By

Derrik Spooner,   Grace Abbott Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Community Involvement, Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership,  Teamwork

As a school, we worked together to bring in canned foods to donate to the American Red Cross. Our school meets in groups of 10-15 students with a teacher once a month for group activities. The month of January, we focused on community giving and brought in cans to donate to the American Red Cross. Our school did a great job and brought in 1,300 cans in one day. To celebrate, our fitness ambassadors along with fifth grade teamed up to build a putt putt course in the gym for the entire school. The entire school loved the course. The students ran in between each hole and got a great workout. My students really worked together and did a great job building each hole. We did the course for two days, and by the time we were done, it was a great sight to see. This fun time will motivate our students to bring in even more cans next year. We posted pictures on our school's Facebook and Twitter and had many great compliments about the work we had done. This was a great activity for our community and our school.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

My students worked together as a team to build the course. They did such a good job using teamwork to build the course in a short time. They had to work together to use all 1,300 cans. Our entire school also worked together to bring in the donations.

How did you accomplish your goals?

We accomplished our goal of bringing in cans for charity and making a great course. The kids got to see how working together can make a big difference. Their one or two cans made the donation possible and the putt putt course very fun.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

We will continue with the putt putt course each year. Our students loved the idea of building the course and using the cans that they brought it. It was a great team building opportunity.