adopt a pet - pre-k pages · 2017-01-26 · or cat litter. others may need items such as towels,...

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Table of Contents

Developing Altruistic Behavior Article ……………. 4

Service Learning ……………. 5-7

Explanation ……………. 8

Resources ……………. 9

Organize a Supply Drive ……………. 10-11

Letter to Parents ……………. 12-13

Supply Donation Signs ……………. 14-19

Animal Shelter Sign ……………. 21

Animal Description Tags ……………. 22

Animal Adoption Stickers ……………. 23

Love Cats Sign ……………. 24

Love Dogs Sign ……………. 24

Adoption Agreement ……………. 25

Pet Interest Survey ……………. 26

The Importance of Developing Empathy and Altruism in Young Children

Many studies show that children who engage in bullying behaviors lack empathy for their victims. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Teaching young children to understand the feelings of others and engage in unselfish or altruistic behaviors may seem like an impossible task. However, researchers have found that teachers can create a caring classroom community that fosters the development of empathy and altruism by collectively engaging children in activities that benefit caring for people, the environment, and animals. Not only should we provide opportunities for children to participate in these types of helpful activities but also to recognize their own behaviors as kind and generous. Remember the scene in movie The Help where the main character Aibileen tells Mae Mobley she is kind and she is important? Aibileen was on to something there.

Examples of activities to promote empathy and altruism:

• Collect food for your local food pantry. • Have students make Valentine cards for nursing home residents and hand-deliver

them. • Collect pet food and pet items for a local animal shelter. • Collect and send items to deployed military personnel.

Encourage the children to participate in the selection of the items to be donated. Discuss which items are most needed and why, and- if possible, deliver the items in person. If the items can’t be personally delivered, actively involve the children in the process of mailing (packaging, addressing, and shipping) their donations. Try to follow up with the organization that was helped. Ask them to send you a letter or Skype with your children to discuss the impact your donation had.

Don't offer material rewards for student’s participation. In order for children to truly benefit from helping others they need to be intrinsically or internally motivated to do good, not motivated by extrinsic rewards or other tangible items. Research by Warneken and Tomasello indicates that toddlers as young as 18 months can behave altruistically.

A landmark study of altruism by Pearl and Samuel Oliner found that children who have compassionate parents tend to be more altruistic. In the Oliners’ study of Germans who helped rescue Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, one of the strongest predictors of this inspiring behavior was the individual’s memory of growing up in a family that prioritized compassion and altruism. Empathy, sympathy, compassion, kindness and charity should begin at home, and very early. As professionals, we can help foster these skills in our students by following the steps outlined above.



What is Service Learning?

Service learning is a method of teaching that combines formal

instruction with a related service in the community. Service learning

integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection

to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage

lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the

common good. The Community Service Act of 1990, which authorized

the Learn and Serve America grant program, defines service learning

as:

"a method under which students …learn and develop through active

participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and

meets the needs of a community; is coordinated with a school…and

with the community; and helps foster civic responsibility; and that is

integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students,

and provides structured time for the students or participants to reflect

on the service experience."

"Service learning is a method of instruction in which classroom

learning is enriched and applied through service to others” (Florida

Department of Education).

Source: Wikipedia


Service Learning Project: Pet Supply Drive In the Pre-K or Kindergarten classroom a service learning project can be an opportunity to motivate and engage students.

Step 1: Start by reading a story about pet shelters or homeless pets. See page 7 for book recommendations.

Step 2: Identify the problem(s). Ask your students to identify the problem(s) in the story. Record their answers by creating a problem/solution t-chart on chart paper and drawing pictures to help illustrate their words.

Step 3: Identify possible solutions. Ask your students if they have any ideas to help solve the problem, you may need to scaffold to support their thinking in this area. Record their responses on the chart.

Step 4: Put your pet supply drive plan into action. See pages 10-11 for step-by-step directions.

Step 5: Integrate your plan into the curriculum to support early learning standards. Allow the students to interact with the donated items daily. Some math examples might include:

• Categorize the items collected thus far- blankets, cans of food,dry food, toys etc.

• Compare numbers of items collected each day, which item hasmore, which item has less etc.

• Count how many of each item has been collected. Use differentmethods to record the count such as tally marks etc.

• Compare the sizes of the cans and bags of food, which bag isthe biggest, which is the smallest etc.

• Use the data gathered to create graphs with your class.

(Continued on page 7)


Service Learning Project: Pet Supply Drive (Continued from page 6)

Step 5: Some literacy examples might include:

• Invite students to label the categories of items using inventivespelling.

• Invite students to help you compose update letters to send toparents to keep them informed of the project’s progress and thetypes of items still needed.

• Invite students to create signs and posters to place around theschool to raise awareness for the supply drive.

Step 6: Reflection. Some ideas to help your students reflect on the importance of the pet supply drive are listed below:

• Have the students create a class “How-to” book about the petsupply drive process.

• Take pictures of the class interacting with the donated itemsthroughout the process for documentation.

• Use the photographs to create a wall story.• Use the photographs to create a timeline.• Use the photographs to create a class book.


Why is the Animal Shelter Kit Free? I was compelled to create this dramatic play kit and service learning project for two reasons. The first reason is because I lost my beloved dog, Kirby in June of 2012 to a tragic illness and my beloved dog Trixie to a sudden aneurism in March of 2009. I was looking for a way to honor their memories and possibly donate money to animal shelters since they were both adopted. However, I soon realized that the best way to spread the message of pet adoption was through education. If each teacher who downloads this resource reads the information and uses it in their classroom their students will not only benefit from the development of empathy and altruistic behaviors but a shelter will also receive donations which is a double benefit in my book.

The other reason I created this free play kit is far more disturbing. I discovered that some teachers were turning their dramatic play centers into pet stores. I was deeply saddened and horrified by this discovery. Instead of teaching empathy and altruistic behaviors, pet stores promote materialism and vanity (purebreds) at best and puppy mills at worst.

You can help spread the message about the importance of developing empathy and altruism in young children by sharing the link to this document on your Facebook page, pinning it on Pinterest, tweeting about it, or sending a link to your friends and colleagues via e-mail. Here is the link:

http://www.pre-kpages.com/dramatic-play-pet-shelter/

Trixie Kirby

http://www.pre-kpages.com/dramatic-play-pet-shelter/


Animal Shelter & Pet Adoption Resources

Books about Animal Rescue & Adoption:

Before You Were Mine by Marybeth Bolts (*highly recommend)

Lucky by Gus Clark (*highly recommend)

Kind News (Primary Edition) by The Humane Society

Tails Are Not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick

Charley’s First Night by Amy Hest

The Needs of an Animal YouTube video by HarryKindergarten

Optional materials to add to your dramatic play center:

• Cages

• Cardboard Pet Carriers

• Clipboards

• Pencils

• Sticker Paper

• Ribbon (for collars)

• Stuffed Animals

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039924526X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=039924526X&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwprekpagesc-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1929132840/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1929132840&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwprekpagesc-20

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/kind_news/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2fRMhYP5n8


Organize a Supply Drive

One great way to help your local animal shelters is to collect supplies for them. Here's how:

Step 1: Share your idea with your principal or director and explain why you would like to organize a supply drive for a pet shelter at your school. Feel free to print the article on page 4 and share it with your administration to support your idea.

Step 2: Call the shelter or check their website to find out what items are most needed. Some shelters request particular brands of pet food or cat litter. Others may need items such as towels, blankets, toys, treats, or office supplies.

Step 3: Decide on the details.

• Set a date. Anytime is a good time to donate to an animalshelter, but you may choose to coordinate your collection with aholiday or event. Once the date has been set, give your projecta title or catch phrase. For example, a Valentine’s Daycollection could be called “Have a Heart—Help a Pet”; forChristmas, “Presents for Pets." For the best results, scheduleyour supply drive to run for 3-4 weeks at minimum. This willallow students plenty of opportunities to interact with the itemsand use them for learning purposes.

• Designate drop-off locations for supplies. At school, gooddrop-off sites include common areas that receive the mosttraffic so everybody will see your collection box daily. In yourcommunity, consider setting up drop-off sites at grocery stores,pet supply stores, veterinary hospitals, churches, andcommunity centers. Be sure to ask permission from the storemanagers or person in charge in advance.

(Continued on next page)


Organize a Supply Drive (Continued from page 10)

• Gather large boxes for the supplies. You can get cardboardboxes from nearly any retail store; just call ahead, explain whatyou’re up to, and ask if employees would set aside boxes for youto pick up. Decorate the boxes according to your theme. Anothertip is to raise the boxes up a bit off the floor. Sometimes boxes onthe floor are mistaken for trash cans. The closer you get the box toeye level the greater your chances are for receiving donations.Also make sure that a sign is prominently displayed on each sideof the box that is visible. Include a sign on the wall above thedonation box as well.

Step 4: Spread the word. Your collection’s success depends on how well you promote it.

• Posters for pets. Make posters and fliers announcing thecollection. Be sure to include the drop-off locations, deadline, andthe list of needed items. It’s a nice touch to include info about theshelter you’re collecting for, such as the shelter’s name, address,phone number, and website. Hang posters in the school lobby,hallways, the cafeteria, the library, and other high-traffic areas. Ifyour collection is community-wide, ask permission to hang postersand put collection boxes in prominent areas around town.

Step 5: Deliver the goods. When your collection is over, arrange to bring the supplies to the shelter. Call in advance to schedule a good time. If possible, invite parents and students to help you deliver the items you have collected. It will be more meaningful if the children are there to actually deliver the items.

Adapted from The Humane Society

Read this great article about a preschool that holds an annual donation drive!

http://www.humanesociety.org/about/departments/students/actions/help_homeless_pets_supply_drive.html

http://www.scntx.com/articles/2011/11/28/news_update/9117.txt

Dear Parents

Our class will be participating in a service learning project for our local animal shelter. A service learning project integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich learning. Research has shown that teaching young children from an early age to engage in unselfish behaviors and empathize with others can reduce the chances of developing bully like characteristics.

Our goal is to help the pets in our community by collecting and donating supplies to the local animal shelter. Did you know that approximately 6 to 8 million animals enter shelters nationwide every year? Our local shelter seeks to provide food and basic care to many homeless pets each year while they await their “forever homes.” A shelter can be a stressful place for pets; we hope that our donations will help make their time spent there a little less stressful.

It is important to involve your child in the process of selecting items to donate. Involving your child will make the experience more meaningful and create a lasting impression. You might want to invite your child to look through coupon inserts to find the best prices for pet supplies and food. Allow your child to hand the coupons he or she has collected to the cashier at the store.

We will be collecting supplies starting on ___________________ and ending on ___________________. Please send in items as often as you wish during this time because we will be charting our progress along the way. A list of suggested supplies can be found on the back of this page.

We hope that this experience will be a rewarding one for you, your child, and our community.

Thank you in advance for your support,


Suggested Items for Donation

• Puppy Food • Kitten Food • Dry Dog Food • Dry Cat Food • Senior Cat Food • Senior Dog Food • Cat Litter • Towels • Blankets • Dog Toys • Cat Toys • Dog Treats • Cat Treats


Supply Donation Signs

I have included supply donation signs for several different times of the

year. These signs can be printed and taped to the outside of your

donation box. Remember to put a sign on each side of the box that is

visible as well as on the wall above the box. Also raise the box up off

the floor so it won’t be mistaken for trash. You can also wrap the box in

colorful butcher or wrapping paper to make it stand out.

Page 15: Can be used at any time of the year

Page 16: October

Page 17: November

Page 18: December

Page 19: February


Please Help

Donate Pet

Supplies Here!


Happy “Howl”oween

Happy “Meow”oween

Donate Pet Supplies Here!


Giving Thanks for our Furry Friends!

Donate Pet

Supplies Here!


Presents for

Pets

Donate Pet

Supplies Here!


Have a Heart

Help a Pet

Donate Pet Supplies Here!


Animal Shelter Dramatic Play Resources

The sign on page 21 can be displayed in your dramatic play animal shelter center.

The descriptions on page 22 are to be printed, cut out, and displayed outside the cages of the “animals” in your dramatic play animal shelter. Visitors to the shelter can learn more about the animals by reading the descriptions on the tags. Remember, when adopting a pet the most important thing to consider is the animal’s temperament and not the breed or color.

The signs on page 23 can be printed and placed on the wall in your dramatic play animal shelter or they fit perfectly in plastic IKEA picture frames.

The images on page 24 are designed to be printed on Avery sticker project paper. Cut out the images using your paper cutter or scissors and place them in your dramatic play pet shelter center. Students can put the stickers on their cardboard pet carriers, shirts, hands etc.

When a visitor adopts a pet they can fill out the adoption agreement found on page 25. The YouTube video listed in the resources section on page 9 is a great way to teach kids about caring for an animal.

The forms on page 26 are designed to be cut in half and placed on small clipboards in your dramatic play animal shelter. Visitors to the shelter can fill out the form before they start looking at pets.


Description: Tiger is a friendly six month old male kitten. He is very playful and loves to chase string. He likes kids, dogs and other cats. Please give Tiger a forever home!

Description: Shadow is a sweet and calm female two year old cat. She loves to lie in the sun and watch birds from the window. She is a real lap kitty. Please give Shadow a forever home!

Description: Muffin is an active, playful female one year old cat. She will turn anything into a toy! She likes kids and other cats but is scared of dogs. Please give Muffin a forever home!

Description: Max is an adorable three month old Dachshund mix. He loves belly rubs and enjoys treats. He will be about 10 to 15 pounds when fully grown. Please give Max a forever home!

Description: Cassie is an energetic one year old Bulldog mix. She loves to play with other dogs and kids. Cassie is housetrained and knows basic commands. Please give Cassie a forever home!

Description: Malcolm is a Cairn Terrier mix. He is about four years old and loves all animals. He is fully housetrained. He knows a few tricks and loves to take walks in the park. Please give Malcolm a forever home!


Keep Calm and

Love Cats!

Keep Calm and

Love Dogs!


Ad pt Ad pt

Peace Love Rescue Peace Love Rescue

Don’t Shop

AD PT

Don’t Shop

AD PT

Rescued is

my favorite breed

Rescued is

my favorite breed

Adoption & Rescue Stickers


I, ____________________________ do hereby agree to

give ________________________ a forever home.

I understand that pets need:

Food Water Shelter


Animal Shelter Interest Survey

Animal Shelter Interest Survey

Name: _____________ Name: _____________ Type of Pet:

Type of Pet:

Kitten Adult Senior Kitten Adult Senior

Puppy Adult Senior Puppy Adult Senior


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Resources If you enjoyed this resource here are some others that might be of interest to you:

Pre-K Pages Themes in Alphabetical Order

Pre-K Pages Printable Teacher Resources

Dramatic Play Printables

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