Kids Helping Others: A Service Club Starter Kit

Are you looking for a way to help students develop a sense of responsibility and the ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes? To turn them into active problem-solvers? Try starting a service learning club in your school!

Service learning is the ultimate win-win situation---someone is helped or a problem is solved (by kids!), and those kids learn that they have the power and ability to make a real difference in the world.

As the school counselor, I created a small club for half a dozen 3rd grade girls in general ed. I targeted the quiet, under-the-radar kids who seemed to lack strong connections to a social network.

This is not a “curriculum,” since a service club’s activities need to be specifically tailored to the interests of its members. Rather, it’s a set of suggestions designed to help you get rolling.

Included:
-Editable invitation letter/permission slip in Word and Pages, plus a sample of mine
-Helping interest survey
-Recommended books & video clips
-Project ideas
-Things to keep in mind
-Opportunities for developing/reinforcing academic and interpersonal skills
-Brief description of my most recent service club

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail me at lauriepmendoza@gmail.com (just put TPT in the subject line). And be sure to visit my website, www.schoolcounselingfiles.com, for lots of other free school counseling activities and resources!

Graphics by EduClips, Kari Bolt, & Dancing Crayon; Fonts by Cara Carroll