Student Contributor -J. MacPherson
In this project, I worked with my students to partner with S.C.R.A.P.S., a local animal shelter. I had my students bring in recycled t-shirts that we cut and braided to make into dog toys. These dog toys were then donated to the shelter for the dog’s awaiting homes.
Each of my students brought in a recycled t-shirt. We used these recycled t-shirts to cut them across the chest area and create tears along the hem that we could then tear into strips of fabric. Using the torn strips of fabric, the students tied and braided the strips into a rope toy for dogs. The toys were then donated to the shelter. This activity was beneficial to the community because students were able to repurpose materials and donate them to the animals in need at a local shelter. The students who participated in this project were very excited to give back to the animal community, as most of them have pets of their own. Many of the students were also excited to learn how to make dog toys out of recycled materials, expressing their enthusiasm to try this at home! I had many students approach me, asking about areas they can volunteer in the community. This told me that the project had an impact on students wanting to give back to the community.
When planning, I would consider only using cotton t-shirts for this project. I found that any other material, including soft material, was more difficult to tear into even strips. Another suggestion I would make is to have students cut the strips all the way down, rather than tear. This will possible safety concerns in the classroom. Overall, this is a great project that requires little materials and is easy to teach little ones!
I recently did this project with a class of 4th graders. My students were so excited to be able to help these animals. I went about the project a little differently just so I wouldn’t use up too much class time. I used my old t-shirts I no longer needed and cut them at home. This process took me close to two hours cutting all the shirts and little ties for the ends. If I did this again, I think I would actually have the class each bring in a recycled t-shirt, then I would take them home and cut them. I think it would’ve added to the community aspect more because they would be repurposing their clothes.
Another element I added to this project was just reading the class a book about animal adoption. I think the students could relate more to these animals after we read this book, because they got to see what their lives are like without a home.
Overall, this was a really fun project to do with kids. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to do a community project with their class.
B.Gibson
I did this project with the eighth graders in my placement. There were about 20 kids in the class who participated in this project. I decided to do this project because the students were already participating in a school wide fundraiser for the Spokane Humane Society, and some of the kids even went to go visit the animals on a field trip on Feb 14th. After making the toys, we put them all in a box so that the kids going on the field trip would have the opportunity to personally take the toys to the shelter and possibly even give it to an animal waiting for a home.
What I kept the same from this project was the style of dog toy made and the fabric used when making the toys. Cotton is much easier to work with while doing this project. Another thing I kept the same was having students bring in their own t-shirts to make it more personal. Some students forgot their t-shirts at home and I was able to provide some extras that I brought. I do suggest bringing at least five extra t-shirts for those students who forget theirs so they can still participate.
Some of the things I did differently was I had students cut their strips instead of tearing. I tried tearing a t-shirt on my own and decided it was too hard and students would probably get frustrated. The partnering organization used was the Spokane Humane Society instead of S.C.R.A.P.S, but both organizations are good to donate too.
An addition or change to the project that I would make if there was more time, is having a couple different types of dog toys to make out of their t-shirts instead of just one. It would incorporate some more student choice.
J. Boykin – I did this project with a group of my high school youth group girls. I planned to do this project with more people but ended up doing it with only three of the girls. They were sophomores in high school. I also used recycled materials with the t-shirt dog toys. My students were also very excited to give back to the animal shelter because they all have dogs at home that they love and are passionate about. Something I did different with this project was doing it with older students. This made it so that they could do the cutting and braiding completely independently if they wanted to. If I were to do this project again, I would have my students come with me to drop of the dogs toys instead of doing this by myself. Something I learned from this project was how difficult it can be to coordinate with high school girls. If I were to do this project again, I would do it somewhere I know that they would be and show up to. I would have them come early to youth group one day instead of going somewhere out of their way. Overall, this project was really fun and a great way to contribute to the community. Not only did we give back, but we used recycled materials as well. This is definitely something that can be done at home and does not take a lot of preparation to do. Students could do this independently and then bring them in for me to drop off if they wanted to.
G. Eden
I completed this project with a group of about 20 kids ranging in grade level from K-5. Overall my students come from middle to low class socioeconomic status. The project overall went very well! I told parents that I would bring all required items but also made a donation sheet where parents could donate if they’d like to. Similarly to the original project, I used old t-shirts but I also used cut up leggings and jeans which had more durability than the shirts. I had a discussion each day, out of the two project days we had, before I started the craft about what giving back to the community looks like and why it is important. I also wanted to stress that animals in need are just as important as humans in need. Something I did differently was had the students do two separate crafts that I could take to S.C.R.A.P.S. I felt like just one may have been not enough for the project so I did two small ones. So I had my students create these dog toys and then the next day we created dog treats that were easy to make and full of essential nutrients for the dogs. If I were to do this again, I think I would develop more ideas in my discussion about helping the community to really solidify the idea with students that giving back to the community is a necessity. I think that students looked at it more as a craft that we do every day rather than something that will help someone else.