more than 20,000 Michigan military children and youth, and their families, through programming and community education. 

Programs for Military Families Include: 

• 4-H clubs on installations and in communities
• "4-H 101" and "4-H 201" training for military staff
• Operation: Military Kids (OMK) - supporting children of deployed soldiers
• Speak Out for Military Kids (SOMK) - preparing teens to speak on military life and deployment 
• Hero Packs - saying thank you to military children and youth
• Military 4-H Club Grants - supporting 4-H clubs for military youth and integrating them into county 4-H programs
• Community Awareness Training - educating the public on issues facing military families experiencing a deployment
• Special recognition events during Month of the Military Child and Month of the Military Family 
• Educational and recreational events and opportunities for military families 

4-H Military Family Book Sheets

The 4-H Military Family Book Sheets help parents and guardians find books and activities to help their children during various stages of their service members’ deployments. Each book sheet contains a summary of the book, author and publication details, and activities that they can use with their children pre-, during or post-deployment to extend the message of the book. To find each book, check with your local library, bookstore or online retailer. 

• Before reading: Show your child the front and back cover of the book. Ask him or her to guess what the book is about. 
• While reading: Stop at any time if something comes up that you or your child would like to talk about. 
• After reading: Spend time talking about the story. 

Learn More! 

Connect with us on Facebook: Search "Michigan Operation: Military Kids" and "Michigan 4-H." 

For more information on supporting military families, visit the following websites: 

• MSU Extension: (msue.anr.msu.edu)
• Michigan 4-H Youth Development: (www.4-hmilitarypartnerships.org)
• Operation: Military Kids: (http://www.operationmilitarykids.org)