Maker Monday: Ms. P’s Pet Collection Poster

Happy World Kindness Day! Since mid-September, classrooms participating in the #bethekindkid Kindness in Action Campaign have been creating and sharing kindness initiatives, kindness-themed art installations and kindness-promoting maker projects. Today’s Maker Monday project, comes from one of those classrooms.

Kristen Mills and Heather Smee have worked with their kindergarten students at Bethel Park’s Memorial Elementary School to create posters announcing that they’re collecting donations for South Hills Pet Rescue. The posters include an image of Ms. P — one of the “letter people,” which are helping these students learn to read.

If your child is doing this Maker Monday project at home, their kindness poster can announce a donation drive they’d like to do — they might collect donations for a local food pantry, animal shelter or other organization. As with all Maker Monday projects, the steps are easy and they’re all laid out in detail below. This project can be done with items you may already have around the house or can easily get.

A note to kid makers: Please work with a parent or caregiver on any Maker Monday project and always be very careful when using tools of any kind.

Maker Monday supplies you’ll need:

• markers
• a large piece construction paper or poster board
• pictures you print or cut out of magazines (the Bethel Park students used pictures of Ms. P, dogs and pet supplies, but your child can use any pictures that help illustrate what their donation drive is all about)
• scissors
• glue

Maker Monday directions:

Step 1: Brainstorm ideas for acts of kindness that your child would like to do. Who might they want to help? How might they give back to their local community? If the child likes animals, as the kindergarteners at Bethel Park do, there are many animal shelters around Pittsburgh that would appreciate donations of pet food, pet toys and other items. Contact the organization you want to give donations to and let them know what you’re planning. You can ask if there are particular items they need.

Step 2: Decide on colors for your poster and collect pictures or graphic images that you want to include.

Step 3: Choose your big piece of construction paper or poster board. Write and/or draw the title of your kindness event, the dates you’ll be collecting donations and what you are doing. Kids can write with markers or they can write first in pencil and then color the letters with markers.

Step 4: Glue your pictures to your poster to decorate it and help show people what you are doing.

Step 5: Take pictures of your poster to share online and hang it up at home to make sure your whole family knows about your kindness activity.

Step 6: Once your child has collected donations, share them in your community!

The Kidsburgh team really appreciates the kindergarteners at Bethel Park for kindly sharing this Maker Monday project with us. Stay tuned for more Kindness in Action Maker Monday projects in the coming weeks.

Want more at-home fun creating cool stuff and making beautiful things? Check out more Maker Monday projects right here.

Do you have an idea for a Maker Monday craft project? If so, please share it with Kidsburgh! Send your maker activities to info@kidsburgh.org.