Puppies in Training!

One of the teachers I work with asked for help in finding ways to tie service into their curriculum (the quintessential definition of Service Learning). The class was already painting portraits of their pets (seen in the background of the picture to the left) for a fundraising auction for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I was lucky enough to find an amazing volunteer from our local chapter that gave us some additional ideas for service that will be incorporated into next year's unit as well.

The night of the art auction was a great example of project-based learning. The unit was actually a  poetry unit, one of the poems they studied was about a boy that adopted a dog from an animal shelter. Each student read an original poem based on certain author's styles (such as Robert Frost). The art teacher talked about the art techniques and math skills used in painting the pictures, and of course, the community partnership and service was a big part of it.

Service ways you can serve animals in need with your children include:

(while some of the organizations are local to the Salt Lake City area, most organizations that work with animals should have similar needs, contact one near you)

• Guide Dogs for the Blind: make braided toys for the puppies, use duck tape and old phone books or textbooks for training platforms and make baby-sized blankets to train them to lie down
• Hearts4Paws: make toys or blankets for adoption bags
• Best Friends: donate pet food & supplies, collect and create kitten toys, make blankets for kittens at our Spay/Neuter Clinic
• Salt Lake County Animal Services: donate bleach, Dawn dish detergent, paper towels, bite-sized dog treats (any brand), peanut butter, laundry detergent, soft treats, canned dog/cat food
• Utah Animal Adoption Center: wrap goodie bags to go home with adopted animals that include treats, toys, and leashes (we provide the supplies), make blankets for the kennels, make dog beds or cat towers for inside/outside areas, help with public awareness and pass out fliers, wishlist online
• Humane Society of Utah: donate: fleece blankets and towels (used or new), wet cat food or broth for sick cats, cat and dog toys, soft cat and dog treats, K-9 Advantix 4-10 lbs., K-9 Advantix 11-20 lbs, canned dog and cat food, newspaper, disinfectant wipes, paper towels, bleach, trash bags (kitchen and liner trash bags), sponges, anti-bacterial dish soap, pole and string cat toys, cardboard scratching boards - all sizes