Cherry Hill Primary School recently shared a few final projects which were completed this year as part of its Lions Quest Service Learning Projects.
Easter Egg Hunt:
The first project shared was an Easter Egg Hunt held by Mrs. Mustain’s first grade class. Mrs. Jen’s morning and afternoon preschool classes participated and the students said they had a lot of fun filling the eggs, hiding them and watching the preschoolers find them.
Beautification Project:
Mrs. Nestor’s second grade class planted flowers in four pots that are outside of two entrances at Cherry Hill. The students voted to plant red, white and blue flowers.
“They really enjoyed learning about flowers and how to plant them,” Nestor said. “When asked how they felt about the project, the students all said that they felt happy that we did it and are excited that there have been so many positive comments about how nice the flowers look. Many of the students said that they would like to plant flowers at their own houses now.”
Nestor gave a special thanks to Sarah Creamer — Ohio State University Master Gardener — who came and talked to the class about flowers; Patchwork Gardens, which donated the soil and flowers; and Home Depot, who donated money for the pots.
Keeping Cherry Hill clean:
Mrs. Jenkins’ and Mrs. Seymour’s kindergarten classes completed a similar type of project by cleaning up trash around Cherry Hill.
The goal of the project was to create a welcoming outdoor reading environment for the classes of Cherry Hill and the idea of the project came about due to students observing Walmart, Kroger bags etc. blown into the area beside their room.
The teachers said they really enjoyed this project because all students are actively involved in the whole process and are the ones doing the work of the clean-up. They also reap the reward of being able to have Reading Workshop out where they cleaned on nice days.
Sharing the gift of reading:
Mrs. Ward’s kindergarten class had been working hard on their super reading powers and they decided to share a love of reading with Mrs. Johnson’s and Mrs. Waddle’s third grade class.
“They came to visit, and the kindergarten students and the third grade students read books to each other,” Ward said. “Next, all students made a Minion bookmark to take home. Mrs. Johnson’s class encouraged the kindergarten students to be ‘book worms,’ and provided the kindergarten students with dirt pudding cups with gummy worms on top.”
Finally, Ward said the kindergarten students gave the third graders their summer reading bags that they packed. Each bag contained a new book, a folder, notebook paper and more.
“Third grade students can read their new books over the summer to keep their reading skills sharp,” Ward said. “Thank you to Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Waddle and their third grade class for sharing their reading with us and for our special treat.”
Summer Practice Packets:
Finally, Mrs. Picklesimer’s kindergarten class decided to make “Summer Practice Packets” for the Cherry Hill preschool students who will be moving onto kindergarten. The reason the class chose this project was because several students wanted to help others feel welcome when they came to Cherry Hill.
“They decided on this because, as a new kindergartner, they felt nervous on their first day of school,” Picklesimer said. “Students assembled a packet so preschoolers could practice their pre-kindergarten skills, as well as made up supply bags so that students would have everything they needed to practice at home over the summer. Our class also wrote our preschool friends a letter and drew them a picture to help with those first day jitters.”
ABOUT LIONS QUEST
According to its website, Lions Quest is a social and emotional learning program funded by the Lions Clubs International Foundation. The curriculum nurtures a positive connection to school and peers through character education and positive behavior development. Topics covered in this school-wide curriculum also include anti-bullying, drug, alcohol and tobacco awareness, as well as leadership skills through service learning.
The information in this article was provided by Cherry Hill School counselor Amy Jo Morris.
Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.
