Child Development Service-Learning Projects

There are many ways students can assist young preschoolers through service-learning. Here are some projects to try in your classroom:

Reading
Students can read out-loud to young children at a local Head Start center, preschool or day care center.

Arts and Crafts
Little kids love to finger paint, play with crayons and markers, and get their hands all sticky with clay or glue! Students can design and organize craft days at a local preschool center.

Music
Turn on the music and let the kids dance! Young preschool aged children need to develop coordination and begin to explore their senses! Students can introduce them to all different types of music, from classical to jazz, and from reggae to good old rock-n-roll! Better yet, if students know how to play an instrument or play in the school band or orchestra, they could bring in their instrument and demonstrate how it works!

Games
Social Skills are considered to be just as important as academic skills when it comes to creating an environment that encourages school success! By organizing structured play time, where students play different types of games, preschool children will learn more about getting along with friends, following the rules and expressing difficult feelings such as anger, frustration and even pride when they win!

Food
Kids love to eat! Students can learn more about the important role nutrition plays in child development as they prepare healthy snacks to take with them when they host activities at the preschool or day care center. At the end of the semester or grading period, students can put together a "Healthy Snack Cook Book" highlighting all the healthy snacks they have prepared. This cook book can be handed out to the parents of the preschoolers they have been working with during the service-learning project.

Grant Opportunities provide additional project ideas >>