Learning how to have a positive impact upon the environment is a valuable lesson for elementary students to learn. By cultivating gardens, students have an opportunity to learn about responsibility by preparing the soil, growing the plants and harvesting the crops, according to the Green Schools Initiative website (see References). Once the garden is complete, the produce can be donated to the PTA as a fundraiser for the school for art supplies, or other learning materials.
Working on a service project that benefits children who are recovering from illness in a children's hospital presents a rewarding opportunity for young students. There are a few fun projects elementary students can undertake, like collecting small packs of crayons and colored markers. Students can decorate posters and personalize them with well-wishes from each class involved in the service project. Since children are always skinning their knees or arms, donating Band-Aids with favorite cartoon or comic book characters would be fun to take part in and would lift the spirits of the hospitalized children.
Children can develop empathy for homeless children and their families who live in an area homeless shelter by working on a service project to help out. Elementary students can provide a benefit for shelter-bound children by donating books and brown-bag lunches that their teacher can assist them with. With parental permission, each child could bring in a book from home, and a bag of chips, cookies or some other food item. The teacher can assist in assembling the donated packages. The service project could even include a speaker from the shelter, explaining how much the donation will mean to the children and families.
Senior citizens living in a retirement, assisted living or nursing home would greatly benefit from an elementary school class service project visit. A couple of project ideas include bringing along a few small pets from some of the children, which would provide pet therapy for the seniors. The senior residents would enjoy the company of both the children and the small animals. Seniors love to play card games and thusly this would be a great intergenerational bonding activity. Hearts, gin rummy or even checkers would be good activities for children and seniors.